Notre Dame Cathedral Paris

Today was a short day. We moved to the hotel....Hotel Les Rives Des Notre Dame. Wow! The staff are great, very helpful, very friendly, and very informative. We settled in very nicely....it's luxury compared to the apartment we were staying at! And what a view!! We even have wine glasses!

The hotel is in a fantastic location with an abundance of restaurants, cafes, and bakeries all around. We tried one for lunch....and Jay had his favourite....French Onion soup! I had a Croque Madame...which was not good. Morgan had a house vegetable soup...and Aston...well...she just made a mess!

Today we braved the towers of the Notre Dame! We first had to get a time ticket, so we had about an hour and a half to wait before our 30 minute arrival window. We ventured through the gardens and found a couple of springy bouncy cars and a great big sandbox for the girls to play in. As we continued to explore, we ventured past multiple military men carrying rather large guns. Morgan had a few questions...she was very curious as to why men with guns need to patrol the streets....it's a different world at home. I'm assuming security has been increased because it's the second anniversary of the 2015 terror attacks. We feel safe here...but I guess everyone does....until something happens.

Away we went....387 steps up a narrow, winding staircase...and our 5 year old climbed them all, with no complaints! The views were worth every step! There are so many gargoyles too...each one different. We were able to climb right up the bell tower. Some spots were very tight to squeeze through....there's only one way up and one way down. What an adventure! This is definitely a must-do when travelling in Paris!Read more