We slept in a little bit, until 8 or so, but as we wanted to make use of the museum pass we purchased we knew we needed to get out and about ASAP so we could see as many attractions as possible.
After a quick croissant breakfast at a local bakery, we caught a couple metros over to Notre Dame, as we figured it would have some of the longer lineups, (behind the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower)...unfortunately we were right. It was about a 30 minute line up to get into the church part of Notre Dame, and then afterwards, another 1.5 hours to get through the line up to the Bell Tower. Obviously the church and the stain glass and Gothic architecture are just amazing, as are the views from the top of the 422 step bell tower, but the lines and the waiting were just ridiculous.
We arrived at Notre Dame around 10:00am, and by the time we left around 2:30, we really didn't have much time to walk the Louvre as we had hoped we were going to be able to do. So, with considerably less time left, we ate a quick crepe lunch, (which was actually a little gross because of all the cheese they put on the them) and did a Rick Steves walking tour which took us through the nearby Sainte-Chapelle, Conciergerie, and through a few other historic areas of Paris.
Sainte-Chapelle is another Gothic church near to Notre Dame, and what makes it famous is all the stain glass work it has. The main church has an incredible amount of stain glass windows, all of which come together to tell the creation of man, through to the coming of Jesus, to the final judgement.
Conciergerie used to be used as a jail, and more specifically, the "Green Mile" of France, where people sat awaiting death, (generally a beheading). They beheaded some 2600 people over the years, including Marie-Antoinette. It is now purely used as a historic tourist attraction.
By the time we finished our Rick Steves tour and seeing some of the sites of historic Paris, we were nearing 6pm, so we caught a metro to the Arc de Triomphe and enjoyed spending some time atop the roof, looking out over the city, taking pictures. As the Arc de Triomphe sits at one end of Champs-Élysées, (a large street with luxury shopping and restaurants) we decided to stroll down it, hoping to find a grocery store. Eventually we did find one, after consulting a few sales associates at the Adidas store, so we bought some food for dinner, for breakfast, and some snacks.
We then made our way back to the Eiffel Tower to sit on the lawn and enjoy the sunset, some food, and each other`s company.
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