Getting high in Paris (4th September)

Even though we're both starting to get shattered, it's worth forcing ourselves out of bed when we remember we're in Paris and think of all the things we can go and see. Today our first stop is one of the more interesting buildings in Paris, Notre Dame (or "Our Lady" - Mary). Started in 1163, it took till 1345 to be completed. The reason for the French Revolution was basically because the overwhelming majority of poor Parisians were being very heavily taxed into poverty, while the small number of wealthy aristocrats and clergy weren't taxed at all. For this reason Notre Dame stopped being a church and fell into a state of disrepair. The saviour of the building was Victor Hugo, who wrote the book "Notre Dame de Paris" which talks in great detail about the beauty of the building. It was only 14 years after the book was released that the cathedral restoration started, so a big shout out to Victor cause it's definitely a building worth saving! Interestingly the English version is titled "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" which puts much more emphasis on the character Quasimodo than the author intended. It does, however, mean that tourists have an added incentive to climb the towers and see this chimera up close. Note that Quasimodo is NOT a gargoyle because he is purely decorative, while a gargoyle has the function of draining rainwater away from the face of the building. We decided, after deliberation, to pay the 8 euro and go up to the top... totally worth it because the detail of the building, and the chance to see the 13 tonne great bell up close. The inside of the building is free to enter, which is brilliant because it is stunning to see the stained glass windows and the size of the vaulted ceiling from the inside. Getting there early was definitely a good idea because it was quiet when we went inside first and then waited 15 minutes for the towers to open (there was no real queue for either part). The masses were definitely forming when we'd come down from our view from the top. Just outside the facade of the cathedral is Point Zero, which is where all the distances in France are measured from... cue the obligatory tourist photo standing on it! Just behind Notre Dame is the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation, which remembers the 200,000 French people that were held and killed in concentration camps as part of the Nazi occupation. We were a few minutes late to go inside, but we'll have a better chance to pay our respects later in the trip. We didn't think that we have got high enough yet today, so we made our way to another tourist hot spot - Sacre Coeur. This is an incredible basilica built on one of the few high spots of the otherwise flat city of Paris. Again it's free to go in, however it's a bit like shopping mall as you make you way around. There are small souvenir shops, donation boxes, candles you can purchase to light in prayer and even souvenir coin vending machines set up at convenient intervals! It was awesome to be there during a service, because it meant that we could appreciate the resounding echos that reverberate throughout the vast dome cavity. Understandably no photos are allowed inside this working church - so we stopped at a convenience shop and bought a postcard of the inside to remember what the stunning mosaic roof of the dome looks like. We once again payed the extra to get high - and it was interesting to be able to compare the two structures immediately after each other. Sacre Coeur is spotlessly clean on the inside, however they definitely need to borrow some of the Notre Dame 'cleaning lasers' to tidy up the grime and graffiti on the upper levels. The view was absolutely brilliant from the top (better than Notre Dame because it's 360 degrees) although the vertigo factor definitely kept Mike from fully appreciating the views down into the details of the building itself. Once we'd come back down to earth we made our way through a stretch of Montemartre suburb (stopping for souvenirs and a strawberry tart) to one of the most famous show venues in the world - the Moulin Rouge. We couldn't stay for a show however because we were meeting Shona's friend Nicci for an authentic Paris dinner. Her husband is French and they lived in Paris for a year before Philippe was stationed in Lagos, Nigeria. She happened to be in town to meet her Mum the next day (over on holiday) so our timing was perfect to catch up! Nicci took us to her old local restaurant Le Messager for what turned out to be an amazing culinary experience (you'll like this Janine). It started out normally enough with our appetizers of gazpacho for Mike, salmon for Shona and foie gras for Nicci (apparently the foie gras here is absolutely amazing, but we both object to eating it because of the preparation method). There was of course genuine champagne to go with it - but the weirdness started when we'd ordered our mains of duck, fish and risotto. It's not like a normal restaurant where the chef works out the back and the waitress is the only point of contact. Herve loves cooking but also loves his conversation, so he comes out and talks, entertains and basically just mingles with his customers when he isn't busy. Because it was so quiet when we were there, we basically all talked (in a mixture of English and French) for around 2 hours with him, the waitress Geniveieve and Nicci. It was fun as we tried to translate the menu from French to English with Nicci as they wanted to practice their English and we wanted to learn what things were in French. Nicci helped to translate but even gets a bit confused between languages sometimes! We don't blame her. A lot of the time Herve was topping up the champagne, giving us a free beer or wine, or insisting that we try his father's "apple juice" recipe. We don't think that there's any apple in this shot... simply it was so strong there can't have been many percentages left after the alcohol component is considered! He also brought out caramelised figs after Nicci had (naughtily) paid the bill, we guess it's just the French way to be ridiculously hospitable and we see why Nicci keeps coming back here! A taxi back to the hostel after another late night... but once again totally totally worth it!