Day 12 - April 21 - Tradition + Treats + Tower

We started the morning at Notre Dame! I had experimented a few weeks ago and figured out that if you got online at midnight three days before you wanted to visit, you could easily get timed tickets. So Friday night at midnight, I got our tickets! They weren’t doing any timed entries all last week or over the weekend since it was Holy Week and Easter, and they were expecting huge crowds. We had a ticket for 10:30am today.

We left the flat shortly after 9:30 and headed to our neighborhood “boulangerie” (bakery). We picked out pastries to go and walked across the bridge to the island where Notre Dame is. Once we were there and knew we had plenty of time, we took a few minutes to eat breakfast. Once we were finished eating, we got in the reservation line and walked right in. The line for people without timed entry tickets was very long again, so it’s definitely worth getting tickets ahead of time if you can!

Traditional, historic beauty… again and again. Picture overload once again here:

We each did Notre Dame at our own pace. I paid a little extra (the main tickets were free) to go in the Treasury. This is where they “preserve precious objects used in Catholic liturgy.” These “treasures” have been used for many years past and are still used today in various masses, sacraments, etc.

While were in Notre Dame, the news broke that Pope Francis had died. What a place to be when that happens, right? May we all carry on his light and his hope for justice.

Once we were all back outside at our meeting point, we knew we needed a plan for the rest of the day. Our Eiffel Tower tickets weren’t until after dinner, so we had the whole day before us. 

One of the links we had saved on our potential “Paris to do” list was to visit Ladurée, a shop known for its macaroons. Pauline and I tried making them once together, and she has taken a class since then, so of course we had to check it out and do a taste test. It was well worth the walk and was a nice place to sit, drink coffee, enjoy a treat, and people watch.

With bellies full of absolutely delicious macarons, we headed across the street to Luxembourg Garden which was completely stunning and bursting with spring flowers! 

The sky was beginning to look dark, and we didn’t want to get in a similar (rain) situation to yesterday, so we didn’t spend much time there and instead crossed the street to the metro station to make our way back to the flat for a bit. We stopped at our neighborhood boulangerie again for some take-away sandwiches, and I went to the produce shop on the corner for some fruit for breakfast. 

Then we came back for a rest. We laid low, did some packing, and generally relaxed. 

I then opted to go for a walk. There was a large area just up the street called Samaritaine, that appeared to take up multiple buildings, even on various sides of the street. I wanted to know more. I went in one of them and it seemed to be like a department store, although with minimal items/colors/sizes in it. Maybe you find an item you like and ask for your size? I’m not sure; I was just browsing. Then I went in another part and it seemed to be various individual stores, sort of like a mall. I decided to move on.

A friend had mentioned that I should go to Monoprix which is “the French equivalent of Target.” I made my way there and found an outdoor flea-type market on the way. 

I then had fun comparing Monoprix to our Target. It was a fun stop! I ended up getting a cute kitchen towel with croissants and baguettes on it, for just over $5. I went back to the flat and hung with Ken and Pauline until it was time to leave for our evening out.

We left shortly after 5:00 to head toward the Eiffel Tower. Once we got over there, we walked until we found a spot to eat dinner. Pasta all around!

We made our way back down the hill toward the Eiffel Tower and went through security (twice!) before getting on the elevator. We took one elevator that went about a third of the way up, and then we made our way to a different elevator to go all the way to the very top. Then there were even a few more stairs to go up and get our glasses of champagne that were included with our tickets (that was the only type of ticket remaining when we booked, which was back at the beginning of March!). We took some pictures, of course, and stayed up there a while to take in the view. Though it had been cloudy and raining off and on all day, the sun broke through for a beautiful sunset our last night in Paris. How appropriate!

We made our way back to the flat and now it’s time to finish packing so we can head to the airport in the morning. Tomorrow it’s back to Iceland with dreams of seeing the Northern Lights in the final leg of our trip.