ABC Wednesday—Q = "quai"

. . . de la Tournelle, that is.  Can you
imagine a more romantic place to stroll—
or a more fantastic view?

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

{I'm scheduling this to post, but I might not be able
to link back to ABC Wednesday.  At the
moment I'm on a ship off the coast of Argentina,
and may or may not have any Internet.}

Dans la Cathédrale Notre Dame

I love this church, but not so much
when it's filled to overflowing
with visitors.  The best time to really
see it, to appreciate the sheer
size—and the silence—is when the
doors are first opened, at 8 a.m.

[Am linking back to The Weekend in Black and White,
Shadow Shot Sunday,  inSPIREd Sunday
and Dreaming of France.]

I love my view!

I've been told that if you take a picture of
a person next to one of these stone creatures that
live atop Notre Dame, the chimera will look real and
the human will appear to be made of stone.  I've never
tested it out myself, but others I know have and guess what:
It's true.  If (or better yet, when) you go to Paris, climb 
the 387 steps of the north tower and try it out for yourself.
(Or just go up there for the awesome view!)

[It's Skywatch Friday. To see more, go here.]

Notre Dame, 8 a.m.

It's worth getting up early to have Notre Dame
(almost) to yourself, whether you want
to appreciate it in peace and quiet—
or take unpopulated pictures.

A Quai With a View

After I left Paris, the woman I'd worked for
moved to a 2nd-floor apartment with this terrific
view of Notre Dame.  Unfortunately her dog, a sweet
boxer named Lazare, was more distressed than impressed.
He actually jumped out the window in an attempt to
get back to their former digs.  His broken leg did
mend, though, and he learned to live with the new view.