Day 35 September 19, 2008
So where do kings go when they die? In France, they take a metro ride out to the suburb of St. Denis. Everyone rides the metro.
Legend has it that Bishop Denis had his head whacked off (it was a common thing back then), picked it up, walked a couple of miles while preaching a sermon and then fell over because of being dead and all. Where he fell down is the location of the Basilica. Almost all the kings, queens and royal dogs of France are buried in a crypt at the church.
This church is the model for Notre Dame so it's not just old, it's damn old. It also hasn't been cleaned on the outside as recently as ND so it actually looks as old as it's supposed to be.
La Madeleine in Paris is supposed to be a church. You wouldn't believe from the outside. Churches just aren't meant to have Greek columns. Where's the belltower? Where are the gargoyles? You know, the churchy things? Secretly though, I like it. It's bold to build something like this and call it a church. You'd have to convince your congregation that God will find you without the steeple.