• Day 9 Notre Dame

    June 1, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Woke to no rain just overcast and 13 degrees. Umbrellas packed just in case!!
    Metro 9 to Strasbourg Saint Denis then Metro 4 to Cite. Cite is on the island with Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. 2 minute walk to Notre Dame. Hoarding in front but there is a viewing platform. Still as breathtaking as ever just not how I remembered it!! Great to see and take photos though. Sadly we didn't get to go in as it doesn't reopen until December. Crossed the river into the St Germain area for lunch. Omelettes all round with coffee and yummy crumble for dessert. Then it started raining. We had been so lucky until now.
    Luxembourg gardens was next stop despite the rain. Everything was very green and some flowers were still in bloom. It was nice to see the pond with the ducks swimming not skating on the ice as they were in December 2008 when we were here with the children. Also seeing the statues as they were not boarded up. The rain was relentess as we walked towards Pont Neuf through more narrow streets, past many quaint shops interspersed with tourist ones. The Seine was flowing and we could see Notre Dame from Pont Neuf. Metro 7 was in our sights so we headed home. With more tonic, cheese and chips in the bag, we sat and watched Zverev battle it out with Griekspoor from the
    Netherlands. After a tight 5 set match with a 10 point tiebreak Zverev won 10-3.
    Read more