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Today was a perfect day!
The weather was superb. Kim, her mom & aunt & I headed for a long walk down the Seine to Notre Dame for 1130am mass & tour. It was a little further than we thought so we had to hoof it! It was an incredible sight when we got there! There's a huge courtyard out front w/ lots of people milling about & a loooong line to get in the church. The line went very fast though & we got in about 5 minutes after the service started. It was an international service but it was mostly all in French & I think some Latin. Get this- the woman next to me was from Lebanon, PA! Too funny.
After the service, we did the tour all around the perimeter of the church. The stained glass windows are truly awe-inspiring & impressive. Then, Kim & I stood in line for an hour to go up the bell towers!! It was SOOO worth the wait! We walked up numerous steps that led us to a gift shop. Kim & I looked at each other like, "this is IT???!" cuz we couldn't see where else to exit to go further up. Well, a guy said we have 5 minutes & then we continued on. They only let 20 people at a time, every 10 minutes to control the flow of people traffic going up & down the GAZILLION steps. :)
So we climbed on, higher & higher. Our thighs were burning! The steps were like climbing a lighthouse-extremely narrow & spiraling up & up & up. We came out onto the lookout at the 1 tower. GASP! Breathtaking!!! Panoramic views of the whole city....stunning!!! Gargoyles so close you could reach out & touch them! I asked Kim if rubbing a gargoyle would bring good luck.haha So I gave one a little back massage. Some gargoyles were cute & nonthreatening, like a stork or heron & an elephant, others were menacing. One nasty statue was devouring a small animal! But I liked the creepy ones.
As we walked around the tower, we saw 2 little dwarf doors that were open. In we walk & there were steps going up some more to the....BELL!!!! Holy Hanna-it's the biggest bell you've ever seen! I really wanted to just tap it.
Back outside, we walk around & find more steps going up. There's more??? Woowee! Yes, so we climb even higher to another lookout point on the other tower. More impressive views of the city all around.
Going back down was a lot easier!
We met up w/ the others, exchanged money & got lunch. Kim & I shared a sandwhich of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers & brie which was fantastic!!!! They made crepes too so I HAD to have one! I saw "Chocolat coco nut" & thought, "ooooooo-NUTS & chocolate!" So I had her make that one & here it was chocolate & COCONUT!! DUH!!! It was truly delicious though!!! I'm definitely getting more crepes!
From there we made our way to Il St. Louis-down a busy shopping street. Found a GEM of a chocolate shop!!
Then we made the loooooong walk back to the apt to meet John & Lisa for dinner. Tired, aching feet!!!
We rested a tad then headed back out to the closest town square & ate at Le Royale. I got a salad w/ tomatoes, warm goat cheese on toast-YUM!!!!!
So we're back here ready for bed. Tomorrow is the St. Oeun Puce -flea market!
Bon nuit~
Jes
The weather was superb. Kim, her mom & aunt & I headed for a long walk down the Seine to Notre Dame for 1130am mass & tour. It was a little further than we thought so we had to hoof it! It was an incredible sight when we got there! There's a huge courtyard out front w/ lots of people milling about & a loooong line to get in the church. The line went very fast though & we got in about 5 minutes after the service started. It was an international service but it was mostly all in French & I think some Latin. Get this- the woman next to me was from Lebanon, PA! Too funny.
After the service, we did the tour all around the perimeter of the church. The stained glass windows are truly awe-inspiring & impressive. Then, Kim & I stood in line for an hour to go up the bell towers!! It was SOOO worth the wait! We walked up numerous steps that led us to a gift shop. Kim & I looked at each other like, "this is IT???!" cuz we couldn't see where else to exit to go further up. Well, a guy said we have 5 minutes & then we continued on. They only let 20 people at a time, every 10 minutes to control the flow of people traffic going up & down the GAZILLION steps. :)
So we climbed on, higher & higher. Our thighs were burning! The steps were like climbing a lighthouse-extremely narrow & spiraling up & up & up. We came out onto the lookout at the 1 tower. GASP! Breathtaking!!! Panoramic views of the whole city....stunning!!! Gargoyles so close you could reach out & touch them! I asked Kim if rubbing a gargoyle would bring good luck.haha So I gave one a little back massage. Some gargoyles were cute & nonthreatening, like a stork or heron & an elephant, others were menacing. One nasty statue was devouring a small animal! But I liked the creepy ones.
As we walked around the tower, we saw 2 little dwarf doors that were open. In we walk & there were steps going up some more to the....BELL!!!! Holy Hanna-it's the biggest bell you've ever seen! I really wanted to just tap it.
Back outside, we walk around & find more steps going up. There's more??? Woowee! Yes, so we climb even higher to another lookout point on the other tower. More impressive views of the city all around.
Going back down was a lot easier!
We met up w/ the others, exchanged money & got lunch. Kim & I shared a sandwhich of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers & brie which was fantastic!!!! They made crepes too so I HAD to have one! I saw "Chocolat coco nut" & thought, "ooooooo-NUTS & chocolate!" So I had her make that one & here it was chocolate & COCONUT!! DUH!!! It was truly delicious though!!! I'm definitely getting more crepes!
From there we made our way to Il St. Louis-down a busy shopping street. Found a GEM of a chocolate shop!!
Then we made the loooooong walk back to the apt to meet John & Lisa for dinner. Tired, aching feet!!!
We rested a tad then headed back out to the closest town square & ate at Le Royale. I got a salad w/ tomatoes, warm goat cheese on toast-YUM!!!!!
So we're back here ready for bed. Tomorrow is the St. Oeun Puce -flea market!
Bon nuit~
Jes
1 comment:
Wow Jes! I can actually hear your squeals of excitement all the back home! You are too funny. It's great to hear you are all having such a great time and the food sounds great! You coco nut!! hahahaha
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