One of the first things we did when we arrived was a little grocery shopping (I think more because we miss doing it than that we really needed anything).
We had a lot to pack into two days, so bright and semi-early on Sunday we headed out for the Musee D'Orsay. It is an art museum and houses one of the more impressive collections of impressionist work.
Over the course of this trip, we have become quite adept at understanding and navigating subway systems. The order in which we tackled them, though, helped. London is relatively simple and organized in a basically circular pattern around the city (kind of like how the freeways in orange county loosely form a ring). In Rome, we had the disadvantage that we could not read much of anything, but there were only 2 lines and they form an X across the city. In Paris, I think they way they planned the map was by taking a handful of spaghetti and dropping it onto a map of Paris, and then they built metro lines wherever the noodles fell.
This combined with the fact that most maps do have the tourist attractions marked, but they are just tiny cartoons of buildings plopped somewhat near their actual locations, made for a little wandering. We knew what metro station to stop at, but did not know the actually street that things were on. Happily, Paris is a beautiful city for such wandering, and the weather was PERFECT.
We often used the Seine as our point of orientation. On sunday, it was pretty calm, though there were several joggers and cyclists.
When we finally found the museum, we bought passes that let us go into almost all the major museums. If you only have a few days in Paris but you want to hit several different museums, I highly recommend it. As long as you go to at least 4, it's the cheaper, easier option.
You are not allowed to take pictures inside this one (though you'll see that I broke that rule just a little) but you could outside the balcony on the 5th floor.
Dane is the silhouette on the far right. This building used to be a train station and has two large clocks that face the river. This is one of them from the inside.
And this is the main hall inside. Off either side of this hall are galleries of paintings, sculptures, and photographs. My favorites are the impressionists (especially Monet, Sisley, and Degas), but Dane liked some of the naturalist paintings better. I love that my husband is willing and enjoys going to art galleries.
Out in front of the museum are these cute statues of animals.
And apparently there is a thing about putting a lock on the bridge. Both sides of the bridge were covered with locks, but I think they are all from this year. I didn't see anything other than 2012, and there's no way there would still be room if they weren't cut off each year.
We had coffee instead of ice cream, but I made us walk in the footsteps of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn down the river. It's just as well because Dane wouldn't want ice cream all over his shirt anyway.
Notre Dame, just in case it's not clear.
Another couple asked us to take their picture, so we did the same.
Can you see all the carvings in the arches? It's impressive to me how much Disney got the cathedral right in Hunchback. The spires at the top were also remarkably accurate.
Before we went in, we walked around the outside looking for an archeological museum that we had heard about. All down one side is a park with gardens and playgrounds.
So many things I like about this picture: Dane double fisting the coffee, my purse on his shoulder, and the cathedral is pretty cool as well.
We also loved the gargoyles down the side. This sidewalk is where we stood in line for an hour a little later in the afternoon to wait to go up to the bell tower. During that time we had the most amazing chicken and cheese crepe ever.
The archeological museum is of ruins that were excavated below the square in front of Notre Dame. Here is a model.
And here is Dane next to 1000 year old city structures. Well, that arch is probably only about 700 years old, actually.
After the crypt (that's what they called it, but there were no tombs or skeletons...kind of disappointing, really), we went into the cathedral itself. The line to get in was 60 yards or so, but moved incredibly fast (there were no tickets, just a single doorway). It was such a nice feeling to know that there wasn't a mob at the door that would prevent the line from ever moving forward. I am quite impressed by the guy in the purple shirt here: he managed to photobomb in such a way that it makes it look like Dane is actually the one sneaking into this picture.
Photos were allowed! But as the light was low, the pictures are a little grainy. It was much like Westminster abbey in architecture (at least to our layman's understanding) though there were only a handful of tombs.
There were several beautiful stained glass windows.
And I can't remember if this is a tomb or a memorial, but it honors Joan of Arc.
Down the center there were elaborately carved panels that depict various Bible stories. These show various appearances of Christ after the resurrection.
This is a style of chandelier that they call of a crown of light. It has candles and small oil lanterns on it. I don't know why it's on the ground.
The main circle of stained glass. This is a common cathedral design in France.
This is the view from the back. Again, sorry about the graininess. It was so beautiful to see it from the back.
As we were walking out, we saw this! I thought Disneyland had been so original in the Haunted mansion. Nope. This seems creepier.
Ok, so the million steps. We climbed the bell tower of Notre Dame. It was approximately 400 steps to the top. There were a few places to stop at landings, but it was killer.
All of the steps were in spiral staircases going up the tower. You can't see it in the picture, but every step has a pronounced groove from people walking. It's really cool and unnecessarily adding complication to walking up the steps.
This was the first level we stopped at. If you're looking at a picture of the whole front, this is the level the goes across the entire front between the two towers.
It is hard to take pictures because of the safety cables, but they are probably a good idea. They certainly made Dane feel better. He loved this, but it was a little anxiety inducing for him.
Love the gargoyles!
The walkway around the top was extremely narrow! I am wedged between the wall and the railing here.
Right before Dane took this picture he looked down and went pale. So I laughed.
Look! Can't you see Quasimodo jumping up that spire?
Grrrr.
Time to go meet the bells! This door was tiny, and partially obstructed on the other side. It was like a yoga routine to get inside.
How helpful.
This is the largest bell. Its name (because all of the bells have actually been christened) is emmanuel. It weighs something like 13,000 tons and took 16 men to ring it. It is only rung on special occasions. I'm not sure what constitutes a special occasion.
Then it was up yet another flight of stairs to the very TOP! You are only allowed to stay up for 5 minutes, and it is incredible! You can see so much.
So high!
I love it so much.
After Notre Dame, we headed to the Concergerie, which was the palace and prison in Paris. Marie Antoinette and Robespierre were both imprisoned here before they were executed. This is a guillotine blade that was used to execute a famous murderer.
A letter from Robespierre, who was basically responsible for 2,400 executions during his reign of terror after the French revolution.
This is a bakery the Giada Delaurentis featured on her show. I just wanted to find it and grab some bread to take to the river to eat with cheese and wine.
We did get bread, but then we still needed cheese and wine. Unfortunately, at 6 on a Sunday afternoon, there are no grocery stores open. What wound up happening was that we wandered around for a while, took some pictures, and then decided to try again tomorrow.
I did find my future Paris apartment, though. :) Right here, 5 minutes from the eiffel tower and poilane bakery.
Our first real, up-close view. When it was first built, Parisians thought it was hideous and wanted it torn down. It's funny to think about that now because it's so iconic.
We gave up on an Eiffel tower picnics because we were exhausted. We got almost no sleep the night before because our hotel is in a bit of a nightlife district and noise just bounces down the tall buildings. So we headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. Dane made it through part of a piece of bread before he passed out.
While he was sleeping, I took a picture out the window. I have to do it when he's not watching because he panics when I have the iPad near high places.
Since our hotel was so close, we strolled down to see the famous windmill. We did not go in. :)
For dinner, we wanted something with vegetables. What we got was a 'salad' that had five pieces of lettuce and an amazing goat cheese toast. I do not know how french people are so skinny. All they eat is cheese and bread.
We went with something a little different for dinner; it was a restaurant that specializes in mussels. We ordered way too much food. We should have stuck with one pot. The sauces were delicious, and while I think we won't order mussels again for a while, it was tasty and fun.
Almost finished! You know how with sushi you reach a point where you are just done and couldn't possibly eat another piece somewhat suddenly? The same thing happens with mussels.
After dinner, it was back to the hotel to rest before another full day tomorrow.
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