I was going to have a lay day today as I should have been going to CouchSurf in Saint-Pierre des Corp in the Loire Valley, but after a meltdown last night when I surfed the net to arrange my transport to Cinque Terre (which didn't look that far on a map) and discovered that I'd either need to take a seventeen hour overnight train journey, changing trains three times or get back to Paris (a two hour train trip from Saint-Pierre des Corp) then a one and a quarter hour bus trip to Beauvais airport to catch a flight at 8:30am Sunday morning. I decided I wasn't up for this big a challenge. Hayley was great, telling me "It'll be OK Mum, the overnight train trip is doable but as you don't sleep very well at the best of times, maybe not for you." She looked at alternatives as I sat on the stairs of the hostel (to get an internet connection, as there wasn't room anywhere else) a quivering mess, not knowing what to do. Our roles had been reversed, I'd become the child and she the parent…when had she grown up for this to happen? I sent my host a quick email to let her know my plans had changed, quite disappointed that I wouldn't be experiencing my first CouchSurf after all.

About lunch time I decided to stop moping around, I was in Paris after all, get out and do something. I must admit it is a bit overwhelming with so many things to do and most of them revolving around art and history which I'm not really into that much, so I decided to just catch The Metro somewhere and wander around. I ended up a little way past Notre Dame so headed back towards it. Along the way I came across some booksellers and souvenir sellers who had "shops" set up along the footpath. They had permanent stalls along the wall which they could close up at the end of the day, very ingenious.

As I approached Notre Dame I saw this old man with a heap of pigeons actually sitting on him, he was feeding these flying rats, and they loved him for it...eek. I decided this was obviously what must have happened to me as a child and caused my fear of birds, but instead of enjoying it, as he obviously was, it freaked me out.

Notre Dame is very spectacular; the sculptures carved into it are incredibly detailed and intricate. I decided not to go in as I'd seen Sacre Coeur, but for those who were lined up to go inside, there was a game of soccer on a mini field to keep them entertained while they waited. I could see the top of another structure off in the distance so headed for it, but was sidetracked by one of the many creperies along the way, I decided to try a sweet crepe this time, and choose chocolate (Nutella) and coconut...great choice, it was delicious.

After much zigging and zagging I eventually found what I'd seen towering above the other buildings, it was the Tour de Saint Jacques (Tower of Saint Jacques, or Tower of Saint Jack, literally) which was currently under restoration. It was exactly that, a tower, no building attached to it, and as with all the other structures in Paris is was covered in amazing carvings and sculptures particularly gargoyles.

After studying another map I decided that my hostel was within walking distance of the Notre Dame area (I hadn't realised it was this close) and with only two right turns needed to get there I set off, after all if I got lost all I needed to do was find a Metro station and I'd be fine. It took forty five minutes and I walked past lots of shops and residential buildings and I'm pleased to say I only needed to consult a map again once.

On the way I came across a small church dedicated to Saint Elisabeth, and of course I couldn't resist a photo.