Notre Dame de Paris

The boys and I went one morning to Notre Dame. We have visited the cathedral many times, but none of us had ever been up in the towers.

We discovered what many people already know - that the famous and strange mythical beasts guarding the towers are not gargoyles. They are called "chimera" and were a late nineteenth century addition.

They are indeed spooky. There are many more than can be seen from the ground.

Gargoyles, on the other hand, are the medieval waterspouts carved in the shape of animals.

We climbed clear to the top - more than 450 stone steps up a narrow spiral staircase. I was completely spent by the time we came out into the air.

Later, we went to the Ile St. Louis for something to eat at a sidewalk cafe.

True sat on the steps by the Seine across the street while he waited for his meal - a surprisingly tasty charbroiled cheeseburger.

Then we went for a walk by the river.

We hung around the point of the island for a while on the cobblestone terrace there.

On our way back around the other side of the island, we saw a man fighting with a big fish. He finally landed it. It was about two feet long. The French call it a brochet. It's called a Northern Pike in English.