Bonjour from the heart of Paris! We arrived in the city of light yesterday afternoon after a long and tiring train day. We were grateful that taxi ride to our accommodation for the next few days, was short! We opted to stay in a B&B for our time in Paris and it's really lovely.
Carol, our host, is British but has been living here for 13 years so knows the ins and outs of the city and of course it's nice to have an English speaking host! Her B&B is on the third floor (no lift) of an apartment building overlooking a busy street near Notre Dame. The place is decked out in everything Parisian and the breakfast this morning was something else. So many pastries - it's a good thing we're walking several kilometres a day!
We took advantage of our close proximity to the famous Notre Dame cathedral last night and took a stroll to check it out. It was late in the day and many people were going inside for evening mass. It's just huge inside and a very impressive building. We wondered what an earth was going on when men in suits started ushering everyone to the sides of the building. We were making way for the procession! Mass was about to start and the priest was making his grand entrance. It was quite a sight to see - a young boy swinging his incense followed by a few other holy men carrying golden encrusted bibles and of course the priest. I was more excited by the organ and the choir!
Today, after Carol's huge breakfast, we set out for a day in the city. We started at Saint Chapelle and after a half hour wait in the queue to get in, were rewarded with the sight of the beautiful stained glass windows that line the cathedral. Shannon was great at working out the bus system and we used it quite a bit. Although the metro is just as easy, we figured we'd see a bit more of the place on a bus. We went to a place called 'The Paris Story'. It was basically just a documentary about Paris and was built up to be something that it just wasn't -disappointing. After a quick lunch we headed for Arc De Triomphe for the views from the top. We did this on our last trip and I had forgotten (or maybe repressed the bad memory) the gruelling climb to the top. Step after step after step. Haha! It's all worth it of course when you get to the top and have uninterrupted views over the whole city.
We then took a river cruise on the Seine for a different perspective of the city and of course ended up at the Eiffel Tower. We will visit it properly Wednesday. I never get sick of staring at this beautiful monument. After quite the full day we decided to head back to our B&B for a while before dinner. We were getting tired after hours of walking. We found a bus and got on only to discover we were to be squished in like sardines - literally. You could not move on the bus and it got too much, we had to get off! We eventually made it back via the metro and found a Brasserie for dinner. It was mostly nice although my so called burger was practically raw. Apparently medium in Paris means cooked for 5 seconds on each side, I'd hate to see what rare looks like! What better way to finish a crazy, but wonderful day in Paris, than with a chocolate crepe fresh off the pan? Delicious!
Carol, our host, is British but has been living here for 13 years so knows the ins and outs of the city and of course it's nice to have an English speaking host! Her B&B is on the third floor (no lift) of an apartment building overlooking a busy street near Notre Dame. The place is decked out in everything Parisian and the breakfast this morning was something else. So many pastries - it's a good thing we're walking several kilometres a day!
We took advantage of our close proximity to the famous Notre Dame cathedral last night and took a stroll to check it out. It was late in the day and many people were going inside for evening mass. It's just huge inside and a very impressive building. We wondered what an earth was going on when men in suits started ushering everyone to the sides of the building. We were making way for the procession! Mass was about to start and the priest was making his grand entrance. It was quite a sight to see - a young boy swinging his incense followed by a few other holy men carrying golden encrusted bibles and of course the priest. I was more excited by the organ and the choir!
Today, after Carol's huge breakfast, we set out for a day in the city. We started at Saint Chapelle and after a half hour wait in the queue to get in, were rewarded with the sight of the beautiful stained glass windows that line the cathedral. Shannon was great at working out the bus system and we used it quite a bit. Although the metro is just as easy, we figured we'd see a bit more of the place on a bus. We went to a place called 'The Paris Story'. It was basically just a documentary about Paris and was built up to be something that it just wasn't -disappointing. After a quick lunch we headed for Arc De Triomphe for the views from the top. We did this on our last trip and I had forgotten (or maybe repressed the bad memory) the gruelling climb to the top. Step after step after step. Haha! It's all worth it of course when you get to the top and have uninterrupted views over the whole city.
We then took a river cruise on the Seine for a different perspective of the city and of course ended up at the Eiffel Tower. We will visit it properly Wednesday. I never get sick of staring at this beautiful monument. After quite the full day we decided to head back to our B&B for a while before dinner. We were getting tired after hours of walking. We found a bus and got on only to discover we were to be squished in like sardines - literally. You could not move on the bus and it got too much, we had to get off! We eventually made it back via the metro and found a Brasserie for dinner. It was mostly nice although my so called burger was practically raw. Apparently medium in Paris means cooked for 5 seconds on each side, I'd hate to see what rare looks like! What better way to finish a crazy, but wonderful day in Paris, than with a chocolate crepe fresh off the pan? Delicious!
Random man playing the saxophone on the train...
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