bonjour notre dame (part II)

for sunday, we figured places wouldn't open so early so we had a welcoming sleep in.  i found this cute little cafe called dalloyau on the internet with this cute little chess cake called an echequier and of course, i had to try it. so we found one near the pantheon and dined a sweet brunch before being tourists. the mini version of the cake i saw on the internet was a 2x2 chessboard with a white chocolate pawn. the cake was very good with layers of chocolate cream and cake but it was topped with a glossy layer of glucose (my guess) which was too sweet and much more for looks than taste.

 

 

 

we then explored the pantheon, and as an architect student, it was such a pleasure to see a building we'd learnt so much about in class, in real life. i love looking up in these beautiful buildings and admiring all the details of the ceilings and thinking to myself: i need that in my house!!

 

continuing our quest, we took the metro to the cathedrale de notre dame. but we visited the adorable book stands that line the river seine. my friend picked up a few books, however, i didn't, knowing how heavy my luggage already was! they had lovely vintage newpaper front pages and illustration pictures. i really wanted to buy them all, but i was so afraid i'd crease them! maybe before i leave, i'll pick up a few! along the bridge, we found a number of locks that romantic lovers left to show their love. it was very romantic indeed, and this large white rusty heart was my favourite! cuute~

 

continuing on our way, we made it to the notre dame de paris! this is a fine example of gothic architecture, one of my favourite styles and how grand and tall this catherdral was! the detailed facades are incredible, and i would have loved to seen the gargoyles closer too, but i kept my feet on the ground today~ the line into the cathedral was very very long, but when we finally made it inside, we had to stay very quiet to respect the cathedral and it's purpose. i took many photos, but they turned out too blurry, what a shame! i guess i'll have to revisit it~

our next stop was to pay our respect to fryderyk chopin (my favourite composer) and oscar wilde (dorian gray, i love thee) at the well-known cimiterie pere lachaise. unfortunately we arrived at the cemetary 30minutes before closure and although we tried our hardest to reach the two tombstones, the security came around telling us to leave before we made it. i managed a few nice snaps, but nothing of what i wanted.

lastly, we took a train all the way out to montmartre to see the famous basilique sacre coeur. this is located at the top of a hill and involved climbing even more stairs. all the way up there were people trying to sell us unwanted good, we managed to avoid and ignore them all! sacre coeur was very impressive, but i think my heart lies with the notre dame. i've always had a thing for gothic architecture!!

we did pick up some very cheap macarons from maison georges larnicol. i tried the blackberryxblueberry and a chocolate ones which were both very good for the price~ the most impressive part about maison georges larnicol was actually the chocolate statues on display! my favourites were this delicate pirate ship and of course, the eiffel tower~ (yes, it's all made of chocolate!)