More From Paris

While I was in Europe last month, I had one day to look around Paris.

Sadly, I was pretty wiped out from the combination of an unhappy gastrointestinal tract and many late nights, and so I didn't get out of my hotel room until about 2 in the afternoon.

My first stop was at a Starbucks I had spotted around the corner. I felt a little bad doing it - I wouldn't even consider eating at McDonald's in Paris - but I needed a Big Damn Cup of Coffee. The coffee in Europe was just fine - strong and dark, just like I like it - but the cups are eeety beeety.

My second stop was the chapel of St. Chappelle. This Gothic chapel dates to the 13th century and has amazing stained glass windows. My crummy pictures do not do it justice. When you are in Paris - and I'm sure you'll get there some day - don't skip it just because it's smaller than Notre Dame. In some ways I found it more spectacular.

The stained glass panels each tell the story of a book of the Bible. The large rose window at the back of the chapel is supposed to be the Book of Revelation. I stood there for about ten minutes trying to find a horseman but couldn't find one - I guess I'll take their word for it.

I left St. Chappelle and went strolling off towards Notre Dame. I walked around a corner and suddenly it was there. I managed to not say "Holy Crap, that's Notre Dame!" but again, I was thinking it pretty loud.

All of the pictures I remember seeing showed it with a grimy facade, but clearly there has been some restoration work done. It looks fabulous, inside and out. I was struck at how big it is inside. It is huge. I bet it was pretty effective at cowing the peasants who came to mass back in the day.

I paid my euros to go up to the top of the south tower and took this panorama from the front of the cathedral, facing Paris.

There are lots of great gargoyles on the towers. This was my favorite:

After that I found a cafe and ordered a beer and a sandwich from a medium-surly French waiter. He couldn't have possibly been rude enough to bother me - I was tooling around Paris, and somebody else had paid to send me there!

I was going to go for the Catholic Trifecta and head up to Sacre Coeur, but I didn't feel like going up there after dark by myself. I am a cautious individual, after all.