Paris - Day 2

Today we awoke to a pleasant April shower which was perfect because we were headed to an outdoor art show. Everyone knows paintings do well when they are wet. We braved the weather and headed over to the show. The art was amazing and was extremely varied. There were paintings, sculptures, hand made hats and some weird erotic art. Kinda bizarre but such is Paris. We found an artist the we all really liked and we bargained with him on some paintings. He asked where we were from and we said Jacksonville to which he replied "Ah Monsieur Sisk". Apparently Mr. Sisk is a legend in this town.

M who has become our unofficial (or official in his mind) tour guide planned a nice walk from the apartment down to Notre Dame through the Luxembourg Gardens. The best part about his plan was it was raining. But you cant see the sites form the Metro so walk we did. The Gardens are amazing with fountains and statues everywhere. They say that when the weather is beautiful the gardens are packed with people picnicking and playing boules, football and rugby.

Our next stop was Notre Dame. It is massive Church and very impressive. The first thing that everyone does when they come up to Notre Dame is take pictures with the Church in the background. So that is what we did. We took pictures of M and K and they took pictures of us. We even took pictures of people we didn't know and helped them take pictures of people they didn't know. We were all just sitting there taking pictures when we realised we better move on our we would be caught in this picture taking cycle forever.

M, our fearless leader scoped out the line for the bell tower. M and I stood there in the rain while J and K went to a cafe and ate a sandwich. Does that sound funny to anyone else but me? We finally got to the ticket lady and paid our 7.50 euros (you don't even want to know what that is in American Dollars) and started up the spiral steps. We went up the steps and we went up the steps and then we went up the steps some more. I thought I saw a man administering oxygen at one point during the climb. Sir Edmund Hillary would have had trouble with this climb. We kept thinking 80% of America couldnt make it up these steps and then we realized 80% of Americans couldnt have even fit in the narrow stairwell to begin with. Alas the top came and after our bodies aclimated it was a beautiful sight.

After the decent which was a little easier but very similar to a 45 min merry-go-round ride, we went in the Church. Notre Dame is absolutely stunning. It is exactly what you would imagine a medieval church would be like. Truly amazing. The only problem is all of the people in there talking and taking pictures. There are signs outside and on the doors that say in every language imaginable and some you couldn't imagine to shut up and put your cameras away. But when you walk in it is like a Disco Party with the flashing and all the talking. Bizarre and a little annoying.

After leaving Notre Dame we went to eat at a quaint little restaurant called Quasimodo. You get it? Quasimodo. Those darn french and their sense of humor. Food was good, it was a little more touristy but after our climbing expedition it hit the spot.

On our way to the metro we passed an Irish bar and couldn't help but to stop in for some Guinness and English conversation. The power of the Guinness should never be underestimated.

CE

For pictures of our second day click here