In the year 2007 our daughter Cathy was promoted to a managerial role in London. After some months she was missing "home", so we decided to visit her.
In the first few days we settled in with her in her small flat in Windsor and she was able to take a few days off.
We decided on a flight to Paris and to stay in a small hotel near the Arc de Triumphe.
Among the many notable buildings which we visited were the Arc, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Hotel des Invalides (where Napoleon's body lies) and the Chateau de Ver Sailles.
We then decided to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. As it was only a short walk we set off. On arrival we joined a long queue to get in, or so we thought. The queue grew longer and longer and we didn't appear to be moving anywhere. Every now and then we would move a few paces forward and then stop again, and wait. Approximately an hour late we were given a ticket to enter, so we were getting closer. Finally a door opened and we, along with 20 others, were ushered into a dark little room with just stairs in it. We started to climb and soon realized that we had joined in a queue to climb to the top of the tower, and not to just visit the magnificent Cathedral, as we had intended.
So, slowly we ascended the 263 steps and finally we reached the Bell Tower at the very top of the Cathedral. I was so exhausted! I found a chair and just sat there, trying to get my breath back and work up enough energy to face the fact that I had to walk back down those 263 steps. The view from the top was amazing, looking out over Paris.
After descending slowly down we were then inside the Cathedral and I could once again just sit in a pew and relax.
If only I'd known I was in the wrong queue!!
Ray O'Shannessy
9th September, 2021
In the first few days we settled in with her in her small flat in Windsor and she was able to take a few days off.
We decided on a flight to Paris and to stay in a small hotel near the Arc de Triumphe.
Among the many notable buildings which we visited were the Arc, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Hotel des Invalides (where Napoleon's body lies) and the Chateau de Ver Sailles.
We then decided to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. As it was only a short walk we set off. On arrival we joined a long queue to get in, or so we thought. The queue grew longer and longer and we didn't appear to be moving anywhere. Every now and then we would move a few paces forward and then stop again, and wait. Approximately an hour late we were given a ticket to enter, so we were getting closer. Finally a door opened and we, along with 20 others, were ushered into a dark little room with just stairs in it. We started to climb and soon realized that we had joined in a queue to climb to the top of the tower, and not to just visit the magnificent Cathedral, as we had intended.
So, slowly we ascended the 263 steps and finally we reached the Bell Tower at the very top of the Cathedral. I was so exhausted! I found a chair and just sat there, trying to get my breath back and work up enough energy to face the fact that I had to walk back down those 263 steps. The view from the top was amazing, looking out over Paris.
After descending slowly down we were then inside the Cathedral and I could once again just sit in a pew and relax.
If only I'd known I was in the wrong queue!!
Ray O'Shannessy
9th September, 2021
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