paris is one amazing city! i know i have always had a tendancy to prefer the ancient cities of athens and rome... but when it comes to just loving a beautiful european city for being a beautiful european city, paris is right up there on my favourites list.

today i'm in a list mood. so here's the list:

1: note dame is an impressive church with perhaps the most incredible stain-glassed windows i have ever witnessed. wandering around inside i was in awe of the elaborate motifs and at the same time, slightly unimpressed with people's disrespect when the sign clearly states that no photos should be taken...

2: eiffel tower is gorgeous, night and day. nothing like sitting on a park bench eating a baguette and brie, drinking french wine and admiring the view. and then taking the lift up to all three levels, stopping each time to note the difference in wind speed. preplanned to experience the day and night scene - i saw paris in the daylight, the sun setting, and the lights coming on as evening fell. note: new zealand is the most furthest place away from the eiffel tower according to the distances given at the top! auckland is 18,542km and wellington is 18,983km away! very cool. we are famous, in a far away kind of way.

3: sacre coeur is another great landmark, perched up above the city in splendour. not sure which church i liked more. they were both completely different from each other. the best part about this one was that often jesus gets represented as the guy hanging on the cross. but here, he's very alive and well and reigning triumphant.

4: the louvre museum is just fantastic! the egyptian exhibit was incredible and to finally see the book of the dead and other exceptionally famous works (if you are an egyptologist person). and the hellenistic and roman sculpture was also amazing - once again i was able to see so many of the things i had studied and only ever seen in a picture. typically my camera is now filled with incredible masterpieces that i can fully appreciate because i have learnt the ins and outs of the history and style and artists that created them. also saw the mona lisa which was surrounded by a zoo of tourists. a very pushy zoo too i might add!

5: l'arc de triomphe is very big and lines up perfectly with the champs elysees, the egyptian obelisque and the louvre. it made for a very pleasant walk. napolleon won a lot of battles.

ok, that will do for now. i have a thesis to finish! eeek.