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This is a little late, but we've been quite busy. So day two consisted of a LOT of walking. We hit up Notre Dame, walked past the Louvre, etc.
Got a semi late start today. Initial intent was to tour Notre Dame. There were a lot more people on the streets today, partly because it's no longer raining...but still super cloudy. Street vendors are everywhere. You can buy some of their artwork (smaller pieces) for a buck or two in Euros. A lot of vendors are selling really old books and posters. I saw Mein Kampf. That was weird. We hit up a couple of landmarks before getting to Notre Dame. Those are labeled in the photo album. Notre Dame was quite busy. You have to be quiet when you enter because some people are actually worshipping despite the crowds. It was relatively dark and you aren't allowed to use a flash, so some of my pics are a bit blurry. It was very pretty and serene in there. Very crowded though. Kind of detracted from it. Interior tour was pretty quick. There was a que outside to go up the towers, which we did. My sister would have never made it.
It is like 400 steps to the top. The steps however, are in a tightly knit spiral staircase. And the higher you go the more narrow it gets. There are very few windows...so if you're prone to claustrophobia and height issues (ring a bell, Tanya?) you would be miserable. You pop out at the base of the left hand tower. It is really, really high. They have lots of protection measures in place, but it's still really high. This is where you can get your first taste of the gargoyles. You scoot across to the other tower where you can go up the bell tower and see the big bell. From that tower, you enter an even more narrow and tightly knit spiral stairwell and head up to the very top of the building. Views were amazing. I was really glad we went up there. And then you descend. The stairs are also pretty steep. So narrow, steep and very yucky. I started to get dizzy form walking in circles. Scott shot a 3 minute video of the walk down these stairs.
After that we just walked around. Made it over to the Champ Elysees area and hit up the Palaise Royale and the Tuilieres Garden and Palace. Actually saw the sun (!), walked past the Louvre and then headed home.
We have mostly been eating at places where you can point at what you want in a display case. This has been working so far. This little eatery we were at today had a lift from the basement (where the bakery was) to the main floor. So we were sitting at the table and this big bakery rack just came rising out of the floor. It was kind of neat.
We also stopped at the French version of a convenience store. The aisles were so tight that you had to walk sideways to get around. Got some fruit, water and nutella. They have nutella everywhere here. And then we walked back to the hotel.
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