This past week has been packed full of
architectural discoveries, and I have
found my two new favorite buildings in all of Paris.
I am sure they will be replaced shortly, but for now, they have my favor.
They are St. Etienne-du-Mont Church and the wonderfully famous Panthéon. Absolutely breathtaking and just next door to each other. They are perfectly located in the Quartier Latin full of cafés bustling with local students, and restaurants of every type of food you can imagine. Cobblestone streets wind you through a maze of boutiquey storefronts
and wine stores 
with
with their overabundant merchandise spilling out onto the street by the basket full. I bought a bottle of wine for less than 3 euros, and while it turned out to not be the best wine by
any stretch of the imagination, it was damn good for under 3 euros. Perfect way to catch your breath from
viewing the glories that are the Panthéon and St. Etienne-du-Mont.
(above: St. Etienne-du-Mont;
below: Le Panthéon)
The glorious interior of the Pantheon shines with contradiction and an odd juxtaposition of symbols: the lives of France's patron saints decorate the walls in monumental frescos, statues of figures of the Revolution charge proudly into the fight from the center of the room, and France's greatest philosophers are buried in its crypt.
Our group gathered for the view... spectacular.Notre Dame de Paris is in the forefront with Sacre Coeur standing proudly in the distance.
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