The last sweet day in The City of Light. A day with no real plan, but a day to stroll, amble, and meander without true destinations. A day to take in the overall scene, to savor the essence, and to harbor for the future just what it feels like to be here in this wonderful, vibrant city.

Well there was one little plan. To this point we had not been to any of the high places to see the city from above. After breakfast we hustled over to Notre Dame, just a block away, to check out the line for climbing to the top. It is usually a long line and due to restrictions of timing, pace and number of people at a time, the line moves very slowly. They only allow access to smalls groups at a time. The line was short, and we figured we would be in the second group after the entrance opened. We were in the second group and soon were on our way up the narrow, spiral stone staircase to the top of the tower. The stairs begin to get narrower, and spiral more tightly the higher you go. After a fairly long climb you arrived at the Galerie des Chimeres. This is the level at which the towers become separate entities and where the famous gargoyles (chimeres) are located. There is just no way to describe how impressive these statue creatures are, but I am pretty sure they move around at night! There is a doorway into the interior of the bell tower. We were amazed to see the enormous wooden structure that hold the bells, and by the immense size of the bells. From this level you enter another smaller stone spiral stairway and climb on to the top of the tower. Oh what a view! All of Paris spread out before you. The river winding away below, and the Eiffel Tower off in the distance, and so many other landmarks visited in the past few days. Climbing the 387 steps is a very small price to pay for this view of the whole city.

Now to the unplanned part of the day. As you are aware we tend to walk a lot. Over seventy miles so far as of this morning. Today was afoot, but truly strolling. We both wanted to revisit Le Marais area and explore small of the side streets and small shops. Any shop of interest to either was fair game, and we literally whiled the day away in small streets, hidden alleys, and little cafes. For the moment we were just a part of the life of Paris.

The people of Paris were marvelous to us. They proved to be warm, friendly and extremely willing to help us with directions, finding items in stores, and just helping us explore their city.

Later, as the evening approached, we strolled again around Ile Saint Louis, and back across the bridge to the hotel. We settled in the hotel lobby/dining room with a glass of wine to watch as the setting sun emblazoned the front of Notre Dame in brilliant light, and then slowly faded into twilight.

C’est Fini!