This walk was a cool one since we got to see the Sorbonne and go into an awesome church (video below as proof). But is was kind of short and mostly uneventful, hence my lack of major details....
The Sorbonne is one of the oldest universities in the world, opening in 1150! However, since it closed down for a little over a century (from 1793 to 1896), it is not considered to be on the list of Oldest Universities. Bummer. Today, the Sorbonne is still in operation, but the University of Paris is split into 13 different schools and carries less weight than it use to in past centuries. According to Teo, only snooty, wealthy Yuppies attend the Sorbonne. He's a very objective man.
The main building of la Sorbonne
Clock detail
The University of Paris, better known as la Sorbonne, is spread all throughout the city of Paris. On this walk, we passed by the Medical School of the Sorbonne. Medicine began being taught in Paris during the 12th century (!!!) as part of the four original disciplines, the Arts, Law, Theology, and Medicine. This is not the same building from the beginning, but it is still really, really old.
This is a plaque by the medical school of the Sorbonne.
We also passed my the Panthéon on this walk. The Panthéon is a major part of Paris, so we tended to pass by it a lot during our many walks. It is a really cool building that has a TON of history in it, as well as dead bodies and body parts.... You have have to be pretty important to France and the French people in order to make it in here. The sad thing is only two women are buried inside, Marie Curie and Sophie Berthelot, both of whom are scientists. Yay for them.
The Panthéon. A lot of famous French men (and a few women) are buried here.
Some of the people who are buried here are Alexandre Dumas, Marie and Pierre Curie, Victor Hugo, and Voltaire.
Next stop was a church called Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in the 5th arrondissement. It was definitely the best Catholic church we visited. The video below will help explain.
A statue we saw on our way to the church with some interesting graffiti....
"Sarkozy is a shame"
The doors to Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. These purple doors are pretty cool, unlike Lara.
The reason I loved this church so much was because of the amazing and awe-inspiring choir that had practice while we visited. For whatever reason, it really touched me and made me realize how lucky I was to be in Paris with all of my new, life long friends. It was a completely unexpected feeling since we had visited so many churches already. I didn't expect to be moved in the way I was, but I am so happy I did. As you can hopefully tell in the video, I wasn't the only one who was touched.
In addition to the choir, the church itself looked incroyable. The stonework was impressive. I hadn't seen a church like it and I probably won't ever again. Also, it was located near the street in Midnight in Paris (directed by Woody Allen) where Owen Wilson's character gets picked up and transported to Paris in the 1920's. I was very excited because I loved that movie and had watched it prior to leaving for Paris. Of course I had hoped it would happen to me, but, unfortunately, no dice.
Inside the church. Super awesome stonework.
Ok, that's it for this walk. I'll try to write again ASAFP. Until then, au revoir mes aimes!
This Week's Soundtrack:
Cole Porter's anthology plays a major role in the soundtrack of Midnight in Paris because Porter was living in Paris during the 1920's and was a staple at parties of the time.
"Livin' On A Prayer" - Bon Jovi
Prayer. Kind of loosely churched themed...?
"Witch Doctor" - Sha Na Na
What goes hand in hand with medical schools? DOCTORS.
"Doctor Robert" - The Beatles
Same as above. Plus it's Beatles related so it's always appropriate.
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