Pont Neuf

We awoke earlier today, which was our final day in Paris, because we had a full agenda. While waiting for the Metro, J. R. freaked out Janie by telling her he had just heard that Eurostar workers had gone on strike and that all trains through the channel tunnel (which was our transport to London the next day) had been cancelled for the week. She was visibly stricken until he reminded her it was April 1st.

We took the Metro to the Ile de la Cite, one of the two islands in the Seine, which also houses the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which we would visit later. The Metro ride didn't take us very long, so we did some exploring before we began touring. First off, we found a Starbucks to get some much needed coffee and hot chocolate and some pastries for breakfast. Then we walked down to the Pont Neuf (the New Bridge), which is actually the oldest bridge in Paris, having been inaugurated in 1607, the same year the Jamestown colony was established.

Conciergerie

Our first stop of the day was at the Conciergerie, which is a former palace and prison where famous political prisoners, including Marie Antoinette were once housed, earning it the nickname "antechamber to the guillotine". The building housed the Revolutionary Tribunal and sent nearly 2,600 prisoners to the guillotine. En route to the tumbrils, the victims walked through the Salle Saint-Louis, (Saint Louis Room), which acquired the nickname of the Salle des Perdus, the "Room of the Doomed". Marie Antoinette's cell has been converted into a chapel dedicated to her memory.