5-31-07 Paris

There was a familiar smell in almost all of the cathedrals we went into on this trip. It wasn't until Brussels that I was able to place it. It was in Notre Dame and Sacre Cour too. I'm not exactly sure what it is. It is incense or a candle, I'm not sure, but it is something that burns. The reason I recognize it is because it is the smell of Catholic special events. There is a special ceremony that a priest does where he takes a little ball on a chain full of this smoky smell and waves it at the congregation as he walks up and down the aisles praying. A similar thing is done with holy water, and he flicks everyone with it. Growing up, I only remember this happening on special occasions or unique days like when a visiting priest was speaking. It seemed like this was just the regular smell for the churches we visited, but it really made me uncomfortable. Having that smell and thinking of special events make me even more aware of how much of a visitor I am. I feel like I am intruding on their religious ground even though it is a religion I could claim as my own.

5-30-07 Paris

I had my "Wow, I'm in Paris" moment our first night here. We decided to eat near teh Champs-Elysees so we could check the hours on the tourist center. It's a good thing that we did because they moved the tourist center to the other end of the Champs-Elysees and it would have been awful to go looking for it with the entire group. Dr. Ness joined us and we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe. The entire city is full of wonderful sights, but nothing prepared me for coming out of that metro exit. We walked up the stairs to the street and right there was the Arc. It was surreal. I actually teared up. It was an amazing sight. The sun was setting in a hand painted sky and wrapped the Arc in a pink glow. The Arc itself was so much more majestic than I had expected. I had seen tons of pictures, but none of them were able to capture the truth. I now understand why Pairs is such an inspiration to art. It is not just a saying, my breath really was taken away. I had a similar experience with the Eiffel Tower, but it wasn't quite as powerful or shocking. We saw the tower from everywhere. I didn't much want to go up in the tower, so I thought that I had seen it. Fortunately, Mike insisted on taking Brandi and me to the base. It wasn't quite as shocking as the Arc because we got off the metro and watched it grow as we walked closer instead of it just being there. I could feel my mind struggle as it tried to comprehend just how big it really is.