Le Dix-Huitieme Jour

Dimanche, nous sommes allés à Notre-Dame de Paris pour la messe. Le service de Notre-Dame durait une heure et quinze minutes. Pendant le service, le père a lu la Bible, une lecture du prophète Jonas et la première lettre de saint Paul aux Corinthiens. Les gens ont également reçu la communion.
Après avoir été à Notre Dame, nous sommes allés au Château de Versailles. Il n'y a pas de très bon adjectif pour pouvoir donner des descriptions de ce lieu. Quand nous sommes arrivés au château nous avons vu un muret qui dit merci aux Etats-Unis, et plus spécifiquement à John D. Rockefeller, qui a donné beaucoup d'argent pour la reconstruction et restauration du château.
La première des chambres que nous avons vues est la chambre du roi. Ici, les gens venaient le voir se lever le matin. Nous avons aussi vu la Galerie des Glaces. Dix-sept fenêtres sont face à face avec dix-sept miroirs. Chacun des dix-sept miroirs est composé de 357 petit miroirs. Cette salle est très important parce qu'à l'époque de sa construction les miroirs signifiaient la richesse parce que le matériel et la construction du miroir étais très difficile, et alors très cher. Les jardins du château représentent 800 ha de terre dans le style français. 221 statues sont dans les jardins et 50 de celles-ci sont des fontaines.
Après la visite du Versailles, nous avons eu du temps libre pour le reste de la soirée. Mes amis "spéciaux" et moi, nous sommes allés visiter la Tour Eiffel et les Champs-Elysées. Nous avons pris quelques photos de la Tour Eiffel et nous sommes allés aux Champs-Elysées. Après la visite des Champs-Elysées, nous avons marché autour de la ville et fait des courses. Paris est très belle, surtout la nuit. Ma partie préférée de la nuit a été de regarder la Tour Eiffel scintillante.

On Sunday, we went to mass at Notre-Dame. During the service, the priest read from the bible; a reading from the Prophet Jonah and the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. People also received communion during church.
After attending Notre Dame, we went to the Palace of Versailles. No one image or
word can explain the marvelous effect settling upon the human mind in the midst of being
near this great historical and breathtaking landmark. The crowds of people, including our own
group, spoke to the highly important value of this place, as a touristic attraction. Upon walking into the right side of the palace, we were greeted by an engraved stone, giving thanks to the American efforts made by Rockefeller in restoring the castle. The castle's different rooms, with different uses, symbolized different beliefs and concepts that were clear through the visual arts. Ostentatious and dramatically fused in the most ornate decorations would only be a few of the beginning descriptions when seeing the room's chamber-a room with every inch covered in some kind of detail.
Some interesting highlights were the king's chamber, the Salon de Diane, the Salon de Mars, the hall of mirrors, and the palace gardens. The king's chamber had an area of separation between his bed and the rest of the room. King Louis the XIV would have people watch him as he stirred in the morning, which explains for this little fence that stands just at the end of his bed. Another room was the queen's chamber. This room was also very ornate, in a more feminine way. Flowers decorated the curtains that began the ceiling of her room and ended at the foot of her bed. To the left of her bed was the white small door through which Marie-Antoinette fled on the morning the castle was attacked. The Salon de Diane was a room dedicated to the king's efforts at glorifying this goddess of the hunt, as he himself enjoyed taking part in the sport of hunting. The Salon de Mars also is home to another god. The god of mars, who is depicted as being pulled by wolves. Mars signifies war, but also since « Mars » is the name of the first month of spring, it also stands for the fruitfulness of this month and the beginning of this season. Lastly, within the palace that is, the hall of mirrors in the palace is a breathtaking experience, where one sees 17 mirror arches, each made of 357 smaller mirrors, which are alligned with 17 window arches across the room. These windows face the gardens of the palace. This room is known to be one of the most famous rooms in the world, and it is no wonder why this is so. At the time of its construction this room signified plentitude of money due to the fact that the making of mirrors was very expensive at this time. Lastly, the gardens to which these windows overlook, are a sight of importance, not only because of their beauty, but also because of the extensive nature in terms of land usage that they represent. 800 hectares of land are covered by the french style decorated gardens. 221 statues cover the garden grounds, 50 being fountains.
After visiting the Versailles, we had free time for the rest of the night. My 'special friends' and I went to visit the Eiffel tour and champs-Elysées. We took some pictures of the Eiffel tour and walked to champs-Elysées. Then, we walked around town and went shopping. Paris is very beautiful, especially at night. My favorite part of the night was watching the Eiffel tour glittering at night.