Paris Trip - Day 7

We started this day with a return trip back to Notre Dame. The previous day we toured the cathedral inside, but on this day we climbed the stairs to the bell towers and the roof. Being on the roof of Notre Dame was probably my favorite thing of the entire trip. The entire scene is classic medieval France. It was amazing. You get a great view of the city, plus you're close enough to get a good sense of the architecture and layout of all the buildings below. We also got a close up view of all the gargoyles that perch on the ledges. The kids' favorite part was seeing Quasimodo's bell and the bell tower. Notre Dame is on a thin strip of land in the middle of the Seine river, and this strip of land is regarded as the historical center of Paris. When the Romans first settled the city they encountered a Gallic tribe living on this strip of land...the Parisii. From then on the area was nicknamed after the tribe that lived there. So because of that history the front square of Notre Dame houses the "Crypt Archaeologique" museum underground, which houses the city's earliest buildings and settlement. Ben and I thought it was pretty cool.
Later on we took a boat ride down the Seine river to the Musee de Orsay, which is a museum that houses all the Impressionist painters. We enjoyed the museum a lot more than the Louvre. We could actually get up close with the works of Van Gogh, Seurat, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, etc. Ben and Megan were some of the youngest kids we saw at the museum, but they behaved wonderfully. Ben actually enjoyed the Van Gogh works.
In the evening we walked down a nearby street from our hotel and ate at a great Italian restaurant. We also enjoyed just walking around the streets at night, eating some ice cream, and just doing some people watching. I like getting shots of all the sidewalk bistros. Classic Paris.