Day 2 of France and Spain by Train

I awoke to the sound of dad announcing we had been given a breakfast box. It contained pain au chocolat, jam, dragon fruit drinks and oranges. We sat for a while before heading out. Our first stop was almost the entire length of the Metro 6 line. Line 6 opened in 1909 and after its last extension in 1942 it serves 28 stations along its 8.5-mile route. I enjoyed looking out of the window as we drew closer to the heart of Paris. The architecture and balconies overlooking the Metro Line had a distinctly Parisian feel. Line 6 of the metro is actually considered one of the most pleasant lines with just under half of the line being overground and passing well known monuments such as the Eiffel Tower.

We arrived at the Arc de Triomphe, taking in the flowery stone work on the underside. Commissioned by Napolean Bonaparte in 1806 the monument was designed by Jean-François Chalgrin. We then walked down the Champ de Elysées and George V Street passing several large department stores and grand looking hotels before we found ourselves standing on a bridge overlooking the Eiffel Tower. We walked around the base taking obligatory tourist photos before deciding to head to the Notre Dame. In order to get there, we found, much to our delight, we had to get on a double decker RER train. With childlike glee we made it to the Notre Dame just before midday. It chimed out several times to mark the occasion. It was quite surreal to see the Notre Dame in person after watching the fire live on television in 2019. Just after our visit French president visited the cathedral to officially open the medieval towers 6 years after they were destroyed in the fire.  

We soon found ourselves in a little nearby café where we ate ham and cheese baguettes, just about ordering correctly in French. Next stop was the Louvre to get a picture with the iconic glass pyramid. We then walked to the metro to get the train to Denfert-Rochereau to go to the Catacombs of Paris. We got there earlier than our allotted slot so made the most of exploring the nearby streets. What we found was a delight. Many shops with fresh fruit and vegetables, butchers, cheesemongers and patisseries, their stalls filled with produce spilling out onto the streets. We passed a charming toy shop where I found a replica of the local double decker RER trains, although very tempted it was almost 30 Euros and I decided against it.

We then meandered our way back to the Catacombs entrance where our bags where checked and tickets scanned before we descended 131 steps down a spiral staircase. Armed with our audio guides we made our way through the tunnels and the deconstructed skeletons of the ossuary, learning the history of stone mining which caused parts of Paris to collapse in the late 17^th century and how the bodies were exhumed from the mass graves and moved there. Finishing our tour, we made it back up to street level where we caught the metro back to our local stop.

Before we headed back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest, we perused a few local eateries – scouting them out before dinner time and sat at a local bar to have a drink before grabbing some supplies at a rather large supermarket. After spending some time relaxing at the hotel, we set off again in search for dinner. We had earmarked a Ukrainian restaurant but when we got there it was completely empty so we decided to go elsewhere. By fate we stumbled upon a cosy bistro with incredibly friendly staff. Bridging the language barrier, we managed to order successfully and I had chicken thigh in cep sauce and chips followed by crème brulee. We then called it a night and headed back to the hotel to sleep.