Notre Dame Towers
Post date: 28-Aug-2009 00:37:43
Colin and I walked up 400 winding steps today (Thursday, Aug 27, 2009) to enjoy the view from the Towers of Notre-Dame. The stone stairs have been walked on so many times that you can feel the uneveness from the stone being worn down in the center of each step. As you climb higher, the stairs get smaller and smaller. There were people moving up and down the narrowest set to the very top of the tower, so some people had to walk with one toe per stair on the narrow inner part of the stairs. Luckily, Colin managed to keep us on the outer wider section of the stairs when we were going up and down again.
The 8 euros per person is a little steep, but it is a really cool view. There are various Chimera which are often mistaken as gargoyles hanging off the side of the building but their mouths are drain pipes.
There are however various cool animals that I think are actually considered gargoyles that are perched on top of the tower. It was very cool to look across at the Eiffel Tower which is very tall in comparison to the towers of Notre-Dame. but we are going to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower next week (even though I was nervous enough just looking down from the towers).
Victor Hugh's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame was published in 1831 and most of the action in the novel takes place in the towers with the famous bell ringer Quasimodo.
After the towers, we stopped form some French street food. I had a fromage crepe and Colin had a chicken and cheese panini. We enjoyed our lunch by the river and listened to a saxophone player.
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