It's All Greek to Me: Day Six: Notre Dame and Café des Deux Moulins

I apologize for never updating anymore - I've been ill lately (I'm pretty sure I have a fever, with yucky aches today and unpleasant shivering last night), and the Internet here is incredibly frustrating. So I'm trying to update a week in retrospect, here goes.

Last Sunday my roommate and I explored Paris on our own again. We did a lot of walking around (that is the big thing to do in Paris...) and then briefly walked through the Tuileries gardens.

Tuileries

It was really hot out, so we stopped by a place next to the Seine and got ice cream.

Then we crossed Le Pont Neuf (the oldest bridge in Paris) and eventually found ourselves at Notre Dame de Paris.

Our first view of Notre Dame

When I see really famous places here I try to remember all the times I've seen it in movies. The Hunchback of Notre Dame doesn't really do this place justice, at all (is that surprising?). Access was free (thank you, ACCENT cards that say we're art history majors!), so after exploring the altar and the famous stained glass window, we decided to make the climb to the top.

This picture doesn't do it justice.

We conquered the 400 steps in an incredibly narrow/claustrophobic spiral staircase, and surprisingly I wasn't tired. Thank you, exercise regimen from all through this semester (I miss you a lot).

The view was spectacular, gargoyles included.

On the way down, there was a staff member who was saying departure greetings to everyone who passed him, guessing their nationality. To me he said "Au revoir!" meaning he thought I was French. :)

After a quest for a can of Coke (2,50 euros ~$4 - that's pretty cheap here), we decided to go see the grave of Marquis de Lafayette. But unfortunately it was closed - I guess cemeteries close at 6:00 here. So we decided to go to Montmartre to eat at the café where part of Amélie was filmed.