Day 5: Paris

Sorry for another delay in posting. We are all feeling the burn of almost a full week of nonstop traveling and sightseeing!

On our first morning in Paris, we slept in a bit, then got up and dressed enough for breakfast, which was served downstairs in the hotel restaurant. Now, this is no tiny boxed cereal and make-your-own-waffles Marriot breakfast. They serve the standard hot breakfast fare (eggs, sausages, bacon) and a whole array of fruits and vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, potato cakes, fresh squeezed juices, cheeses and of course, a massive table full of fresh pastries. And it is all just so good.

After breakfast, we took a boat tour of Paris, seeing the sights from the Seine. The river is beautiful and really, I think, the best way to see the city. We passed under what felt like a million bridges, each one of different design, and passed old boats and new, modern buildings and waved at Parisians as they waved at us. Really, though. I heard so much about the French being standoffish and rude to visitors, but we have had nothing but good experiences with everyone we’ve met. The Parisians have been, overall, exceedingly kind and accommodating, both one-on-one and from the banks of the Seine.

 

We got lunch at a little back-alley sandwich shop on our way to our next stop, Notre Dame, which proved to be an interesting experience. We went inside the cathedral first, which was, of course, incredibly beautiful, but it lacked the calm of St. Paul’s and Westminster. As we reflected on the experience later that day, we agreed that there was an urgency to the place, somewhere between the souvenir vendors and the masses of chattering, picture-taking tourists. I’m certainly glad we went inside, but instead of feeling inspired at the end of the tour, I was mostly just ready to leave.

Unfortunately, since it was so dark inside, I couldn’t get a lot of great pictures of the vaulted ceilings, but they were incredible. The stained glass windows, particularly in the side chapels, were also lovely and much easier to photograph.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we were faced with a choice. We could move on with our day or we could wait in line and climb the 387 steps to the top of Notre Dame. Obviously, we decided to make the climb. The first set of steps took us to the gift shop, the next to the belfry, and the final set of very narrow spiral steps took us to the top of the tower, where we had a panoramic view of the entirety of Paris.

The trip down was dizzying, so we took a few minutes’ stroll down to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which is a famous English-language bookstore in L'île Saint-Louis. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, which is a shame because it is beautiful. It’s stacked floor to ceiling with books, vintage, contemporary, new and used. Naturally, Matt was over the moon, so we spent some time thumbing through books, browsing the shelves, and reveling in the little English-language oasis in the middle of a sea of French.
 

 
After the bookshop, we spent the evening strolling around the island, grabbing a bite to eat and soaking up our little slice of the Friday night we shared with Paris.