We tried out a different cafe for breakfast this morning which also give us the opportunity to check out the weather and gauge our clothing choices. It was fresh but dry and it could only get warmer, right? I elected to go without a coat trusting that I’d be warm enough in just a jumper. And while we were in the sun it was absolutely fine. The problem was that for most of the day we were between buildings where there was no sun and plenty of cold wind.
A Pleasant Sidetrack
The plan for today had been for us to walk in the direction of Notre Dame, walk around the Jardin du Luxembourg and the backstreets of the Latin Quarter but we got a bit sidetracked. As we reached the Pont des Arts over the River Seine there, peaking its head above the buildings, was the Eiffel Tower. We decided that we’d make a short (40 minute) detour there while it was early and sunny.
You get a fantastic view of the tower from the park that sits in front of it and that was enough for us – we never had any plans to go up it having done so before. We took our shots and moved on.
Notre Dame 1 – 0 Westminster Abbey
We knew before arriving that it was possible to pre-book entry to Notre Dame the day before so when I got up yesterday I went on to the site and found that all the morning tickets had gone and the earliest we could get entry was 13:30 so I bagged those. Less than an hour later all the bookable tickets for the day had gone.
You don’t actually need to book a ticket to gain entry to Notre Dame but it certainly helps. The queue for those without a booking went on forever while there were about ten people in front of us in the pre-booked queue.
It was interesting to compare and contrast our visit to Notre Dame with our visit to Westminster Abbey last week. One major difference is that entry to Notre Dame is free whereas entry to the Abbey cost us £31 per person. The other notable difference was that there weren’t nearly as many people in Notre Dame as there had been in Westminster Abbey. Don’t get me wrong, it was still busy, but it wasn’t heaving. I suppose the one thing that the Abbey has going for it is that it hasn’t suffered a terrible fire.
The inside is, unsurprisingly, very churchy but without all the dead monarchs of the Abbey. The stained glass windows, which have thankfully survived the fire, were beautiful especially with the light reflecting onto the stone walls.
The French Know How to do it
When we were in Athens last year there was a general strike that basically shut down the whole city. Today, here in Paris, there has been a day of protests and the streets are filled with chanting people. We kept away from the main areas where there seem to have been clashes with the police. However, what struck me is how the French seem to be much more willing to get out and protest than the more passive Brits. The French are protesting over “falling education standards and the cost of living” which seems to be the same sort of issues we have in the UK. I’m not suggesting that rioting is the answer but I found it interesting in the difference of approach.
