Paris Day 3: Notre Dame, Louvre, LaDuree

So the next day, of course, Juliana and I woke up without alarm clocks set, around noon. It was late, but we did need some sleep to get through the rest of the day.
Today we planned to be very touristy. First stop: Notre Dame.
We picked up some sandwiches from a local patisserie/boulanger, or rather we attempted to. My request for a "baguette" sandwich turned into just a baguette...which was a little depressing. Jules was successful with her ham and baguette combo, but neither of us were satisfied. Thus, a few stores down, we went into an episserie and bought some cheese, drinks, chips and such and decided we would have a picnic in front of Notre Dame! It was delightful!!


There was a great big christmas tree in from of the Cathedral which felt somewhat forced but festive nonetheless. The inside of the Cathedral was much darker than it is during the summer months, and as a result all the glittering stained glass was not as impressive. But it was still nice to travel around this gigantic building and awe at its structural integrity which has lasted thousands of years.


Next, we walked along the seine and just took in the city. The walk along that river must be one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Seine is just big enough to give you a good view of the other side of the bank, but not too big to scare you away. We crossed the Pont Neuf and headed towards the Louvre.
The Palais that is incorporated in the Louvre and which surrounds the famous IM Pei pyramid was even bigger than I remembered it, and very very beautiful. The Louvre is so unique I just can't stand it. So well thought out. We only had a hour our two in the museum, so we made a point to see the art that Jules was interested in (including, of course, the overly-hyped up Mona Lisa, who now sits firmly, alone, on a GIGANTIC wall in the middle of a HUGE room...it's pretty depressing). Then we hopped on the metro that sits beneath the museum and went back...you guessed it...to the champs elysees!!



Now comes one of my favorite memories of the trip: LaDuree. This is a famous pastry shop that I accidentally came across in a trashy novel called "Debutant Divorcees" a novel I finished the day before we left. Upon discovering that this boutique-like and anicent pastry shop was real, I just thought that it was our fate to go.
LaDuree was romantic, to say the least. In the winter months, the decorations are dark and dimly lit on the first floor, emphasizing the aristocratic feeling of the shop. I keep calling it a shop, but this is really a tea parlor. We ended up heading upstairs to another salon room for our snack. Jules and I decided to split some vanilla tea and each got a plate of four macaroons (which is what Laduree is best known for). The flavors are exotic, including violet chocolate and Rose. DEEEEELICIOUS!!! I highly reccommend this place for the experience. They also serve complete meals, but, once again, we had dessert for dinner :)

After LaDuree, we headed home for some self-made pampering, including more baths, room service and comedy-show watching. It was glorious...especially the Indian food...mmmmmm. And have any of you ever heard of Catherine Tate? She was this really silly British comedian who has her own SNL-like show on a BBC channel. very silly. The perfect ending to our stay in Paris. We slept well, got up, packed, made our way back to the Gare du Nord and spent a day retracing the same steps we took to get there! Easy as pie!