Sunday morning we were on our way to Notre Dame.   We were surprised when a bus pulled up and we couldn’t get on because it was so crowded.  It would be a 20 minute wait for the next one.  In the meantime, I noticed this sign alerting passengers that there would be limited service due to the Semi Marathon de Paris today.  It further went on to say the bus would not be going as far as we needed.  Armed with this information we knew we would have to walk a little more after the last stop.

The bus announcement was made that we must get off  at the Pont Des Arts.  This is a bridge that spans the Seine not far from Notre Dame.  It connects the Île de la Cité to the left bank.

This is the Pont Des Arts Bridge.  If you enlarge the picture you can see shiny brass locks.  Lovers come armed with every size lock and key.  They have engraved the locks with their names and sometimes dates.  After attaching the lock and sealing it with a kiss, they throw the key into the Seine.  It is used as a symbolic gesture, as if to lock up their love forever, and leaving a sign of their love in one of the most romantic cities in the world.

This started a little over two years ago.   Although we have been here the past three winters, we never walked across this bridge.  I started hearing about this just recently.

It is amazing to see the number, colors and sizes of these locks.

We felt badly we did not have one so that we could add our own to the bridge.  But, we are planning on getting one soon and doing just that!

This little boy in his adorable beret, is doing his own inspection.

The next photo is of the beginning of the Île de la Cité, the island where Notre Dame is located.

We took the staircase on the other side of the bridge which led us down to the houseboat area.  There are many houseboats along the Seine.

We spotted a gnome on the front of this boat.  We read about the prank that goes on with gnomes.  They are stolen from gardens, taken on a trip, photographed in a famous well-known place and the photographs are sent back to the owner. We couldn’t help but wonder if this gnome had been to many far away places.  I just can’t help but laugh out loud.

At the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris you can climb all the way up into the cathedral towers and then further upwards you can see the l largest bell named Emmanuel.

In 2002 we came to Paris and climbed about 380 steps all the way up.  It offered an amazing view of Paris and we got to see the many gargoyles right next to us.  We did at that time continue all the way up to the last flight. We did see the bell of Emmanuel.  It was hard not to picture Quasimodo, the fictional character of The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo when we went all the way up.

This picture shows that the line for the steps up to the Cathedral Towers was wrapped around the block.

After a long day we had a wonderful dinner on rue Saint Doninique at La Fontaine du Mars restaurant.  It is very traditional French and it was wonderful.

Tomorrow we are going on a trip early in the morning and will be gone all day.