Yesterday (Friday!) was a transit day as my tour group left Bayeux to return to Paris. We made a stop in Rouen to check out the cathedral and have lunch. We also saw where Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc, since I know how to spell it now). Instead of lunch, I visited her nook (chapel?) in the cathedral.

I checked the gift shop to see if there was a wee replica of the stain glass there that tell the story of our girl (I got one from somewhere -Oxford maybe- and it’s a plastic think I can stick to my window. I found it recently in its original gift shop bag and now anywhere near a window. Obviously a prized possession.) there wasn’t one of those. I DID get a Joan of Arc trading card. Score.

After was a bus ride and nap into Paris. Our guide always had some really great info and stories to share with us during these times. I would close my eyes, you know, to listen better, and usually dozed off while she talked. Often, too, she’s tell us to just rest or have a dodo (French for nap). And I’d nap then, too. I was jet laggy early in the week, but now I don’t have that excuse and I just like to nap.

Back in Paris! We settled back into our hotel. Some of us got out luggage back that we had left behind in storage over the few days away. (Me, I was the only one who did that – and I enjoyed being reunited with all my extra junk.)

In the evening we took a walk around La Basilique du Sacré Coeur in Montmartre.

It was soooooo busy and to the point I was feeling uncomfortable- but not so much where I wanted to turn back and go home or anything. The crowd was loud, just people hanging out on a Friday night, but it was overwhelming. But once inside the basilica I was fine. There were copious signs saying “shut up” in a nice, churchy way, and everyone complied. Most people were wandering around checking out the saints in, but lots of people were praying, too. I felt better in there, but I was also impressed with the contrast from the exterior.

At the end of the walk with our guide, I went back for another look, and made my own way back to the hotel. OMG the metro was packed. Probably not strange, but it was 9ish or so at night? So I was impressed. And then crushed. Fun fact- big crowd sitting on the steps outside the church and I have to walk through them = hoo. Crushed into metro car = no problem.