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Thank you for visiting, I hope you will find this blog of my journey both interesting and inspiring.

Monday 2 January 2012

Ah la vie, c'est Paris! part deux

... at the head of the Champs Elysees is the Arc de Trioumphe. It is a very impressive monument and we sit for sometime on a bench to admire the intricate detail of carving and reflect upon the last year. The fact that it is here that the Tour de France cycle race culminates is significant to the both of us, as our first holiday away together was spent on the Greek island of Andros where we jointly read Lance Armstrong's biography. Lance famously won the race after an amazing come back from cancer and has pioneered a hugely successful charity in Livestrong. Before my own illness began, I was aware of Lance Armstrong but it wasn't until reading his biography that I became enamored and inspired by his story. Sitting here now I reflect on both the similarities in the fights we face and the differences. This is where a lot of my desire to make our own organisation "Imagine It" work; and by that I mean change lives and maybe society... I think big! (www.imagine.org.uk)



The next stop on our tour is the Louvre, so once again we hop the metro and cross the city. The museum is stunning on the outside, built in parts over the course of 400 yrs by French royalty, but like everything in Paris you really wouldn't know it such is its breathtaking uniformity of design. I really want to go back and be able to spend a day going around it but on this trip we were more than content with gazing through the famed glass pyramid.

Looking through you can see people queueing giving a real sense of the scale of this magnificent place!
Aware time is getting on we find a little cafe and have lunch before one last sightseeing stop for the afternoon. This one I've been waiting for and getting glimpses of its twin towers ever since we arrived.


Notre Dame Cathedral is famed for its ingeneous architecture, outstanding beauty, historical sanctuary and literary home of a hunchback. I know I'm a geek but I love this beyond anything I've seen so far and seeing that started with the "oo pretty" comment I don't think there are words to describe how it feels to be standing here looking up at it. The closer you get the more you see the detail and it amazes me the dedication and time that was spent on constructing such a masterpiece. However it is going inside that really touches my soul. This huge building is silent except for organ music and a hushed awe from the shuffling crowd of tourists. I can only imagine what it would be like to see in medieval times especially when the belief in a deity was so strong that one could not fail to believe in the power of the church.

We wander slowly around trying to take in as much of the atmosphere as possible and despite the numbers of people I am filled with peace. At one point we sit and light a candle in front of a beautiful stained glass window; the glimmer of light and colour is hypnotising. Though my faith in a specific religion is, shall we say, doubting, I do on reflection have some feeling of there being more than meets immediate comprehension of humans. That might be God, fate or mystical energy; I would never claim to know for sure, but right here right now tears roll down my cheeks and I pray silently for any and all suffering any pain.


I could stay here all day but we begrudging leave and head back towards the hotel so I can have my annoyingly required rest before a evening of wonderment... part 3 coming soon! vx

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