A Weekend in Paris: Saturday, October 22nd

On Saturday, although we had just spent our first night in a real bed in a while, we just could not sleep in. After all... This was OUR Saturday in PARIS!!

The view out our hotel window

After a breakfast at the hotel, we took the Metro straight to my favorite place in Paris.. The Eiffel Tower.

The sunlight and blue skies were really touch and go on this day.

I was chasing good light all day.

For anyone who has every wondered what the very top of the Tower looks like.. From up close: Well there it is.. Lots of Cellular Antennas.

The view from atop the Tower is (as expected) truly amazing. Here is a view of Sacre Cuer - perched atop Montmartre Butte. [Near our place of Lodging].

Here are some other shots of this amazing view.

Ever heard someone say "Don't Look Down"? Well.. I had to.

WOW!

Talk about "Chasing the Light".. I spent a good 5 Minutes waiting for this lucky shot.

This is right across the river Seine from the Tower, and provides a great view of the tower at night, as we will see later.

Eventually we did realize that if we were going to see more of Paris, we would have to come down from the Tower, so we walked past this fountain on our way to the Seine for our walk to Notre Dame Cathedral.

This is just one of the many bridges we passes along the Seine. All four corners of this one are guarded by towering gold statues. Truly breathtaking!

Here are some more of the sights along the river.

Starting with the finest sight.. My Companion.

Finally.. The coolest [in my book] way to tour Europe:

A river boat like the Amara Zee.

I'm told that you can even stay on board these for the weekend.. Like a hotel on the water.

At last.. After a much enjoyed, yet long, walk along the river.. We have arrived at Notre Dame.

The visit was very nice and the Cathedral is as awe inspiring as one should expect, however.. We were appauled by how noisy the people were inside the Cathedral and how many flashes were going off. "Dumb Tourists", we say.. At least I turned off my flash and we whispered the whole time.

Here are some shots of the inside of the Cathedral of Notre Dame

And then one the many angles of the Outside of the Cathedral.

After Notre Dame, we took a leisurely stroll on the island, and then to the Spanish Quarter for some souvenier shopping and a stereotypical Parisian dinner at a side sidewalk cafe on a busy plaza nearby.

After dinner, we were on the Metro and back to the Eiffel Tower for some night shots.

Here are a few of my favorites: