Another hot day in Paris (Tuesday 9th July 2013)

The sun has been shining all day, every day since we arrived in Paris with temperatures around the high 20s and low 30s. The night does provide much relief other than the sun not being in the sky. We have slept each night with the french doors out to our balcony open all night. No insects thankfully.

Another piece of advice to travelers. Never take the word of fellow travelers as gospel – always check the brochures or the internet. We were led to believe that the Louvre was closed on Monday's. In fact it is closed on Tuesdays! So that plan went out the window. We decided to postpone our exit from Paris by a few hours on Wednesday. I called Renault Eurodrive who were only too happy to oblige.

What to do now though? We agreed that a cruise along the Seine might afford us a cool breeze so we caught the metro to Pont de L'Alma where the cruise boats largely go from. We sat on the top deck, the sun was hot, the Chinese tourists had their umbrellas up and the breeze was very flukey. But it was a nice way to spend an hour or so, nevertheless. The river is the best place to get picture of the famous “flying buttresses” of Notre Dame.

 

We decided to have another crack at getting inside Notre Dame so jumped on the Metro to get there. By now Kerry was feeling the heat and the constant walking and riding so she decided to opt out of Notre Dame. The Metro station where we changed for the line to Notre Dame was just one stop from our home station of Republique so we got off there, got Kerry an ice-cold drink (and a cake from our excellent corner patisserie) and look her home.

Emily and I continued on via the Metro to Cite station and walked to the cathedral. There was a queue of a few hundred people there but the line was moving quickly. Why, I hear you ask? It's because entrance to the Cathedral is free!

 

There was no time being wasted collecting money. Same deal as Sacre Coure – throw some many onto the plate if you want to. The church was pretty full of visitors as you can imagine but people moved around in a considerate and respectful fashion. Certainly not the most inspiring church I've been in quite dark and very Gothic inside. Of course the famous, huge stained glass roses on the east and west walls were beautiful and exceptional.

Emily headed off in search of a print from one of the many river-side stalls who were selling them and other trinkets. Alas, the one she saw yesterday, but did not buy then, was gone. So she'll keep searching. While walking along the bank a massive squadron of 30 or so army helicopters flying in formation passed over the Cathedral. Even the locals were puzzled by it.

We headed back to Place de la Republique, picked up Kerry who was looking better after a couple of hours rest and stepped across the Rue Meslay to the Chinese Restaurant directly opposite our room. The food was good, the service was good and the beer was cold! It seems that an evening meal for three adults will set you back around 50 euros in today's economy.

After our final stroll around the Place and a stop for a coffee we headed back for an early-ish night. Tonight is our last night in Paris (for some weeks and with Emily). Tomorrow it's up early for the Luovre, pickup our car and head for the countryside. Who knows where we'll be!