Nothing makes a man so adventurous as an empty pocket. Victor Hugo The Hunchback of Notre Dame

We were planning to be up early today to hit Paris bright and early, but we both slept in. I woke up at 8am from a dead sleep. Cecile walked out just afterwards looking like I felt, so it was another slow start to the day. We have very little time left here, which we are acutely aware of, but we are both exhausted. It’s almost 5 weeks of non stop action and stairs to boot. We have to remind ourselves that we are both fairly unfit women in our 60s and give ourselves a bit of leeway when it comes to being on the go all the time.

We finally got out the door and our first mission was to vote. Australia goes to the polls this Saturday and we will be on our way home. I believe that those who don’t vote without good reason should have no say in the outcome of the election. I want a say in the outcome and boy will I be doing some talking depending on which way it goes. Sadly, we’ve seen what happened in America and I just hope and pray that Australia doesn’t take that same route. So we both felt it was, not just our civic duty, but also our extreme privelige to vote.

We walked up to the train station which is about a 15 walk from here to catch a train in to Paris, but the ticketing system threw us so badly. We asked at the kiosk if the woman spoke English and she said no and shrugged her shoulders at us, so we were to get no help there. We ended up taking a cab to Jardin des Plantes and this time the taxi found us in the right spot. Once we got to Jardin des Plantes, we knew where we were going to get the Batobus. We had bought tickets for 2 days travel, so we were set.

Hopping on the Batobus, we enjoyed the journey along the Seine. It really is a beautiful way to travel in Paris. It stops at all the major attractions, and there is so much to see along the way. The artwork and bridges are mindblowing enough but then you see all the architecture that has survived for hundreds of years and you wonder about some of the buildings we are building now and how they will stand the test of time. But we kept going as the Australian Embassy is up near the Eiffel Tower and we want to vote. We got off there and again, the majesty of The Iron Lady is overwhelming. I don’t think I would ever take it for granted. From there, we walked up the road a bit, past markets and hawkers selling cheap Eiffel Tower statues and artwork until we found the Australian Embassy.

Going in through security was a breeze and the voting area was straight in front of us. Walking in, I think we were both surprised at the amount of people there to vote. Pleasantly surprised I might add. It made me feel proud of my fellow Australians who take that privelige seriously. We lined up and they gave us an envelope which we had to fill out, then take it up where they gave us the ballot papers for our area. Once we’d voted, we took it back and we put them in the envelope and sealed them. Voila, pop it in the box and voting is done. An easy process all in all. It’s just that we had to get to the other side of town to do it.

A quick selfie to say we’d voted in an Australian Embassy halfway across the world and we were heading back to the Batobus. By this time, it was lunchtime. ( I told you we had a late start to the day) So we walked past the markets and got some (very average) lunch. I was going to have a democracy sausage (an Aussie thing) so I got a pork sausage in a VERY crusty bun. It just didn’t cut it, but it did almost cut my gums. Cecile’s crepe didn’t look any more appetising, but we had something. That’s all that mattered.

Walking back through the hawkers trying to guilt you into buying their crap, we made our way to the Batobus but we were about 10 minutes early, so went to sit on the steps leading down into the Seine. Pigeons and ducks were happy wandering up to the people, no fears at all. We had to sit almost under the bridge to get out of the sun. Today was warm and we are both fair skinned. It was really knocking us around. As soon as we saw the boat doing a turn, we headed to line up with all the other passengers.

Onboard, we were sweltering. Because it is all glass, the midday sun was beating down on us through it. But we kept our calm and got off at Musee de Orsay. Our first stop for the day. We walked or should i say trudged slowly up the ramp from the boat and walked down the road to the entrance, only to find it is shut on Mondays. Arrghhhh.. Oh well. Notre Dame was next on our list, so we trudged all the way back to the boat and waited for the next one.

Two stops down and we were at Notre Dame. We were so thirsty by then, we went to go in a cafe nearby but they said they were just closing. So we kept walking down again till we found one open. I finally got my strawberry gelato that I have been hanging for. It was so welcomingly cold on such a warm day. Yes, it wasn’t as good as the ones I had at the Vatican or Merton ins 2017 but it was much appreciated. A cold drink as well while Cecile had a coffee to try to rev us both back up and we were on our way.

Shakespeare and Co was on our list of things to do so we went there first but of course it was packed with a line to go in. But there was the little second hand shop that was still part of it and we had a look there and I found both books of Geek Girl. I loved the Netflix series so I bought them to have a read of. The girl asked me if I wanted her to stamp the books with their stamp and I said Hell yes.. Of course I want that stamp on my books.

From there we wandered over to Notre Dame and our hearts sunk when we saw the lines. OMG.. They went forever and it was walking all around those damn cattle lines like they have in airports but these went on and on and on. We were about to consider not going today but the lines were moving quickly so we remained faithful to our mission and kept going. It was probably only about 10 minutes before we got inside, so it wasn’t too bad.

And it was worth it. Did I enjoy it as much this time as previously? No. The crowds were ridiculous and you couldn’t move without someone bumping into you. I had my backpack on too which made me feel like the hunchback of Notre Dame and people kept pushing against it. Both times I’ve been before, I was able to move about slowly and do quiet reflections on my way around. This time, that was impossible. I think everyone wants to see the restoration after the fire, which is why it is so stupidly busy.

While I was there I did light a candle for my daughter Aimee and my good friend Ann, asked me to light one for her beautiful son Clinton who she lost not long after I lost Aimee. I lit the candles for all of my friends who wear the ugly shoes of grief and their angels. Cheryl and Tarnia, Danielle and Zac, Lyn and Cindy, Ann and Jane, Jen and Chris and so many others. We are part of a club we never wanted to be a member of. Surviving the pain of losing a child is the hardest thing any of us have had to deal with. It is not the right order of life. And yet, here we all are, putting one foot in front of the other every day. I hope my love reached our angels and their parents.

That was the only time of quiet reflection for the wander through there, but it was still so crowded that it was minimal time. I then went on a photo mission. I can see huge differences in the cathedral, other than the crowds. The main difference is the colour. Obviously, the deep cleaning they’ve had to do to the stone work has taken hundreds of years of patina off the walls. Last time I went in there they were a deep yellow colour. You could smell, feel and see the years of incense, oils, people and prayers. It looks so white now. Oh it still have a yellow glow but mostly I think that is the lighting that they have in there which is definitely a warm gold colour. But the walls are definitely much lighter than they were before the fire.

There is still scaffolding everywhere outside as they continue to restore the beautiful Dame back to her former glory but it doesn’t detract from her beauty. Yes, she is showing the scars of the fire and subsequent restoration, but beauty and grace like hers is forever. I am amazed that most of the glass from the stained glass windows survived and again, they look better than ever once all the years of grime have been washed away with the deep cleaning process. I will never see her back to her warm golden colour as that takes hundreds of years to achieve but I am so grateful that I have seen her again after the fire. What a blessing.

We left Notre Dame and decided to grab a cab home. We know we needed to do more for the day but to be honest, we are both wrecked and tomorrow we have tickets to go to Monet’s garden and the Palace of Versailles. With the bus trip we’ve booked, it will take 11 hours so we know we needed to get some rest and then an early night.

We still had so much of the chicken from last night so we had that with a salad, then both had showers and pyjamas and we are ready for sleep. As I’m typing this, I can hear Cecile yawning from her bedroom. I hope we sleep well tonight so we can make the most of the glory of tomorrow’s outing.

Happy reflecting.. Livvy xxx