Another grey day outside and very fresh – scarf and glove weather! Off to Notre Dame Cathedral – Hunchback of Notre Dame fame. The cathedral sits on an island in the middle of the Seine – Ile de la Cite. This is the true heart of Paris: in fact, distances from Paris to all parts of France are measured from “place du Parvis Notre Dame” the square in front of Notre Dame. A bronze star, set in the pavement marks the exact location of point zero des routes de France. Surprisingly, Notre Dame is the most visited sight in Paris with 10 million visitors a year! It is remarkably symmetrical and is very big! It can hold 6000 worshippers. Unfortunately we didn’t climb to the top – many reasons of which the Belfry was closed, the line very long and it was freezing!
Just outside the church a man feeds the birds – this intrigued the girls who were keen to get the birds to feed from them – they broke off a bit of our staple diet – baguette – 2 of which were brought every morning along with Pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants for breakfast on the run) and eaten during the day. The pigeons were keen on the bread the little sparrows weren’t keen at all – only seemed to go to the man. He then got the girls placed them in a certain spot and posed them ‘just so’ gave them muffin and voila – birds twittering and eating! I then clicked this was his business and the birds knew exactly what to do, he then took my camera and took all the shots. Nev was concerned we wouldn’t get it back! A fantastic experience and after I gave him €2 since he did such a good job. Well worth it!
We wandered around and then started to head to the Catacombes. On the way we passed through the Jardin du Luxembourg – 23 Hectares of very symmetrical gardens and of Victorian origin. It has a grand mansion that actually houses the Senate – the upper house of French Parliament! The pond was great and the girls hired little wooden boats and sailed them around the pond. It was great fun!
The Parisiens love symmetry – even shrubs, trees and gardens are pruned and trimmed into shape. The line from the Arc De Triomphe is lined up beautifully through the Place de la Concord, Tuileries Gardens and down to the Little arch (outside the Louvre) and is lined up with the horses left eye looking straight down.
Continued to walk through the Latin Quarter to the Catacombes – What an interesting place! In 1785 it was decided to solve the hygiene and aesthetic problems posed by Pais’ overflowing cemeteries by exhuming bones and storing them in the tunnels of 3 disused quarries. One ossuary created in 1810 is now known as the Catacombes. You descend 20m (130 steps) and you follow 1.7kmof underground corridors in which the bones and skulls of Millions of former Parisiens are neatly stacked along the walls. 
It was a very visual reminder of how precious life is and how underneath skin we are all pretty much exactly the same – not much variation in any of the skulls and bones. I think the workers who had to stack all these bones must have had competitions between each other who could stack the neatest and different designs were used. The tunnels were never ending and we only saw a portion. They have been open to the public since early 19th century. 
During WWII these tunnels were also used as the headquarters for the Resistance.
On the way out the guard checks you for “borrowed bones”! As we left there were 3 skulls and about 4 femurs sitting behind his desk!
It was bitterly cold as we left and we headed for Les Halles, this used to be the city’s main wholesale food market until it moved. Now it is a huge underground shopping centre! After wandering around and getting lost with all the different levels and wings the girls decided that they would “cash in” their vouchers they got for their birthday to get their ears pierced! Now to find a place to do it wasn’t easy but finally found “Clairs” it is a bit like the shop in NZ that is pink and has necklaces, earrings, scarves headbands etc… ( I can’t remember the name!) It was packed of products and you could hardly move or turn around but they had a big sale on which included ear piercing-Wahoo! Seph was straight up on the chair and it was in the corner of the front window and there were a few onlookers. I had to fill out forms in triplicate to say they could have them pierced and even had to provide ID! Don’t think we have to do that in NZ but haven’t been to do that lately. 
Hermione was decidedly a little more nervous but wasn’t going to let Seph out do her!
Off back to Montmartre where we stopped into a little Chinese restaurant near our apartment. The girls had the “menu” for €5, spring rolls, sweet and sour pork and then a apple donut thing that looked like a pineapple ring.
Nev had a giant Vietnamese roll – had giant whole prawns in it – then had a beef dish. I had a mixture – all the dishes were in front of you (like the help yourself) and each was a different price per kg. The lady would grab little plastic containers and you would tell her what you wanted and how much, she would then weigh it to find the cost. Into the ‘micronde’ (microwave) and voila! Tea!
Back to the apartment to discover they still have not fixed the phone, internet or tv! I rang again last night and this morning too.
The weather for tomorrow is meant to be really cold and even a snowflake or too – so I don’t think Disneyland will be a go – not sure what to do as everything you want to see and visit is outside! Very inconsiderate of the weather to interfere with our plans!
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