Today the weather site lied. It was supposed to be high 40's and mostly sunny. It was cloudy and windy and Cold! Tomorrow I am going to wear everything I packed.
We started the day by purchasing our Metro (subway) passes and museum passes. The Metro is an awesome way to travel the city. You don't have to know where you are. You just need to be able to remember your starting place and you can always find your way back. We had a scary moment when Emily didn't get on the train before the doors closed. She had a look of terror on her face but she quickly made the "telephone" sign to her dad (Reggie) before we were out of sight. She was very cool headed. He got off at the next stop and she got on the next train, got off at the next stop and they found each other and rejoined us within about 20 minutes. I think it was harder on Reggie than on her. As a parent it is your worst fear to lose your kid someplace, even if they are 16 or 17 years old.
We first went to the Conciergerie. In the 6th Century Clovis, the first French king established this architectural beauty as his royal residence. 5 centuries later it became a government council building. It became the home of the royal Parlement de Paris. When I see the decadence I can understand why the general population eventually rose up against the monarchy. So many kings built so many palaces, it was certainly wasteful when the common people where the ones who were financing these projects.
The Conciergerie became a prison during the revolution. We visited the cell where Marie Antoinette lived her last days. The place was cold, the cells were so small and being there you could feel so much history that to be honest with you it was actually overwhelming. I could imagine the suffering that took place with people packed 3 or more to an 8x10 cell with nothing but straw on the floor. Although the building was a wonder I didn't mind leaving it because for me it held such sadness.
We then walked to Notre Dame Cathedral. It is amazing to stand in the square before it next to the statue of Charlemagne and look up at it's magnificence. The windows are so beyond beautiful. When you enter it the inner sanctuary is somewhat fenced off from visitors. They still hold mass there. Around its perimeter are many little confessionals and there are many little "Chapels" dedicated to different saints. People come here to light intention candles and pray. The place is very holy. Notre Dame took 200 years to build. The feeling you get when you look up at the ceiling and see the stains from the smoke from so many candles and when you look down at your feet and realize that these stones have been traversed by so many generations.....indescribable.
Yes, there are many gypsies who still make their living by begging in the square in front of the cathedral. None look like Esmerelda.
Olivia and I were planning to clime to the top of the tower today but the wind was so cold and the line was so long that we opted to sit in a small cafe sipping chocolate. It was pretty cool to look out the window at the flying buttresses of Notre Dame.
Olivia is doing very well at communicating with the French. I am very proud of her.
Good night everybody.
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