Along the Seine

After our tour of Notre Dame de Paris (not to be confused with Notre Dame de South Bend) we took a long walk along the Seine.

It was a sunny day and even though the temps were quite cool we enjoyed our stroll and all of the beautiful sights along this very busy waterway.

Paris is not a tall city at all. The few taller buildings are located on the outskirts of town so everything in the center of Paris has a low and serene look. What the buildings lack in height they more than make up for in their massive presence. It seems that each building just goes on forever.

And we humans were not the only ones enjoying the lovely day by the river.

It is difficult to imagine how busy the Seine is. There is a constant stream of boat traffic of all types and sizes. Maneuvering even the smallest of boats under all of the bridges must be an enormous challenge. 

And I am guessing you do not want to be caught breaking the rules of navigation.

You may have seen on the news stories about the locks of lovers on the bridges over the Seine. What started as a small expression of love has grown  enormously. Lovers purchase a lock, write their names on it, lock it onto the bridge and throw the key into the river below. There is worry now that the extra weight of all of the locks could cause structural damage to the bridges and that the river will be polluted from the keys that are tossed in.

We passed the home where Rudolf Noureev (one of the all time great ballet dancers and choreographers) lived.

Our goal for this part of the day was to walk from Notre Dame to the Musee D'Orsay. It is said to be one of the best art museums in Paris. It is housed in the old Paris train station which alone is worth the visit. The distance did not look that long on the map, but it proved to be a very long walk. By the time we arrived our feet were sore and we were hungry and tired. Note to self: next time check which days the museum is open. Yes, we were there on the day it was closed. But we did enjoy some of the outdoor sculptures and a wonderful lunch in a nearby Bistro.

No matter where you looked along this walk there were beautiful buildings and landscapes. It was a stroll we will long remember.