Paris

The Notre Dame de Paris, (Our lady of Paris) is the famous cathedral from which the story of the musical by the same name from Victor Hugo, was inspired. Inside, the cathedral really shows it's grandeur. Stained glass windows, a very large organ, towering ceilings and beautiful paintings and sculptures. Whether you're religious or aethiest, you can't miss this place, the architecture alone is brilliant.

The Seine River runs through the city of Paris, past the Eiffel and the Notre Dame and there are large boats which go up and down it for tourists to do some sightseeing. We didn't do that, but I hear it's quite a nice ride. The great thing about the Seine is the pedestrian/car friendly bridges that cross it. Watching the sunset over the river is very romantic.

The Arc de Triomphe stands in the middle of a huge roundabout at the end of the Champs-De-Elysees. You can walk around it and climb the stairs to the top, but we haven't done that yet (Feb 04).

The Eiffel tower is surrounded by tourists and tourists selling souveniers to other tourists. It is packed with people from all over the world and all walks of life. We finally got to go up it in October 2001, when the tourist season was low. The view is so fantastic, it's almost like being on a plane you can see all over Paris and beyond.

We went to a wedding in Angers, France for Pierrot and Fabienne in May 2000 and spent a bit of time in Paris while we were there.