Anticipation...

Ever since our itinerary was posted back before the LN85 program officially began, Peep has been waiting for Notre Dame. After all, it is a beautiful and iconic landmark of Paris—definitely a must-see, despite the fact that I never officially drafted any kind of must-see list for Paris. So today, our final full day in the city, Peep got his chance to see the cathedral, which he'd clearly been anticipating even before we left for London...

Like many of the churches we've seen in London and Paris alike, Notre Dame was a popular destination, and there were the expected crowds of tourists on hand to see the cathedral. Unlike some of the other churches, though, photography (sans flash) was allowed, so we had the chance to document our tour through the inside and the incredible stained glass windows. Although we visited areas all around Notre Dame on previous walking tours of the area earlier in the week, it was neat to go inside. The gift shop was a bit odd to see—there was also one when we visited Sacre Coeur, so perhaps it's a French cathedrals thing?—but the interior was beautiful. Peep did not emerge for a photo op inside the church, but was suitably impressed with the size and scale of the cathedral from the outside (much larger than the model he posed with prior to leaving Florida). With some spare time after our interior tour—the lines were too long to climb to the tower for the super views—we got to wander around some, see the back and sides of the church, and visit a couple of souvenir shops too before our afternoon river cruise on the Seine. There were some scary people on the sidewalks around the cathedral and a surprising number of food vendors and nearly identical souvenir shops, but that made it convenient for grabbing a late lunch and picking up any last-minute souvenir choices before our group meeting for the cruise.

It's much bigger in person...

Peep admiring the architecture

Following our relaxing dinner cruise during which we had a chance to see a lot of famous sights along the Seine, the group went to a final farewell dinner. Peep missed out on our special dinner and chocolate mousse dessert, but it was a fun way to end the day and our time here in France. :)