Day 2 in Paris

Day 2 in Paris began with a hearty breakfast in our hotel. I have to say that the hotel we stayed in was very nice. It was clean, modern, and seemed to cater to a higher income traveler. Larry found out later that rooms at that hotel ran around $400 a night. Our first stop was at the Eiffel Tower. We had gone to the top of the tower the day before and this time we stopped along the backside of it and looked at a monument that was near the base.


Off we went on the bus to our next stop which was the Invalides. The Invalides was begun in 1671 and is most famous for being the burial place of Napolean. His body was returned to Paris 19 years after his death and is buried in a crypt below the golden dome.

Our next stop was the Assemblee Nationale where we viewed statues in front of it. It was interesting that the statues in front of the building are all surrounded by little spikes to keep people from defacing the statues.

Next up was Notre Dame Cathedral. Notre Dame was very beautiful. Especially beautiful were the 3 Rose windows. The South Rose window (pictured) is dedicated to the New Testament and was a gift from King Saint Louis. "It has eighty-four panes divided into four circles. The first one has twelve medallions and the second has twenty-four. A third circle is made up of quadrilobes, and the fourth circle has twenty-four trilobes medallions. This window features the symbolic number four, along with its multiples, twelve and twenty-four." Being in the cathedral was such a beautiful experience. The only thing that marred the visit was all of the warnings we received prior to visiting it about the abundance of pickpockets there. Luckily we didn't encounter this.


We spent about 2 hours exploring Notre Dame and then boarded the bus to head to Versailles. This last picture is the back of the Louvre which we would be visiting another day. We also went by the square where Marie Antoinette was beheaded.

Up next, our visit to Versailles and how irritated we all were because the French workers decided to go on strike that day. Apparently it happens all the time during the tourist season.