Belleville

The forecast temperature for today in Paris was 38 deg. Writing this up quite a few days later, the highest recorded temperature in the city today proved to be 39.3 deg. Not really an ideal day for sight-seeing! We took the metro in from Belleville to start with a visit to Notre-Dame, surprised at how quickly the long queue moved. The cathedral was an astonishing sight from both outside and within, the scale staggering. It's been restored magnificently. I can't begin to imagine the grief of the city when the roof caught fire. Apart from the presence of a crane and scaffolding, you'd never know, certainly not from the inside.

It was then on to the Eiffel Tower and I was excited at the prospect of finally getting to climb a structure that's been prominent in my imagination since I was a little kid. It was not to be. After queuing in the heat for a long time to gain entry to the main concourse, I discovered that they'd closed the top because of the extreme heat. It seemed to be melting! With E kindly waiting for me outside in the shade and with long queues to gain access to the lower levels, I decided to abort until another trip. I returned to find that E was also melting. The decision was made that I do a bit of sight-seeing on my own. My favourite way to get to know a city is just to wander so I thought I'd walk back to our apartment, visiting a few of the famous sights along the way.

I made my cycling pilgrimage to the Arc de Triomphe, getting to see the surface of the Champs-Élysées, the gradient, in awe of the speed at which the Tour de France is finished. I then wandered across to Montmartre to visit the Sacré-Cœur. The heatwave was in my favour here because there were very few takers for the 292 steps to the viewing area around the dome. I met no one going up nor down and only a handful of people to share the space with at the top. Taking longer than intended to soak in the panoramic view of the whole city (and rest in some shade), I had to get a shift on not to be too late back to the apartment. It turned out to be 9 miles by the route I took! Although I cope pretty well with the heat, I couldn't stop drinking for the rest of the day. 

Feeling bad that France had not so far proved a great place for vegetarian eating, E did some research to find a well-reviewed Vegan restaurant not far away. It proved to be sensationally good, with great service and not expensive either. There is something wonderful about eating outside of a warm evening, on the street, watching the world go by. I love this little area in Belleville, very close to where the previous day's shot was taken. Way above all the shots of the sights today, including endless views of the Eiffel Tower, this is my favourite photograph. It captures a moment and a feeling and that's what it's all about.