This would be our last day in Paris, so we got going early. We've given up trying to get breakfast at a cafe because we're practically ready for lunch when they start serving. But coffee, granola, and fruit hold us over nicely.
We set off for Notre Dame first. It was a cloudy day with the sun peeking through. When we were posing in front of the cathedral, there was a strange halo framing us--you can just see it in the picture. We're either blessed or cursed!
The inside of the cathedral is absolutely amazing. I talked with someone earlier in the week who had visited both before and after the fire and repairs, and she said it is noticeably brighter. But of course we don't know the difference, and In the areas we saw, the repairs are perfect.
The glass, the art, the statuary, the pews, and the woodwork are all enormous and beautifully overwhelming though it is entirely serene. We wandered through the church and around outside, marveling at the history, the ritualism, the symbolism, and the actual structure. There is a small marker, in front of St. George of Lydda slaying the dragon, thanking the pompiers for their heroism and work to save the monument as well as the donors and builders making it possible to restore it.
Next we traveled back on the métro to L'Arc de Triomphe for which I had smartly purchased "skip the line" tickets to view monument and get to the rooftop. Our last day in Paris we could view the city, having now some frame of reference, and see all the spots we had been.
The best laid plans... The monument was closed due to a "social movement." We have no idea what it was... there seemed to be no disruption we could see. So we spent some time marveling at the enormity of it from the outside.
The arc was commissioned and work begun in 1806 by Napoleon as a memorial to the soldiers of the French Revolution, but it was not completed until 1836, years after the fall of the Empire and Napoleon's death. The memorial's intended honor shifted several times before it was eventually inaugurated. It honors the French Republic and the French Empire, as well as key points from WWI and WWII. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI is on the site. It is also the point for celebrations and protests through history and today. Apparently today, literally! We moved along before any demonstration began.
We moseyed down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. There's a ton of shopping on the avenue, but most of it is a bit out of our budget. We stopped into a department store to use the restroom. It was 2 euros each or free with a receipt... so I thought I'd get a nice French lotion to bring home. After spending time with a charming salesman, I left with a pricey Vitamin C serum. But he threw in a couple of trial size eye creams, and the restroom was free. So we really worked that system!
We were starving and stopped at a crepe window for a lunch crepe--so good!
I had read about La Petite Ceinture, which is an abandoned rail. It was built in the mid-1800s around the perimeter of Paris for freight and soon after, passengers. It ran as the sole transportation system until the first Métro opened in 1900 for the World's Fair. As more people began riding the new system, La Petit Ceinture closed to passengers in 1934 but remained a freight line until the 1980s when it was shut down and abandoned until 2006. Since then, 11 sections have been cleaned up and restored into ecological walking trails around the city. It's an on-going project with the plan to open more sections in the future. It's definitely a little sketchy at first... but it opens up into a pleasant trail!
We planned a nice dinner out for our last night. We visited l'Assiette, a Michelin restaurant famous for the best cassoulet in Paris. It's a rustic Michelin restaurant rather than a bougie one, and the chef prepares hearty, gamey dishes. We had escargot, pate en croute, and of course the cassoulet. And wine--we had wine! No idea what as the sommelier picked pairings for the cassoulet. It was all delicious. And beautiful though I forgot to take pictures of our appetizers before we dug in and disturbed them!
We made a drizzly short walk back to our apartment and popped into the little market for breakfast before heading back to pack up.
Next up--Barcelona!
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Dinner looked amazing!