Fortnight in Paris - Notre Dame

We did so many things in Paris, that I have far more pictures than anyone would like to see!  We took a boat tour, Bateaux Mouches, which was lots of fun, but we saw a lot of the same sights we saw on the bus tour, just a different angle.  So we will skip that part of the trip, and continue on.

The second day of our bus tour, we just mainly used the bus for transportation.  And, of course, it rained most of the day!  We started out visiting Notre Dame.  There is a lot of construction going on there, so the front area looked really different to us this time.  We were trying to recreate some of the pictures that we took last time (since we no longer have the pictures due to the computer being stolen before iCloud).  So, here is the entrance area to Notre Dame.

                               

You can't visit Notre Dame and not take a picture of Point Zero.   This spot is considered to be the official center of the city of Paris.   So here is our version of the typical picture.

Notre Dame does not need any commentary from me.  I will just share a few pictures and let you try to soak it all in.  It really is very large.  There was not a worship service going on when we were there.  And best of all, it is free to visit.

The main area in front of the altar.

The remaining pictures are starting from the right side of the entrance and going around the perimeter.  It is beautiful.

It stopped raining while we were inside.  We walked around the outside of Notre Dame.  On one side of it, toward the Seine, there is a little park and garden area.  Looked like a fun place to play.

Okay, by now we were hungry.  I will say there is never a shortage of restaurants in Paris!  I do not know what attracted us to this restaurant, other than it was close by and you could sit outside under an awning, because it started raining again!  Now I know the temperature went down because of the rain, but every Parisian we saw was dressed like it was winter in Texas.  I did not have a jacket, and Mike only had one because it was raining.  

So, we ordered.  Mike wanted a large Coca Light.  And when it came out, it had a big firecracker type sparkler on it!  It was really fancy!

We decided to share a potato, bacon, and egg casserole, served in the cute pan below.  I had my usual cafe au lait.  It was a truly wonderful meal.  I took a picture of the card so I can remember the cafe name and go back there next time!

We then wandered back to Notre Dame and walked behind it to The Memorial for the Deported Martyrs.  This is a memorial to the 200,000 deported from Vichy France to Nazi Concentration camps during the Second World War.  It is a very solemn site.  There was a French guard of some type at the entrance.  He and Mike exchanged a few words in French -- and understood each other!  It is a small area, and I only have one picture of it.  You had to walk down some serious steep steps to see this.  There was an outer courtyard, and then you entered this area.

Along both sides of the narrow tunnel, there are 200,000 crystals, symbolizing the 200,000 deportees, with a single light at the end.  The area we were standing in also had prison cells in it.

Notre Dame is on the Ile de la Cite.  And pardon me for not putting in the accents, but how to do that has escaped me at the moment.  You cross over a bridge near the Memorial to get to the Isle St Louis.  This is an island in the middle of the Seine - where Paris started.  We wandered around the streets, which are quite quaint, looked in the shops, and kept an eye out for Johnny Depp, who has a home here.  Alas, we did not see Johnny or his home.  However, we did stop for some ice cream at Berthillion's, claimed to be the best ice cream in Paris.

The ice cream was quite yummy.  Apparently it costs more if you sit down at one of the tables outside.  We decided to just take our ice cream and wander the streets while we ate it.  We stopped by a bridge to finish, and I think that is where we lost the umbrella.  

After that, we wandered over to Shakepeare and company, and around that area.  Since it had been raining, none of the local artists were out displaying there wares.

This site was in the movie Midnight in Paris. We did visit this last time we were in Paris, too.  Has not changed.  Still fun, though!

The rest of the day is a blur.  We took the tour bus back,and guess what...we had dinner at the Hard Rock cafe one last time!!  After a long day of walking, the unlimited refills hooked us...

"Go inspect the city of Jerusalem.

Walk around and count the many towers."

Psalm 48:12