Today Notre Dame was on the agenda. We all wandered down to the Seine together then Neil and the kids headed to a sculpture park and playground while I went and joined the queue to climb the tower of the Notre Dame cathedral. The queue was the slowest thing I had ever encountered and the kids were on the second playground of the day by the time I had made it to the top. It was well worth the wait though as the view was amazing (something quite different to the Eiffel tower) and seeing the gargoyles so close was really cool.
Once I'd taken in every inch of the view and the gargoyles I headed back down and to the crypt which is under the entrance of Notre Dame. It was truly incredible. It was a city under the city where streets, buildings and signs had all been buried to build something bigger on top. This archeological discovery made you wonder what treasures are hidden away. My next plan was to visit the Sainte Chapelle, a gorgeous church a block from Notre Dame. Neil and I went there in 2004 and the stained glass windows are just stunning so I thought I'd go again. Unfortunately the queue was ridiculous and I'd had enough of standing in the cold wind so I called Neil and we met up for an ice cream. Knowing we have such a big day tomorrow with the kids' surprise I then headed home in the metro with Heather and Callum for a quiet afternoon while Neil went to visit the Musee d'Orsay, easily his favourite musee, particularly to see the amazing impressionist and post-impressionist galleries with numerous works by Monet, Manet, Gaugin, Van Gogh (the list goes on). The gallery itself is a masterpiece being a converted old railway station. Looking forward to a wonderful day tomorrow for the kids, and hoping they have the time of their lives.
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