Half of Tuesday - and this is only half???

We started off our morning with breakfast at the hotel again. The fare seemed more yummy than the day before - could be because we were very hungry from all of the walking yesterday.
After breakfast we walked to Ile St. Louis and walked down the main street through the island until we crossed to Ile de la Cite and walked up to Notre Dame where we stopped for some photos in the Square Jean XXIII. We followed the church around to the front and were awed by the details of the facade. We waited to take photos at Point Zero - the very center of Paris from which all measurement is taken from, there was a tour group crowded around it and almost every person took a spin on the point - we assumed that it is considered good luck. So we got in and got pictures of the spot, even Clubber got his picture taken on it!
We went inside the cathedral and if we were awed by the facade we were blown away by the interior! It was so gorgeous to see all the beautiful windows, artwork, and iconography. I was so distracted that I tripped over a temporary rise and fell - luckily I and the camera were okay - the rise actually broke my fall, so John put it eloquently - the item that tripped me is what saved me. While inside the cathedral we went into the separate museum of the religious reliquaries and artifacts. There were so many interesting things to see.
The cathedral was outstanding. One of the hardest things to get my head around is how long it took to build, and how long its been standing and how many people have visited it over the years - okay, that's more than one thing...
We waited outside to climb the steps to the tower for about thirty minutes. We felt the climb up ought to be interesting - but John and I were sure it would be well worth it!
We survived the 300+ steps! The climb up the tower was very intense - I kept saying that there was no way we'd ever be prepared for it. The steps were unusual in that they have been worn down from the years of people ascending up the towers. The compressions are worn smooth on each step making and interesting indentation - you keep spiraling upward with a glimpse every so often out a small window. It was a quest to arrive to the top and we were so happy to have achieved it. It was so very worth the challenge - it was an amazing view - and so breath taking. From the front of the cathedral we could see all kinds of landmarks: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, L'Opera, Grand Palais, St. Eustache, St. Severin, Sacre-Couer, the spire and rooftops of the St. Chapelle, Colonnades, and lots more.
There were so many gargoyles - they were fabulous. I wasn't sure how many there were because in most of the pictures I've seen they show the same three gargoyles. {John said "There Gar-rate!"} We saw the giant bell - his name was Emmanuel. We learned that all church bells are baptized with names and are referred to by their name. He weighed 1600 kgs - big baby!
When it was time to go back down from the tower I thought that it would be easier but it actually was a little bit of a challenge too - I experienced a little bit of dizziness. John's philosophy on stairs: When going up if you fail, you end up at the bottom again - but when going down if you fail, you at least make you intended destination.
We walked to the Palais du Justice where Sainte Chapelle is in. The chapel is housed inside because the Palais du Justice was originally a prince's palace before and the chapel was his private church. The palais is now where the courthouse is held. We got in what we thought was the line to get into the chapel but it was really the security check. While in line I overheard two women who were complaining that the wait wasn't worth it - they were so wrong. Once inside the courtyard you're greeted by the chapel and the outside architecture was fabulous.
When you enter the chapel you enter directly into the lower half - or lower chapel - which when originally build was used for servants and other employees of the Palace. The lower chapel has a gorgeous multi arched ceiling and beautiful decorations on the walls with a few stained glass windows and John asked, "Is this it? That's all there is?" I kind of snickered at him and said "Uh, no - lets go upstairs."
When we got to the upper chapel he was in awe! The room dances with color from the large amount of stained glass in the walls. The entire room is lined with 50 foot tall stained glass windows that depict the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelations. Even the floor of the chapel is beautiful! We spent a bit of time in the room marveling at it's exquisite details and soaking in the beauty. We looked in the windows for the specific moments of the Bible and I was pleased to find the window I believed was of the Nativity. John was impressed with the huge rose window of the apocalypse and it representation of the book of Revelations. We enjoyed it as much as Edana said we would - if not more!
When we came out of the chapel we still had to walk through the courtyard to exit the Palais, and along the way we saw many barristers walking in and out of the building. The place was heavily patroled by Gendermes officers everywhere. We stepped though the gorgeous gates and on to our next destination of Place St.-Michel (pronounced Mich).

We did a few more things but we'll have to finish the blog later because we didn't time our evening well enough to get updating and laundry done too...so stay posted!

-Karen