Paris

Rick Steve's says you can't do everything in Paris no matter how much time you have. That meant we were in luck, because we never have much time in a city. The Louvre was at the top of our list of course. I almost didn't go to see the Mona Lisa, because it seemed to cliche and I thought it would be great to be that guy who went to the Louvre and was able to live above the ways of the normal tourist. I quickly realized that either way it would be about what I would tell people at home and not about actually seeing or not seeing the Mona Lisa and I was therefore doomed either way. My favorite painting was actually directly across from the Mona Lisa: the Wedding at Cana by Veronese. I spent the most time at this work trying to capture and understand as many details as possible. I actually didn't intend to spend much time at that particular work, but I kept seeing details that fascinated me.

My favorite part of Paris was a visit to two churches: Notre Dame and Saint Sulpice. We happened upon Notre Dame in perfect timing just before a mass. The Cavaille Coll organ had my attention the entire time. Our visit to the second church was more intentional. We arose for the Sunday morning mass, arriving after the prelude just as the service began. The church is just barely smaller than Notre Dame and is known for its Cavaille Coll, one of the most impressive organs built in the French symphonic style. The church also has an impressive history of organists, most notably Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupre. After the service, a short choir and organ concert followed. The guys were also generous to allow me to wait in line to see the organ. The history and music present in that place made it probably the single-most exciting adventure of the European tour.