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Coach Dan Arbeznik explaining French history to the rugby team

The Rugby Cats in France: Day One

By Gabriel Oliss, 03/24/17, 11:45AM EDT

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Gabriel Oliss discusses his team's early adventures in Paris

Despite a seven-hour flight through the night, our first day in Paris was a fairly active one. Persisting through our exhaustion, upon arrival we did a bit of wandering throughout the city in order to get a sense of the place and try some authentic French food. For us that was banana crepes from a quaint little restaurant on the side of the road.

After that we gathered to go to the Basilica of Sacré Coeur with Coach Arbeznik as our guide. While on the 15-minute hike to the top of the hill, we encountered many opportunities to capture the beauty of the city from above. Once we reached the top, Coach Arbeznik taught us about the rich history of the basilica including: how the basilica maintains its bright appearance (calcite emitted from the travertine stone), that the basilica was a means of redeeming sins of the French in the years before, and that the largest bell in France—at over 55,000lbs—remains there.

Residing on the front of the Basilica are two statues, one honoring Joan of Arc, and the other honoring St. Louis, who purchased the crown of thorns that Jesus wore. Inside the basilica there is also one of the largest mosaics in the world.

Following the visit to the Basilica, we ventured on to find a market full of works of art made by locals of the area, a church that replaced an old temple for pagans worshipping the god Mars, and eventually we made it to La Pignatta for an Italian dinner as a team, effectively concluding the activities of our first day in Paris.