{Travel} European Vacation-Paris Day 5 (Notre Dame)

The adventure continues!

It was the day after Christmas and we were going to take it easy after spending Christmas day at Disneyland Paris.

We slept in and went to  Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris.

The lines were long here as well but they moved pretty steadily and we didn't have to wait long.

I got to capture some of the gargoyles on top of the cathedral while we were in line.

We had been to Notre Dame in Montreal and wanted to see the original (the one in Montreal is a replica of this one).

There were warnings about pick pockets here as well.

Admission is free.

You don't need to speak French to understand how old this building is.

There was a mass going on while we were there.

Shhhhh!

The place is massive with lots of alcoves and gorgeous stained glass windows.

A tiny replica of the cathedral.

Family selfie outside.

We explored the area around the cathedral.

{the back side of Notre Dame}

Parisian artist displaying his work

The English bookstore Shakespeare & Company was right across the street.

Parisian vendors

Pont des Arts/Lock Bridge

Lovers locks along the bridge (the tradition is to write you and your loved one's names on a lock and attach it to the bridge, then throw away the key to symbolize unbreakable love).  It's gotten out of control and we saw locks on other bridges too.

Walking around the city...

I couldn't stop taking photos of the bridges and beautiful architecture.

We were heading toward Ile Saint-Louis but stopped in the Latin Quarter for lunch.

We had lunch at Cafe Rim Pizzeria (38 Rue St Severine) and I got another Salad Chevre Chaud.  This one had little toasted slices of baguette topped with warm goat cheese on a bed of lettuce and tomatoes and sprinkled with walnuts.

Ile Saint-Louis is one of the two natural islands in the Seine River.  It's a picturesque neighborhood full of cute shops, cafes and bistros.

We stopped into this sweet shop (La Cure Gourmande) and they kept giving us samples.

Everything was delicious!

We were looking for Berthillon gelato but the main store was closed.

We were able to find it at another store that carried the famous gelato. Score!

I got the caramel ginger.

We took a cab back to our neighborhood (this view never gets old!), happy to to be back at the apartment.

These were the doors to the courtyard of our apartment building (we had to enter a code to unlock the doors). #sofancy

to be continued...

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{Travel} European Vacation - Paris Day 4 Disneyland!

Day 4 in Paris and it was Christmas Day. We woke up dark and early (even the Eiffel Tower was dark) and headed over to the train station to take the RER to Disneyland Paris.  The train ride takes about 45 minutes out of town and the sun came up as we got closer to Marne-la-Vallee (the town where Disneyland Paris was built).

 

It was a little rainy and cold but that didn't dampen our spirits.

We couldn't wait to get our Disney fix!

You get off of the train and walk right over to the parks. Very easy!

We got there before opening so we had a little wait to get inside and we weren't the only ones. It was busy but once we got inside the gates it wasn't too crowded.

We had one day/two park tickets and went to Disneyland Park first.

The family wanted to try DLP's version of Space Mountain.  It's so steam punk looking, isn't it? I love roller coasters but they don't love me so I grabbed a cup of coffee while they went on the ride. Thumbs up!

Killin' it on Buzz Lightyear's Lazer Blast!

We wanted to check out as many unique to DLP attractions as we could but also visit some old favorites from our previous Disney trips.

{It's a Small World}

 {Alice's Curious Labyrinth}

 {Indiana Jones Et Le Temple De Peril}

{Phantom Manor}

Phantom Manor was a lot of fun because it's basically the exact same ride as The Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World but in French.

Big Thunder Mountain (and the sun came out!)

{Frontier Land}

{Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing}

We had lunch at Fuente Del Oro Restaurante in Frontier Land.

Mexican food sounded like a good idea and it was.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

{Fantasyland}

Inside the castle.

I love all of the Disney castles, it's hard to pick a favorite...Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty....

 

 

 We checked out the "merch" in the stores. Remy seemed to be the big star over there.

But Frozen was everywhere too.

After lunch we walked over to Walt Disney Studios Park.

Walt Disney Studios Park is France's version of Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

 

I didn't feel up to The Hollywood Tower of Terror this trip so I sat that one out.  It was cold! We're not used to going to Disney in cold weather.  I'm also not used to the smokers. It was supposed to be smoke-free but it wasn't really enforced too well. 

{Toy Story Playland}

{Ratatouille L'adventure Totalement}

We were getting cold and tired and losing our Disney gumption, what???!!

We headed over to Disney Village (like Downtown Disney) and had dinner at Planet Hollywood.

After dinner we took a few photos of Disneyland Paris all lit up at night.

 

 It was so pretty!

 Magical!

 The castle look so twinkly and icy!

 Really beautiful!

We were ready to go back to Paris. Disneyland Paris didn't feel quite like Paris or quite like Disney but it was a fun day trip and probably even more fun in warm weather. 

C'est la vie!

to be continued...

Catching up?

Day 1

Day 2

Night 2

Day 3

Our Disney Obsession:Start here!

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