Day IIX part II: Notre Dame on a sunny spring-like afternoon

Sun and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees convince me to leave my jacket in the hotel.  Google Maps says that my hotel is less than 1.5 km from Notre Dame Cathedral, so I start heading in that general direction.

I found the river. Over there is one of the two islands in the centre of Paris.

View from one island to another

There it is: Notre Dame Cathedral

Getting closer. That churchy roof is part of Notre Dame

After seeing Asian tourists line up at one particular entrance for an 8.50 Euro tour, my investigations lead me to another free-of-charge entrance.  Right inside there is a sign. PAS DE FLASH!  Now most places where there is a cameras allowed, but pas de flash policy, this goes horribly wrong because most half-brained camera owners have NO IDEA how to turn the flash off (Yes, there ARE people taking pictures from a plane at 40,000 feet of the dark earth below) . But strange as it may sound, not a single FLASH was evident during the 15 minutes I spent within the cathedral.

Stone sculptures in front of stained glass window

Restorers or cleaners of a HUGE and OLD and DIRTY painting at work

More modern stained glass window

More traditional stained glass in the nave: 

Jeanne d'Arc:

The view from outside (The weather is FAB for December ;-)

He's not getting any until those bloody pigeons scatter just perfectly (woman on the left is feeding them)

The lock-making industry must reap in delirious profits

My hotel is in the Le Marais district (This is where the Metro spits out all the most colourfully dressed men)

I have not idea what it is but it looked pretty ;-)

I look into various restaurants but can’t find one that I like.  When I find myself at Place de la Bastille, I simply head over to Les Associes, the restaurant where I met Joanna in 2013.

Not my pic; I forgot my camera in the hotel room

Crudely judging by skin colour, it seems to be operated by people whose ethnic origin is Algeria.  I order a Pizza Miss Opera with a glass of Rose, which seems to generate some amusement in the relaying of my order from bar to kitchen.  Hey, Miss Opera comes with lettuce; one should always be kind to one’s digestive system ;-)

The Rose runs well, so I order ‘Un autre verre de Rose, s’il vous plait’ while I’m typing away at this post.  

Despite all efforts I am asleep at 7 pm. Bon nuit!