my big adventure - the rest of the story

Next to the Eiffel Tower, the other thing John had to see was the French Statue of Liberty. After we watched National Treasure 2, that sight moved to the top of his list. Once we'd seen the French Statue of Liberty, we told him we were going to see Notre Dame. He was not so sure about that. First of all, it's a church. We go to churches all the time. "Yes, but this is a special church. A cathedral." Second, he doesn't like the 'Noter Dame' Irish, he likes the Ohio State Buckeyes. Third, "why are they called the Irish anyways when Notre Dame is in France?" We walked along the Seine River from the Louvre to the famous cathedral, which someday he will be glad to say he saw. Once there we were herded in and moved with the throng of people through the sacred building. It was an odd mixture of the sacrosanct with sightseeing. Images of Christ on the cross above burning candles and hundreds of people capturing images to put in their photo albums of their trip to Paris. We had lunch at a sidewalk cafe, the other thing that John wanted to do while in Paris. He wanted to have some good French food and we suggested some snails, but he ended up going with a crepe. The one thing I wanted to do in Paris was to go to the Bascillica of the Sacred Heart. On top of the highest hill in Paris, it has a wonderful view. Nearby is a square where artists sit and paint while they sell their paintings and other artwork. I love seeing artists at work. It's inspiring. I want to connect to that part of me again. So we climbed the highest hill in Paris and I got inspired. We sat on the steps to the Bascillica and watched a group of guys breakdancing while behind us another group of guys were putting on a concert for the crowd. The breakdancers were John's favorite part of Paris - next to the living room feeling on the first level of the Eiffel Tower. Sitting there with Mom and John, enjoying the moment was probably my favorite part, too.