Day 19

Well I made it to Paris. The sleeping arrangements on the train were a lot more comfortable than I expected. I pretty much slept the entire 12 hour ride, and arrived at 9am this morning ready to explore the city. First I checked out the Eiffel Tower, which is massive. Way bigger than you'd expect. But it wasn't mega impressive and I didn't really feel the urge to go to the top. Then I walked over to the Cathedral de Notre Dame. Which on the map was only 3 blocks, but ended up being an hour and a half walk. This city is crazy big. Had a known that earlier I would have taken the metro. The Cathedral is absolutely beautiful, just like I expected it to be. The architecture is amazing, the gargoyles everywhere and little details. They were in the middle of mass when I showed up, so I stayed for a bit, then lit a candle and said a prayer for all my family and friends. I also walked up the bell towers, what an experience that was. Going up the spiral staircase, hundreds of stairs with grooves in them from being walked on for so many years. You get to go outside at the top and see all the gargoyles close up. I walked up to see the main bell, which is HUGE. Then on the very top you get a panoramic view of all of Paris. After that I found a free concert in a park and sat down for a while, since my legs were shaking after all those stairs. Tomorrow I'm taking the train to Normandy for the day. Then I can check out the D-Day beaches and a bit more history there.
I've been trying to post a few pics here, but it won't let me. I think my camera makes the pictures too big to post. So I'll see what I can do about that.