Day 3: Paris

Tuesday wasn't quite as jam-packed as the previous day but we were on our feet, pounding the pavement (i.e. cobblestones) nonetheless. We started our day with stopping in Galeries Lafayette to see their gorgeous domed, kaleidoscope-like ceiling. Since we were surrounded with brands such as Chanel, Fendi, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and the like, we realized that, alas, we couldn't afford anything and left to go over to the Palais/Opéra Garnier to see their beautiful marble staircases, sumptuous red velvet chairs and exquisite ballet costumes on display. Gorgeous!

Trekking down Avenue de l'Opéra, we ended up at the Palais Royal to have a mini-photo-shoot with its black and white striped columns (photos to come later) and jumped across the street to the Louvre to see the exterior. Then we crossed across the street to see the Pont des Arts, a footbridge covered in padlocks with couples' names. The story says that you're supposed to write your names on a lock, lock it on the bridge and throw the key in the river to ensure your everlasting love. No word on what happens if you break up.., but hey, we're in Paris, the city of love, let's not ruin it! 

Then we went back to Notre-Dame to hike up 200 spiral stairs to the top, and just a few more to the top of one of the bell towers. We were up there as Quasimodo was ringing the bells for 1:30  but no sightings of him as far as I know. By the way, this year marks Notre-Dame's 850th birthday so they just got beautiful, new, shiny bells earlier this year. To celebrate our conquering the steps of Notre-Dame, we treated ourselves to Berthillon ice cream, the best in the city. Some of us were as adventurous to try rose-raspberry ice cream... Definitely a bit perfume-y...

Next stop was Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur, which stands at the pinnacle of the city to the north. We toured the church and went souvenir shopping in Place du Tertre. Then dinner then a bit of free time in the Latin Quarter then to the hotel to recover from all those steps (Notre-Dame and Montmartre). Today was the day that the rest of the groups that we will be touring with arrived, so from here on out, we will be with three other groups from Missouri and North Carolina. 

More adventures to be had! À bientôt!