Paris - Day 14

We started our fourth day in Paris with a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral, a 14th century Gothic wonder. The interior is 130m long, 48m wide and 35m high and can accommodate more than 6,000 worshippers. its most exceptional features are the three spectacular rose windows, particularly the 10m wide one over the western façade above the 7,800 pipe organ.

Later we strolled along Rue St Honore, where we came upon Place Vendome, a large octagonal place with a 43.5m tall column in its centre. The column is made up of a stone core wrapped in a 160m long bronze spiral made from hundreds of Austrian and Russian cannons captured by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. The statue way up on top shows Napoleon in classical Roman dress (as might befit an emperor!).

We arrived in the Place de la Madeleine and decided to have lunch at the café of Fauchon, a famous shop selling fine food and beautiful cakes. We had a lovely prawn and mango salad and a saffron risotto followed by a beautiful chocolate based dessert.

After some shopping and further wandering through the boulevards, we headed towards the river again to see what Paris Plages activities were going on. We heard some music playing and discovered a bunch of people happily dancing on a wooden platform beside the river.Read more