Adventures By Disney - A Tale of Two Cities - Page 35 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I’m not going to call this update a spoiler, because I believe we only got to do this as an added bonus of the Adults Only itinerary. The only activities on the official agenda for this day were the Eurostar, the Parisian Orientation Tour and the welcome reception. Everything after the welcome reception is definitely a bonus and not part of the regular ABD itinerary.
I’ve got a lot of pictures (I took 379 photos this day), so I’m going to just talk about Notre Dame in this update.
Day Four, Part Two In Search of Quasimodo
As we approached Notre Dame, I could see that there was a festival going on (a bread festival, if I recall).
Laurent told us all about the history of the church. The most amazing thing to me was the construction began in 1163, making the building over 800 years old! The United States is such a young country (relatively speaking). Our “old” buildings are 100 or 200 years old.
As old as Our Lady is, she’s still absolutely stunning!
We had the chance to go inside on our own and explore. The guides pointed out the restrooms, so I decided to go ahead and go. They had pink toilet paper in the bathroom. After that, I headed inside to explore. The inside is equally grand and magnificent, and I took a lot of pictures. Don’t worry, I’m not going to post them all.
I came across a beautifully detailed wooden scale model of the church, which I really enjoyed seeing.
After my exploration, I still had a little time before it was time to meet up with the group, so I did a little shopping. I headed out and found the Guides, who had bottled water and snacks for us. And, no English chocolates here – they had croissants and pain au chocolat I need to take a minute to say to the chef that decided to put chocolate in the bread. (I noticed a lot of the breakfast cereals had chocolate in them as well. And of course crepes with nutella – what a country! )
There was a long, long line of people waiting to climb the 387 steps of the South Tower, but because we were on a Disney tour, we got to go to the head of the queue. They only allow small groups up at a time, so when it was our turn, it was only the Adventurers who chose to make the climb and our two ABD guides Eddie and Andy.
For those who didn’t want to make the climb (like I said, 387 steps and a tight, winding staircase) Laurent stayed behind to answer questions and directed people to visit the gardens or do some exploring in the area.
You don’t climb the whole way at once, but rather in sections. The first section of stairs ends at another gift shop. I browsed around in there, but didn’t make any additional purchases. When everyone had caught their breath, we started up the next section. When I reached the end of the section, I was winded let me tell you. When I finally recovered, the view took my breath away!
When everyone was ready to continue, we moved on. We got to visit the 13-ton, nearly 400-year-old bell.
I didn’t see Quasimodo (and I guess it’s a good thing – I imagine I’d suffer some severe hearing loss if he rang that bell while I was standing right next to it! ). Then we started the final climb…
See, a tight, winding staircase – not good for claustrophobics, methinks
As you would expect, the climb is totally worth the amazing view!
Guaranteed way to look good: pose next to a couple of gargoyles
That’s Sacre Coeur, which I wanted to visit, but I didn’t have time, so that will have to be another entry on the list for next time.
I even shot a little video up there. Unfortunately, you can’t hear the sounds of the city (and the cool Parisian police sirens that were ringing) because it was too windy.
We were up there for a little while to enjoy the view. They only allow a few people down at a time, so we ended up splitting up from the rest of our group (I was in the back half of our group).
As bad as the climb up was, I almost want to say going down 387 steps was worse. It’s a tight staircase and you have to look down to see where you’re going (and I was holding onto both the railing and the wall). Not fun!
When I got to the bottom, I had to stop for a photo shoot.
I headed off to the meeting area to wait for the rest of the group to gather. The famous bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, was a very short walk away, and I’d wanted to visit it and buy a book, but there wasn’t enough time. Something for my next trip! Instead, I took a few more photos and chatted with my tour mates.
See those people way up there? That’s where I was!
Once everyone was back together, we boarded our bus and were on our way again.
Up Next: The real surprises
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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Okay...I am absolutely loving this part of your trip. It brings back some really fun memories. My DH had an arbitration in Paris once and I tagged along for the ride. I was 4 months pregnant and in Paris...no champagne, no wine, no soft cheeses...and at the time I was afraid of anything with a hoof or a mouth. So, we ate pizza, chinese food and Planet Hollywood and we went to Haggen Daas across the street nightly. (Although I did eat a lot of crepes and baguettes and a French pigeon pooped on my head in the Spanish quarter...hope that wasn't an ABD surprise for you. ) I learned the basics in French. Good morning, good evening, please, thank you, excuse me and being pregnant "where is the bathroom". Loved it there and would LOVE to go back.
Your pictures are amazing. I love the picture looking down at the arches at Notre Dame and the hidden Mickey in the wooden model, and the gargoyle with his head in his hands just looking out at the view. Yes, we climbed those stairs as well. And the Rose window...the entire time all I could picture was Esmerelda singing under the window. (sorry for the ramble, just brings back some wonderful memories)
And this took me a minute...but I got it...very funny. I've got a couple of "tunnel monkeys" to try that on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christiejay
We had to go through a tunnel near the end of the line, and the narrator suggested that the kids might see a "tunnel monkey" if they looked really close. Think about it for a minute ...
Fabulous update! You almost have me wanting to go to Paris and that's never been on my must do list.
The pictures of Notre Dame are just stunning. I have a beautiful pen and ink of Notre Dame that hangs on my living room wall that my uncle drew. He is an architect and spent some time in Paris during graduate school. He's a wonderful artist as well as architect.
I'm glad you went up those 387 steps and took lots of pictures. Not sure that I could do that because I am claustrophobic. Mission Space at Disney gets to me. The view was beautiful. What a gorgeous day! I'll bet it's gorgeous at sunset but imagine that they stop the tour long before then.
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What great photos of the Notre Dame - I love that place and seeing those brought back lots of wonderful memories. You know, in all the times I've been there though, I have never gone up the tower - I think one time I was going to, it was closed for restoration and another time, I had a bad ankle. Judging by those views, I really must get round to doing it.
Great photos, looks like it was worth the climb to the top! Notre Dame was under construction when I was there and you couldn't climb to the top. So we skipped it , great to see your photos of it.
I showed these pics to my ds and he was absolutely drooling. Paris is his dream city to go to. The closest we've come is staying at the Paris Las Vegas. Not quite the same! I'm loving this report.
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Oh, I think my favorite part so far has been your pics of the gargoyles. They are just amazing! The detail is fabulous. And I can almost imagine them jumping up and start talking like Victor, Hugo and Laverne!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Awesome photos! It's been over 30 years since I was in Paris last but it looks just as beautiful as always. Unlike a lot of cities, the skyline doesn't seem to change much--and that's a good thing.
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The United States is such a young country (relatively speaking). Our “old” buildings are 100 or 200 years old.
After that, I headed inside to explore. The inside is equally grand and magnificent, and I took a lot of pictures. Don’t worry, I’m not going to post them all.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I need to take a minute to say 
to the chef that decided to put chocolate in the bread. 
– what a country! 
)
They only allow small groups up at a time, so when it was our turn, it was only the Adventurers who chose to make the climb and our two ABD guides Eddie and Andy.
When I finally recovered, the view took my breath away!
). Then we started the final climb…
It’s a tight staircase and you have to look down to see where you’re going (and I was holding onto both the railing and the wall). Not fun! 
So, we ate pizza, chinese food and Planet Hollywood 
) I learned the basics in French. Good morning, good evening, please, thank you, excuse me and being pregnant "where is the bathroom". Loved it there and would LOVE to go back.
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PassPorter Guide Author
Claytrgtshooter (Minnie Lor's Hubbie)
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