Paris 2011 - walking around the Marais (b)

A candy shop.

A treat shop.
Cute.
?!
!?
Cool.
A courtyard.

A vintage car.

A bakery.

A cheese shop.

A foie gras shop.

A chocolate shop.
There were things new and old to check out in the Marais. I loved what I saw.

Paris 2011 - walking around the Marais (a)

John and I walked "across the river" to the Marais (district) a couple times. We enjoyed the cool little shops, the "hip and happening" artsy vibe in some of the areas, too.












... and this was the first little part of the district that we saw.

Paris 2011 - the police

The Police in Paris.

Paris 2011 - Notre-dame de Paris: climbing up the Tower

Going in!

According to the Notre-Dame de Paris web site, there were 387 steps (!) to the top of the Tower. And no, there wasn't an elevator. John and I climbed and climbed. I thought I was gonna pass out! But the view was phenomenal and the effort was totally worth it.


On the way up.

The gargoyles were awesome!

You can see the Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) up there.

The view.

The guards would stop us somewhere, so we enjoyed the view and took pictures, and then we moved onto the next section and level.

I loved the gargoyles.





And we climbed and climbed.








Some of the most stunning things I had ever seen up there.


We also went in to the bell room to see the Emmanuel Bell.

The bell was huge!

Hmm.

We climbed and climbed.



The climb was intense, but the views were breathtaking.


Walking down was a lot easier.


Back on the ground.


Saw this little guy when we came out of the base of the Tower. I wondered if he ever tried to go up the Tower when nobody was looking.

Paris 2011 - Notre-Dame de Paris: waiting in line to go into the Tower

We stayed in line for a couple hours in the cold before entering the base of The Tower of the Notre-Dame de Paris. We actually visited The Tower a couple days after visiting the cathedral because we wanted to start early in the day!

There were cool things and people to see while we stayed in line:


Looking up at the gargoyles (as "water spouts.")

A postal car parked across street.

A kid chasing pigeons.

A gentleman with a fresh baguette.

A girl rollerblading with her dog.

Looking down at the feet that belonged to the couple that was in front of us.

Couple guys getting ready to decorate the store-front for Christmas.

And we were almost at the entrance!