Lots of Stair Climbing Means We Deserve Lots of Delicious Food, Right?

Street flower shop, Ile St. Louis

Because today we climbed around 1000 stairs, and we also ate some pretty yummy stuff.

We set out to do a walking tour a la Rick Steves, but were quickly side-tracked by our decision to climb to the top of the Notre Dame tour for some amazing views of the city. It was worth the 405 steps (Anna counted), for sure.

Kate, on the walk to Notre Dame, listening (and singing softly along to), Les Mis. Something she and I have been doing together for about 12 years or so.

It was super awkward when we ran into these two lovebirds near the top of the tower. Get a room, geez.

After climbing down and walking around the little park near Notre Dame, we momentarily skipped lunch in order to partake of Berthillon ice cream cones, a locally made, exceptionally delicious treat. Everyone declared their particular choice the best they'd ever had.

Then, real lunch. Crepes taken back to the park, and little free public wi-fi, with the shouts of schoolchildren in the air and the wind blowing flower petals on us in little gusts. We visited the Crypt of Notre Dame after lunch, which is actually not creepy at all but rather a visual lesson in the city's thousands of years of history. Kate and I have a new plan of attack at these types of major attractions: she gets a brochure/guide in Spanish and I get one in English. Then, we take turns, the person with the Spanish guide reading out loud their best attempt at translating on the spot. As Kate said at one point, "We're having fun and learning too!" A girl after my own heart, for sure.

We split up after that, and Loretta, Kate and I stopped to see Sainte Chappelle. I hardly feel like posting photos, since they are so poor compared to the jaw-dropping effect of being in a room with all that 13th century stained glass.

Here's another notable quote from today, this time from Lo, who is pictured below seated while waiting for the security line at Ste. Chappelle. She's a very seasoned traveler with tired feet, and she takes every opportunity to rest them. Pretty smart, I guess.

Anyway there was a sign posted warning us that we must leave behind any sharp objects before entering. To which Loretta said, "I hope they don't make me leave behind my wit!"

After a rest, dinner was at one of the best, if not the best, falafel places in Paris, L'As du Falafel.

Perfect. A lounge in the park and then a trip up to Montmartre to see the sun go down and the city light up for the night capped off a pretty lovely day.

One small p.s. - not one, but two Parisians complemented my French today. I was, um, pretty happy about that.