I was fortunate to start my day today with a familiar face. Natalie's friend Christie arrived in Paris this morning, and we'd made plans for her to come to the apartment and spend the night, so we could travel to the wedding together the next day. Christie arrived around 9am, and since she was a little tired from her flights, she stayed back to rest and shower while I headed out.
My first stop was Notre Dame cathedral, a short walk from the apartment. For 10 euros they let you climb a steep, tight, stone spiral staircase to the top, and then walk out across the walkway at the front of the building. The stairs were challenging, but the view was well worth it:
One of the tower's famous gargoyles; can you see the Eiffel Tower in the background?
View in the other direction. The building I'm staying in is one of the ones on the island behind me. (Selfie assessment: meh. I'm sorta making a face, but hopefully the amazing view behind me distracts from this fact, and also that the view is crooked.)
One of the gigantic bells in the bell tower. (Selfie assessment: wish I could have taken this at an angle which actually captured the size of the bell, instead of just highlighting my very sweaty face.)
After walking across the walkway, people were corralled and released in groups. It took me a moment to figure out what the hold up was. It was not to limit the number of people going down at a time, but rather to limit the people going up. As in, where we were standing on the walkway, we were only halfway up.
I was feeling pretty winded and maybe** a little dehydrated, so I briefly considered skipping this and just going down, but when am I going to get this opportunity again?! So, huffing and puffing, I went. I'm glad I did and I wish I had taken some better pictures from the top to share, but sadly you'll just have to take my word for it that it was awesome.
After the morning's ascent I felt that I probably owed myself a little treat, and also was quite thirsty, so it was convenient that I had a lunch reservation to get to. On the fantastic advice of my sister-in-law, I'd be dining at Angelina, a restaurant that opened in 1903, and which is known for its hot chocolate. Spoiler alert- it was much too hot for hot chocolate. Luckily everything else on their menu was equally delicious. I had quiche lorraine and their signature dessert, the Mont Blanc-
The brown stuff on the outside tasted a little weird, but the white creamy buttery goodness on the inside was to die for.
Next on the schedule was another ascent, but thankfully this one had an elevator. Thanks to my diligence of waking up in the middle of the night not once but twice a few months ago, I had a 1:30pm ticket to the Eiffel Tower summit.
View of Eiffel Tower from...hmm...I'm going to go with Champ de Mars, though I cannot be 100% certain.
Getting to the top of the tower requires two separate (hot, sweaty & jam-packed) elevator rides, which I kind of remember from 1994. What I don't remember from 1994, possibly because it wasn't there and possibly because I was underage, was the champagne bar at the top. So I felt like I should partake in that, you know, just to get the full experience.
(Selfie assessment: dare I say- I actually like this one? Smiling- check, looking at camera- check, champagne glass visible- check, background scenery straight- ...sigh)
It was time for a little break and some water, so I made my way back to the apartment. Christie had gotten settled in and then gone out to do a little exploring of her own, so together we reviewed our mornings and remarked on the temperature. Not ones to let a little minor heatstroke slow us down, we pressed on.
Next stop was Sainte Chappelle, which I gather was the former personal chapel of King Louie some-number-or-other. I am not the history buff in the family, I am the photography buff in the family, and yet my skills don't begin to do justice to this breathtakingly beautiful space.
I mean like literally, breathtaking. I walked in and just whispered "whoa" and then my jaw fell open.
The one other thing I really wanted to see in Paris, which I had not seen previously, was the Sacre Couer cathedral in the Montmartre district. Though nothing in Paris is terribly far, Montmartre is a bit out of the center of the city. Scare Couer is one of Paris's "newer" cathedrals, having been completed in 1919.
Montmartre is known to be quite hilly, and in fact the site for the Sacre Couer was selected so it could be seen above the other points in Paris. We walked uphill for a few blocks, and then blessedly rode the funicular up the rest of the way, because I'd had enough climbing for one day. You can climb to the top of the Sacre Couer's dome, which is 300 steps up and is supposed to have a fabulous view of the city, but frankly, how many fabulous views did I need in one day? My legs were exhausted; they needed some sitting. I told Christie I'd wait for her if she wanted to do it, but somehow she resisted the urge as well.
Instead, we joined several of the locals in sitting on the steps in front, and just looked out over the city, and chatted, and watched the world go by. We were in the shade and getting a little breeze, and, along with all the Parisians sitting nearby, it seemed like the perfect thing to do.
(Selfie assessment: again pretty good, so chances are Christie took this one.)
When we got hungry we walked back down the hill and found a cafe for dinner. Well, dinner and a show. At all of the outdoor cafes in Paris, the seats at the tables are not across from each other, but rather next to each other, and facing the street, so you can see and be seen***. It was a quintessential Parisian experience, right down to the people smoking behind us and the waiter suggesting the snails as an appetizer. We skipped the smoking but I'm proud to say we tried the snails!
The snails had the consistency of mushrooms and were smothered in garlic butter. Would eat again.
Last stop on the whirlwind day in Paris- back to the Eiffel Tower, to see it all lit up for the evening. This time we went to the Place du Trocadero, which afforded us these incredible views:
As the sun was setting****
When they turned the sparkle lights on
And with that, our long, hot day has ended, now it's time to get some sleep before we travel to Sancerre tomorrow!
*Like, the kind of hot where you're walking around the city, sweating, and thinking you'd do anything for a bubbler, but the French don't seem to believe in this basic city infrastructure, so instead you'd pay upwards of 5 euros- okay make it 10- for a bottle of water, and yet none of the enterprising souls who were out last night trying to sell you one are anywhere to be found. So you think, oh good, I need to take the Metro next, it will be cooler underground. And it is...until you get in the subway car, with hundreds of other sweltering Parisians and tourists and saxophone players, and you're smashed so tightly you're not sure if the bead of sweat on your arm came from you or the next guy. Ew. And then you get out and walk up 5 flights of stairs to your super-cute apartment and remember the bottle of water in your mini-fridge, and you smile through the heavy breathing because you know that everything will be fine after all.
**Definitely
***Not like I was in any condition to be seen.
****Picture was snapped at 10:24pm. Feel like I was pretty lucky to be there on one of the longest days of the year.
Beth, I love this! Especially the selfie commentary. Can't wait for the next one!
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