Notre Dame, Ile St-Louis, Les Marais, Place des Vosges, Sacre Coeur, Montmartre

July 29

Lynda and I were up and ready to leave at 0800, as would be required for our schedule of seeing l’ Île de la Cité and St-Louis, including Notre-Dame, then a walk to les Marais, Place des Vosges and Bastille, followed by Sacré Coeur and Montmartre. They were still sleeping when we left. Gerald had indicated the prior evening that, unlike yesterday’s purchase at a local boulangerie/patisserie, he wanted a sit-down breakfast (therefore, further reducing time available for a meal where, for example, a fried egg is 6 € ($10)).

We had our usual packed day ahead of us - Île de la Cité and the Notre-Dame Cathedral; Île St-Louis, with a walk from it to Le Marais and La Place des Vosges via rue des Francs-Bourgeois; taking in lunch along the way at restaurant Chez Marianne, on a street that ended on its lower portion on rue des Rosiers, a portion of the Jewish section; finishing with a tour of Sacré Coeur and the Place du Tertre and environs in Montmartre.

As the previous day wound down, there wasn’t much of an appetite for the 0800 start that one would need. Mom was up only for a ½ day, even with a wheelchair. Gerald also wanted to start the day with a sit down breakfast (my translation for the latter being 1 ½ hours for something where a fried egg equivalent started at 6 €), rather than something from the very close patisserie for 1-2 €.

Lynda and I were up and ready to go for 0800. We waited until 0830, awaiting the arousal of the others before leaving, knowing that any start would also include the requisite 45 minutes plus for Mom to prepare… We left a note that we’d return for 1430, so that they could join the Montmartre portion.

Lynda and took the #1 Concorde to Cité metro, arriving at the Notre-Dame cathedral and the statue of her Charlemagne forbear, which we captured with her in a photo. We toured this splendid cathedral and stained glass windows, and exited to see the start of a line forming at 0930 for the no charge trips to the top. The gate opens at 0930, and we decided to queue in line, which turned out to be a good choice. While waiting, we struck up a conversation with Alan Flood?, who was in Paris with wife and 2 fraternal daughters, who are in Grade 8. They had been in Paris 3 days, this being their last, and were off to Kent to visit relatives of their English mother. Alan is a reporter for Bloomberg TV, family living on Central Park West and 81^st in NYC - the good life!

The opening was delayed by admitting a tour group, and admittance to the tower is limited to 30 people, admitted at intervals of 10 minutes. It wasn’t that long before our group started - only climber friendly. We were taken in several stages; otherwise, the climb might have been as brutal on the thighs and calves as that of the Arc de Triomphe climb. The first stage took us to a room with all its tourist paraphernalia, including some descendancy charts of the rulers of France. From there we ascended to a stage that was up at the 2^nd highest level, surrounded by gargoyles and offering a 360 view of the city. The final stage had the additional view of the entire Seine, winding its way downstream, its view previously obscured by surrounding buildings.

We cleared Notre-Dame by maybe 1115, and made our way to the memorial on the east tip of L’ Île. This is the memorial to the 100,000 individuals who were picked up by the Nazis and detained and/or murdered for their resistance in support of the Jewish community during WWII. It features a memorial design comprised of 100,000 glass shards for each individual, in a 3-wall design that is viewed from the 4^th face.

From there, we made our way across the bridge to L’ Île St-Louis, down rue St-Louis, its central street that runes from end to end. We turned around midway at the famous Berthillon ice cream, which is closed during summer. This is a very pleasant street, with lots of shops and restaurants. Returning to the bridge, we made our way across the bridge to the Right Band and, further north were assisted by a gentleman in finding Chez Mariane for lunch. It is well regarded in its Le Marais area, right above rue Rosiers, a well known jewish district. We had a very nice lunch of Mediterranean type selections.

From there, we made our way along the well recommended rue des Francs-Bourgeois, which runs rom Baubourg to Place des Vosges. This entire area has an interesting atmosphere and shops, which Lynda was more than happy to tour and support with her contributions. I have understood that La Place des Vosges may be the single most beautiful set of structures in Paris, but neither I nor Lynda were captured by it. That said, it would e of interest to people whose interest is in paintings and sculptures.

We rejoined the group and made our way to Montmartre, beginning with Sacré Coeur. I think m views are shared that it surpasses any church that we have yet visited. Gerald and I, understanding that there were 100 steps to the top, then proceeded with our climb. After 400 steps, we returned, unbowed and unbloodied.

We then went to Place de Tertre, which is reached by heading a short distance west, along the facing street before turning up. This is a very colourful area, restaurants and painters dedicated to supporting the tourists that flock to it. Nonetheless, our ladies picked up some paintings - oil and prints - and the blood lust was sated for a while. Within the centre of the Place is open air seating for a number of restaurants and their colourfully attired waiters. We had onion soup and boeuf bourguignon for 5 €. Yummy.

At this juncture, I peeled off with Lynda to try to get her into that shrine of mavendom, Galleries Lafayette. Our remaining days were squeezing options. Unfortunately, we arrived 10 minutes before closing. The good news is she returned.