Day 7

I started my day much the same as I did in the previous hotel. Prepaid for the breakfast. It was a little more than the hotel in Amsterdam but the tourism taxes are much less in Paris.

My plan for today was to see the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. While in the area I has a reserved time to see Sainte-Chapelle. Naturally, I was early for my reserved time. So, I thought I’d scout out Notre-Dame and see what the process is to get in there later. Notre-Dame has is own app for scheduling visits. Because it is so popular for tourists, it is recommended that you reserve a time slot to visit. I never was able to get the app to work for me. So, I was hoping I'd catch a lull and get in anyway. I found my way through the metro and walked a little ways to get to Notre-Dame.

Crossing La Seine River

As I walked up the the Notre-Dame Cathedral, I remembered studying the architecture in my engineering classes years ago. I told myself then this was one of my bucket list places to visit. It is amazing!

So today's blog is going to be mainly pictures. I think the pictures will describe themselves. I saw a line had formed already with people eager to get in waiting for it to open. I decided to view the engineering marvel by walking around the cathedral.

There is obviously still a lot of restoration going on from the fire. But, I'm glad it is open again to the public.

By the time I walked back around to the front, it was open and the line was very small moving fast! I saw I still had about another hour for my reserved time for the other cathedral. So, I decided to get in line while the getting was good.

These pictures do not offer a real sense of how massive it really is. I took a whole lot of pictures inside. I will try to share a few of them here to give you an idea of what it is like inside. I recommend putting this on your personal bucket list to see it for yourself.

That was a wonderful experience. I finished with plenty of time to get to my reserved time at Sainte-Chapelle. I arrived to get in line just before they started letting my group time in.

My travel agent had recommended this place of interest to visit while in Paris. This is the Cathedral that was used by the French royalty when they used the palace in the city. There is a lot of information how the Cathedral had be changed throughout the years. Again, I believe the pictures will tell the story.

There is a tricky spiral staircase to climb to get up to the main sanctuary. But it is well worth it.

Since I was able to get into the Notre-Dame earlier, I was way ahead of my planned itinerary for the day. Next to Sainte-Chapelle is the Conciergerie. I did not know what this was but I decided to check it out. There is a museum pass that you can purchase during your stay in Paris that gives you entry into almost all the museums and historic places in and around the city. I highly recommend its purchase.

The Conciergerie is part of the city palace. It had several uses one of which were holding cells for individuals put on trial during the French Revolution between 1789-1799. One of which was Marie Antoinette. This is where she was held, tried and taken away to the guillotine.

I love history and to read all about it. This place offers the best way of learning about the French Revolution. They give you a tablet that you use throughout the museum. After pointing the tablet at designated points you hold up the tablet to view what the now empty hall, looked like during thier periods of use. Very informative. Here are some other pictures of the inside.

This is the room where they cut back your hair before taking you away to the guillotine.

The court yard where prisoners were let out during the day awaiting their fate.

Since the weather was still nice and storms expected for the afternoon, I decided to walk back to the hotel and see more of the city.

I came upon the Louvre. This is another place that recommends scheduling a visit time. I have my scheduled for tomorrow, but I thought I’d check out the outside.

The lines do not look long here either. I shouldn't have any trouble tomorrow getting in I should hope.

I wanted to make sure that while I was in Paris, I enjoy a good meal. I asked the front desk for a recommendation and they made me reservations at Flottes.

Very good food and not too expensive. I had the tuna steak with spinach. The bread is so good here in Paris. For desert crème brûlèe.

Then it was off to my designated time slot for the Arc de Triomphe. This is the tunnel you take under the craziest traffic circle I’ve ever seen. I took video of the madness, but I’m unable to post videos here. I’ll try to post a reel on Instagram.

This monument is huge. I had no idea it was going to be this big. I was simply overwhelmed for a few minutes taking it all in.

The craftsmanship is amazing. And if I read the information placks correctly, it was built in three years!

This has another spiral staircase, but you better have eaten your Weaties for this one. There’s a total of 287 steps to the terrace! I shouldn't have had the crème brûlèe

The view is worth every step. I arrived right at sunset and took some pretty nice photos I think

I obviously appeared to be struggling with a selfie, because someone offered to take a picture of me.

This is probably the most popular time to come up because the “city of lights” comes to life!

I unfortunately diquit. have time to wait for night fall, because I had one more place to check off.

I decided to pass on the dinner and show. It cost about €100. And that’s not including wine or anything. But, it was always on my list to see. It was easy enough to get to my metro.

It was starting to get late and I have a full day planned for tomorrow. So, back underground for the ride back to the hotel.

Looks like everyone else has the same idea. Until tomorrow. Bonne nuit.