This morning we walked across Pont Neuf onto the Ile de la Cite to see the Notre Dame Cathedral. It is a beautiful church with intricate stained glass windows, the height of the ceiling seems to go on forever and there is so much history woven into all of it. There are so many chapels inside the cathedral itself, my favorite being the chapel for students. It was a beautiful place to walk around for a while.

We moved underground next, down into the crypts where we were able to see firsthand the beginnings of Paris - the Ile de la Cite was seen as the best defendable site by the settlers of Paris - and remnants of them and others afterwards can be seen in the land excavated under the Notre Dame and square in front of it. It was a fantastic way to follow the history of Paris from it's very beginnings.

In the afternoon we visited the Musee Dorsay and enjoyed the works of talented artists of the impressionist and post-impressionist movements. The paintings were amazing, with some portraits just like photographs in their ability to capture their subjects expressions. The use of colour and depth and the representation of landscapes was wonderful and we've definitely picked up some new favorite artists.

Tonight we had a fantastic dinner at Le Train Bleu, a famous restaurant dating back to 1900 inside Gare de Lyon. The ceilings are painted with scenes from across France and the world and are just spectacular. The waiters are all serious and there is the clear old fashioned hierarchy. The food was wonderful too, with Tom and I having our roast lamb carved in front of us at the table. It was a very special night and we ended it with a lovely walk through the Marais district over to the Bastille monument and down to St Paul. A more relaxed day but a very good one.