Sunday Gravy/Boots on the Ground: Paris and Notre Dame

Bon Jour!

Now that you’ve seen the foods of Paris, in two parts! we can take you on a tour of the city itself. We’ll do this over the course of the next few weeks. 

When producing travelogues of this type I’ve found it easiest to construct each post in chronological order. 

Landing in a new city, especially one with the size, history and visuals that Paris has, every person has their own approach on how to immerse themselves. I like taking a walking tour the first full day I’m in a new country or city, just to establish my bearings.

Let’s jump on in.

This is as we approached the city center in our taxi in from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The airport is a good 45 minute or so ride via taxi/Uber so keep that in mind. There is a fixed rate for taxi fares to/from the airport that’s about 56 Euros. This is important. An Uber ride may be quite a bit more and also be on the lookout for taxis without meters or “shady” looking cabs that may not be licensed. You can end up spending a lot more than the fixed rate so keep that in mind.

In fact if you’re not taking public transportation into the city, your best bet is getting a taxi right at the official cab stand at the airport itself.

I love the fixed cab fares for cities that have remote airports. New Orleans has a fixed rate and so does Denver. Yes, there are plenty of cab drivers who may “forget” the fixed rate and try running up the meter. Since you’re a smart motherfucking world traveler you’re aware of this shit and avoid it.

Remember we were staying in Le Marais right near the river between the 3rd and 11th Arrondissements.

The rental was leased through Vrbo since I’ve found their rates are a bit lower than Airbnb and I’ve had good luck with them in the past.

This is the building our rental was in. Not too shabby.

After getting as much sleep as possible after arrival, I awoke for the first full day in the city.

Ready to jump right in the best way is to just start walking. See what’s nearby.

I found the Jardin Anne Frank just a couple of blocks from the rental.

Not a huge park but serene enough. Paris is filled with parks and green spaces because they are an advanced civilization when compared to US cities that basically plow down everything and fill the cities with a bunch of shitty concrete.

This was a very breathable city.

Although there was a really large sign in front of the Jardin warning about rats. I didn’t venture too far inside.

We traveled in mid April. The reason?

Perfect weather.

Gorgeous weather. Daytime highs in the mid 60’s and lows at night into the low 40’s. 

Why anyone travels ANYWHERE in summer continues to completely baffle my fucking mind.

Next mission, walk towards the river. The Seine is a great navigational centering point. Once your brain can lock down which direction the river is from your current location, you’ve got that shit nailed down.

The Museum of Science and Industry and I’m pretty sure there’s a hotel in there too.

And in a plaza just in front we found…

Parc de la Villette Carousel. Also known as the Jules Verne Carousel. Turns out Paris has lots of these. Probably best to call this a “merry-go-round” since Paris is also filled with the other type of carousels. The traffic circles. Those are a goddamn adventure to navigate on their own.

I would not even ATTEMPT driving in this city. Between the bicycles, scooters, e-bikes and such it’s goddamn intense riding around in Paris.

I’ll pay a professional to drive, thank you.

Did I have any idea what these photos were actually of at the time? Fuck no! This is all research WAY after the fact.

We noticed the streets, sidewalks and cafes were starting to get really crowded and everyone seemed to be heading in the same direction.

Towards the river.

Love that shot.

We crossed right here!

Here we are crossing from the right bank to the left bank.

The bridge itself was filled with pedestrians.

AND there was a fantastic band playing what sounded like Dixieland Jazz but that can’t be even fucking close to what they call the music here. They were excellent and it was a great tone setter.

It was around this time when I saw the very distinct towers of Notre Dame and checking the time I saw it was about 10 minutes before noon.

Oh Shit!

The Bells!

We headed there directly.

There are over 1,500 statues in Paris and to be honest that number feels a little low. There are statues everywhere.

The place was crowded for sure. If you remember they’ve only been reopened since December of 2024 due to the fire.

Plus you factor in that it was almost noon and if it’s bells you’re looking for? They rocked the shit out of the bells.

In the plaza right in front we found the statue of Charlemagne et ses Leudes.

While Notre Dame “reopened” in 2024, it is far from finished. Here’s a shot from the construction side.

Still fenced off and closed to traffic on this side.

They’ve got the heavy construction gear out for this one too.

And when looked at from the river side you can see just how bad the fire was and how much work is still left to do.

After hearing the bells we crossed back to the right bank.

This is one of those “Dine on the river” boats that populate the river and while it may look touristy I’ll bet that’s some pretty cool shit to do with a glass of champagne in your hand.

Now I would like to share what I found to be the best travel tip that we encountered in Paris.

The Batobus!

It’s a water taxi that runs a continuous circuit. You’re riding this on the fucking Seine.

Twenty three Euros per adult for 24 hours or 27 Euros for 48 hours of hop-on and hop-off access.

Check out this map.

We hopped on at the Hotel de ville stop.

The stop was right across from Notre Dame.

You just hop on and take as many circuits around the river as you like. Or depart at any station for as long as you wish before reboarding and continuing the circuit.

You can use that map up there to see how long it takes between attractions, or if you’re a really smart motherfucker you can time it to pass the Eiffel Tower right as it does its hourly light show after dark.

Just riding the boat is an incredible experience but utilizing the hop-on hop-off element you can use this attraction to see all of the “must see” Paris destinations without walking your ass off or using other forms of transportation.

Find a hotel/rental near the river, walk to a stop and see the sites.

I wish someone would have told me before I visited! I didn’t find out about this shit until our last day.

Be smart! Use the Batobus!

Anyway that was another day.

Gratuitous river crossing photo!

This time crossing from left bank to right.

And we’re back on the right bank where we started.

Stop by again next Sunday for a bit more Paris won’t you?

Got a surprise guest and everything.

Have a great rest of your Sunday people and as always…