Notre Dame

It was drizzling when we got to Notre Dame, so some of our pictures are a bit dark inside the cathedral, but it was beautiful all the same. 

The carvings on the outside of the cathedral were so intricate. Eric liked this one in particular of the angel and heaven on the left, and the devil and hell on the right.

Annnd some were quite comical :)

The notorious rose window.

We made it a habit to sit for a while in each of the cathedrals to soak it all in, instead of snapping pictures and running out. 

The dim lighting made for some fun shots inside.

We spent some time roaming around the inside, and then headed out to get in line for the tour of the bell tower. We waited in line for over an hour, but later found out that because of the size of the tower, they only let 20 people up there at a time. With over 400 steps to climb, it took a while for each group to get up and down. However, Eric and I both agree that it was TOTALLY worth the wait. I think the view from the top of Notre Dame was our favorite view of the city.

I love this shot!

View toward the Eiffel Tower

View toward the Sacre Couer

Another favorite :)

Eric and I were impressed here, but then we found out we could keep climbing higher! And then from there, higher! I am not afraid of heights...but what I am afraid of is rickety and slippery stairs! Especially after a little tumble down slippery stone stairs at Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome last year! Don't worry...I managed to save our camera from the fall and ended up with only a bruised back and elbows :) Eric may have had a mild heart attack, but all was well. We headed up to see the bell next  and I was starting to get a little uncomfortable...Eric documented of course.

Smile and everything will be okay, right?

The bell was MASSIVE. This one is the largest but is only rung on special Catholic  holidays now.

 We headed up ONE more level above the bell, and the views were simply amazing. Paris is such a gorgeous city.

One last view as we headed back across the river!

 Next stop....Shakespeare and Company!!! A former English major's dream!

I was so excited, and was hoping to find a vintage copy of the complete works of Shakespeare, but had no luck. I ended up not buying a thing!

But the inside was just lovely! Eric humored me for a bit, but then got claustrophobic and waited outside :) I could have stayed for hours.

We headed to Le President for dinner...Eric tried the beef carpaccio, thinly sliced raw beef with a mustard sauce. I must say, it was delicious! We are always up for trying new things :) I, however, wasn't that hungry, so I went with a bowl of French Onion Soup. REAL french onion soup. It was the best decision I made all day. Our waiter had quite the sense of humor...when he passed by our table, he was holding a pet cat and said, "es dessert...ahahahahahaha" We had had several glasses of champagne at that point, and I found it quite funny as well :) But then again, don't accents make everything a bit funnier?