TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Today, the weather seemed pretty nice so we took the bus to the stop on the Île St. Louis. We crossed the bridge to the quai de la Tournelle and walked up the river stopping and looking at all the bookstalls along the river. As we approached Notre Dame, we went to a café to warm up a little and to take a break. We had our usual.

We went across the river to go into Notre Dame. As we approached we saw a crowd in front of the cathedral along with a number of British military people.

It seems that we had just missed a ceremony sponsored by the British Embassy and several veterans' groups that celebrated the commemoration of Armistice Day 1918. There seemed to be representatives of many different branches of service including a rep from the Australian army, a mountain soldier, etc.

We went into the cathedral to be amazed for the umpteenth time at the interior. The stained glass windows,

and the statues in front over the doors (Notice the headless saint)

There is also an interesting plaque in the cathedral that commemorates the origin of the cathedral. It dates back to 1163.

We never cease to be impressed with Notre Dame.

In the evening we went out to dinner in a restaurant in the Marais that is reputed to have the best couscous in the city. It is called Chez Omar on the rue de Bretagne. We both had the couscous, Alexandria had the vegetable version and Erwin had the brochette of lamb version. Both were very good and we had quite a bit that we couldn't finish. We have been there several times and we have always enjoyed our meals there. It's not much on decor, with simple wooden chairs and tables and a rather rustic interior. The waiters are also rustic. We finished off with some typical North African pastries filled with honey and nuts. Including wine, the tab came to less than 50 euros, very good for Paris.