The City of Lights

Today was another whirlwind day – I felt like we were in an episode of the Amazing Race. We got up early to catch the hop on/hop off bus to Notre Dame, hoping to be the first there when it opened at 10:00 am. However, we clearly chose the wrong bus today because it stopped for a minimum of 10 minutes at every stop, allowing people to trickle onboard. An hour later, we finally arrived at Notre Dame, long after it had opened. The line stretched along the cathedral, but didn’t seem too long, so we hopped in line to wait. While Sean held our place, I ran across the street to buy him a Croque Monsieur and a Nutella crepe for myself because we hadn’t yet had breakfast. Europeans either really love Nutella or they think that Americans do because it is everywhere. I had actually ordered a chocolate crepe, but apparently they are one and the same here – not really the same thing in my book since I’m not crazy about hazelnut flavoring, but it was actually quite good.

After about an hour, we made it into Notre Dame where we were corralled into another holding room to wait for about 10 minutes. The climb itself seemed easy and spacious after having climbed the Duomo in Florence. I had been really nervous about the climb because my mom had mentioned how narrow the stairs were and I had gotten claustrophobic in the Duomo. Sean said after climbing the Duomo we can now do anything – it was definitely an experience. We got almost to the top of the tower and were let out to a viewpoint to see the chimeras and gargoyles (fun fact - gargoyles have water runoffs from their mouths, chimeras are actually the freestanding “monsters” people usually call gargoyles). We waited again for about a half hour before finally being allowed up top. While the views from Notre Dame were impressive, they weren’t really any different from what we had already witnessed from the Arc de Trimphe. That said, the arc didn’t have chimeras and gargoyles, and that part made the climb and the time standing in line well worth it.

Climbing back on the hop on/hop off bus, we made our way to the Musee d'Orsay to take in the artwork from some of the classics – Gauguin, Monet, Renoir, and my personal favorite, Seurat. The Musee d'Orsay is a lot more manageable in size than the Louvre and we enjoyed our time visiting old favorites and discovering new ones. Below is a picture I really liked – quite dark, but something about it intrigued me. I was able to snap a few photos before being reprimanded for taking pictures in the museum. I had seen others doing the same, so I didn’t think anything of it, especially since it had been allowed in the Louvre. Both Sean and I really enjoyed our time in the museum and loved a lot of the artwork we viewed.

Leaving to visit the Pont Des Arts or “Lock Bridge”, we walked along the Seine past the art vendors and book dealers, soaking up the afternoon sun. We purchased a lock from one of the vendors and wrote our names and the date on it. Then we scoped out the best real estate before committing to a permanent location for our “lock of love.” We locked it up, snapped a few photos, then threw all three keys down into the Seine, ensuring the longevity of our marriage and hopefully providing a fun scavenger hunt for us (or our kids) when we return in the future. I was left wondering though how many keys are now sitting at the bottom of the Seine...

Returning to the pickup for the hop on/hop off bus tour, we made our way back to the first pickup site, hoping to catch the connecting bus to Montmartre. Unfortunately we arrived too late, and were way out of walking distance from our hotel. I was disappointed to have missed out on visiting Montmartre, but we decided to continue along the original bus line and go back to the Champs Elysees for dinner. After a full day, we made it back to our hotel around 8:30 pm and got some items together for a dessert picnic (plastic wine glasses, a bottle of wine, blankets, and of course, dessert). Each night the Eiffel Tower has a light show every hour on the hour for five minutes and we hadn’t had a chance to witness it yet. Gathering up our items, we walked the short distance to Champs de Mars Park and set up camp on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower, along with multiple other families, friends, and couples. The family in front of us was playing charades, so Sean and I watched and tried guessing (between ourselves) while we indulged in our goodies.

At 10:00 pm the first light show started, but it was still too light out and we wanted to see the full magnitude of the display once the sky was dark (the sun hasn’t been setting until around 10:30 all over Europe – it has been a nice treat). We cuddled up under our blanket and I fell asleep for a while. Sean woke me up about 5 minutes before the next show and we poured ourselves another glass of wine. The Eiffel Tower light display is quite the sight to see once the sun has gone down – it is beautiful. The evening was the perfect way to wrap up our last night in Paris and say goodbye to the City of Lights.