In spite of the fact that I was feeling castled-out in Paris, I
somehow never got churched-out. Not sure exactly why that is.
In Italy I have to admit that I started feeling a bit churched-out
because a lot of them were expensive to see, and because the
tourism/money motivation was so obvious . . . it was a little disappointing.
But the churches in France are totally different - they have all been
beautiful, surrounded by interesting neighborhoods and people, and
free to visit. Which is what I would expect from a church - open
doors.
My two favorites in Paris were obviously Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur.
Although I failed to get good pictures of it, Notre Dame was actually
my favorite church in all of Europe, besides Westminster Abbey. From
the moment we saw it that night on the bike tour, I was completely in
love with the architecture and the stained glass.
The history of religion in France is very interesting too. Although
they were very religious for a time, churches were banned during the
Revolution, and the Notre Dame was actually used as the warehouse of a
market. When you are inside the church, it's pretty hard to imagine it
was ever used for storing food.
