We left the hotel around 9:30 am, stopping to take a picture of the clock statue outside the hotel. Our train took us to Montmartre. We had the option of taking a funiculare to the top of the hill, but opted for the stairs instead. That is, after waiting in line to use the WC. You had to wait for each person to enter the toilet, make use of it, exit the toilet, wait for the washing of the toilet, and then the next person could enter. If you were desperate and dancing, this process would have made for a long wait.
This was the loveliest of the chapels we visited and not so dark and musty-smelling as many of the chapels were. Chris had remembered it from visiting so many years ago with his dad and brother. We spent a little time just enjoying the quiet of the church and then wandering around the grounds. It was such a beautiful morning, a little chillier than yesterday, but still nice for the first of November.
This cute little girl just wouldn't smile for me.
We walked in to a more touristy area where men carrying large drawing boards asked to draw our picture almost at every turn. We instead walked around the small courtyard checking out the artwork of other French artists. I would have liked a few, but transporting would not have been so easy. The neighborhoods here were just delightful and picturesque.
I saw this character of a guy wandering around and thought, "Man, I want a picture of him." I spied him posing for a portrait a short time later and sneakily tried to get this shot without him knowing I was really taking a picture of him and not the building behind him.
We found a fun wall that offered free slaps.
And Chris found the "I love you" wall. Sadly, we didn't find "I love you" in Tagalog. Chris had lost a lot of his steam today. He had been going strong with a cold for over a week, and finally today he needed to take rests more often. Chris also had texts from work coming in, so he would sit and take care of work stuff every so often.
Here's the cool lettered walls in the Concorde Subway Station.
As we exited the Concorde station we could hear men's voices singing and instruments playing. It was a tremendous sound in the acoustic subway. Chris and I both looked at each other with excited smiles. We rounded a turn to find a group of seven men singing away. It was amazingly beautiful.
We planned to stop at Notre Dame again. But first a bathroom, and that wait took at least a half an hour. I'm sure it was a little easier for guys since they didn't have to worry about not getting their clothing wet against the freshly cleaned toilet.
We should have gone in to Notre Dame first because the line was so short. When we came back, the line had grown and grown. So we wandered around looking at the book sellers along the Seine and then ended up in the park area behind the Notre Dame. Chris rested and I watched a photographer going to great lengths to photograph a couple getting married and wanting to have a huge veil covering both their heads.
Miraculously as they walked to another area in the rear gardens, my view of Notre Dame stayed empty for a time, and I was able to capture a few pictures of the chapel.
We also toured the Sainte Chapelle. It was originally built to house relics brought to France by King Louis. The relics today are supposedly housed in the Notre Dame and brought out on display every so often. But Sainte Chapelle was amazing with 1,113 Bible stories depicted in stained glass in 15 stained glass windows. We picked out Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, and the crucifixion of Christ.
We found the Luxembourg gardens and the Pantheon. Lots of walking again today.
I needed to find another toilette. We figured that surely McDonald's would have one. I found the bathroom, but it required a code to get in. I slipped in just as someone was exiting. Meanwhile Chris was upstairs buying a sundae to get a code. He was still able to use it, but after our late lunch and crepe, it was about all we could do to eat the sundae. I had two bites and stopped.
We took the subway back to the hotel around 7 pm stopping in the Executive Lounge to grab a few snacks for later. Chris had work stuff to take care of. I chatted with the girls for a bit, but they were at the grocery store. Responsible kids. Gotta love them. They asked how to tell if a cantaloupe was ripe or not. I missed their later text asking about cutting it, but I'm sure they figured something out.
We were leaving in the morning, so I worked to pack my things for the trip home. I wasn't looking forward to a long day of travel, but I was excited to see my girls.
I was so worn out, I couldn't even stay awake long enough to talk to Kristen.