After a short night, Jenni, Delaney and I decided to head to Ile St Louis for breakfast. Along the way we stumbled across the Lock Bridge and caught the sun rising over the Seine.
It elevated the Cathedral of Notre Dame in my view, significantly! The sun was shining and the sky was blue and the cathedral seemed magical in the morning light.
We found the St Regis Cafe. I had read somewhere they were famous for their hot chocolate, so we decided to give it a try. Sadly, when we entered the busy cafe, everyone ignored us. We tried to stop a few of the waiters but they mumbled something we didn’t understand in French and rushed away.
When one finally arrived he told us it was his first day. We tried to order a basket of bread and a variety of drinks. It didn’t work out so well. We did get the hot chocolate, but none of us liked it!
Next up was Saint Chapelle. It’s a tiny little church across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral. It’s comprised almost entirely of stained glass windows. Luckily it wasn’t too cloudy and with the hanging candelabras, it was magnificent!
From there we walked to La Conciergerie. This is the former palace that was turned into a prison to hold prisoners during the French Revolution. I had forgotten to mention to Jenni and Delaney that it also contained a gallery and different art exhibits were displayed throughout the year. So naturally, they were startled by the display. Everything was in French so we had no way of knowing the collections was an exhibit from Penault and the theme was confinement. So when we entered the room with ten different elderly men in wheelchairs, we had no idea what was going on. Jenni decided to participate in the art.
We moved on to the permanent displays and found the chamber Marie Antoinette lived in…
The room where they prepared prisoners for execution…
And the blade from a guillotine.
Next up was the Rodan Museum. We got off the Metro a stop early so we could see more of the city on our way. Turns out, that was a great decision when we stumbled across a street vendor selling hot coffee and the Army Museum.
While none of us really wanted to visit the interior of the museum, we did enter the courtyard. It was magnificent!
The Rodan museum houses a changing exhibit and some magnificent gardens which include his most famous piece, the Thinker.
We hopped on the metro and headed up to Sacre Coeur. This beautiful church sits high on a hill overlooking the entire city. As soon as we arrived, Jen took off to pick up her tights and Delaney and I set out to find the funicular.
When we did, we took the short ride to the top and joined the crowd watching a street performer do amazing things involving a street light and a soccer ball!
We went inside the church and toured the perimeter. Sadly, they don’t allow photographs, but the inside was a lot prettier than Notre Dame.
When we came out we found Jenni and walked to a small cafe to have lunch. Delaney and I decided to have onion soup and escargot. Jenni decided to wait for pastry (our next stop). The escargot came out with a set of clamps and a tiny fork.
It took us a while to figure out how to hold them sill with the clamps and dig out the meat with the fork, but the German couple next to us enjoyed the show! Also they’d ordered the escargot as well and appreciated our demonstration!
We walked through the Montmartre district looking for Jenni’s pastry. When we finally found it, none of had any cash so we had to quest for a bank and then return for the pastry. Totally worth it, Jenni got what she wanted and Delaney and I got amazing treats as well.
We headed out to the Marais district. Jenni had fond memories of shopping there and wanted to recapture that magic. Delaney and I were happy to tag along, but our lack of enthusiasm caused Jenni to give up, so we hopped on another metro and headed back to the Christmas market. Delaney wanted to get another key chain and also because hot wine!
We also got some sausages and walked slowly up the Champs Élysées.
When we arrived at the Arc De Triomphe, we decided to go all the way up and see the city lights. Our timing was impeccable because shortly after we arrived the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle!
It was probably one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen and really capped off another wonderful day in Paris! Wish you were here!
iSherri 