It's only Monday and I feel like I've seen Paris from top to bottom, literally! We've done a boat tour along the Seine and have successfully navigated our way throughout the Metropolitan (subway) and today we climbed the estimated 400 steps to the top of Notre Dame! So far we have had beautiful weather but this mornings started out cloudy and cool. We bundled up and made our way to ND and got in the queu (I'm trying to use my new British terms) aka line. The wait wasn't too bad and an hour later and one new British friend named Scott it was finally our turn!
The staircase was very narrow with slippery, well worn stairs and every once it gave you a sneak peek out skinny little windows of the view to come. Once we reached the top it was hard to catch your breath because the view was breathtaking! Your first view is through two gargoyles perfectly framing the Eiffel tower. It was still a bit cloudy but definitely starting to clear up. The gargoyles were so unique! The most perplexing was the elephant. There must be a story behind that. We took several silly gargoyle like photos and even got our stuffy new British friend to do it too! We met a few other Americans at the top and all took turns taking pictures. There was a very small door with even smaller stairs that led into the bell tower and Scott ( doing was boys do) smacked the bell! We climbed a little higher up onto another deck and the sun fully came out so I took a lot more pictures.
By this point I practically had learned Scott's life story (you know me and strangers, I should probably wear a sign that says "beware I like to talk") and he seemed like a nice chap so as we twisted our way down all the steps and he asked when I'd be back in London and if I'd like to meet up I agreed! Now will it actually happen? Who knows but c'mon, how fun is it to say that I met a guy in Paris while climbing Notre Dame and he wants to see me back in London before he goes back to work in Singapore (he's one of those rich banking guys!).
Our next stop of the day was to get the REAL BERTHILLON, only to get there and find that it's closed! We found a nearby cafe and dined on croque Madames then walked a few shops down to get some glaces (ice cream). We then metroed over to the Arc de Triumph, which is surrounded by one of those crazy traffic circles and there seems to be no order at all. It really amazes me the people on motorcycles taking their life in their hands...and even worse the occasional bicyclist braving these crazy roads without helmets on! We walked all the way down the Champs Elysse and window shopped at the big names and popped in a few more affordable shops. My favorite stop along the champs Elysee was at Laduree, birthplace of the macaron. It was SO cute and the delicacies were delicious. We found a street cafe and had our first champagne. We were quite classy, mixing with the elite luxury shoppers.
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