Strange things can be seen once you descend the stairs from the street level of the
Quai de Montebello to the lower paveent where you board the boats. For instance, someone has painted white footprints on the cobbles, and there are large rings in the stone that look like they might belong in a torture chamber, although I'm sure they must be used to tie up boats, not humans. Also, right about here there's a marker on the wall showing the
high-water point of the flood of 1910. Right now we'd be floating away.
Here is where you buy tickets for the Batobus (boat bus). It seems odd that it's built into the riverbank, but then why not?
Now we're waiting for our boat to come in so we can take a much-anticipated scenic ride.
What a great place to wait and watch the river. This boat heads toward the Pont au Double, right next to the front of Notre Dame.
Another boat goes by. It's busy on the river.
I'm enjoying the views above the riverbanks, too.
I love this photo. I think it's worth clicking on it to see the image larger.
Here's Lee, also enjoying the view on Notre Dame and waiting for the boat near the rings in the embankment.
It looks like the boat behind me is covering the bases. The Riverside Barbeque Restaurant has a pub and music, too. And the sign is in Korean (?) as well as English.
Here comes our Batobus.
It says, "Vendome" on the placard above the entrance to the boat. I don't remember what the prices were for the ride, but I never thought of using this "bus" to get around town, I'd only thought of it as a tour. Maybe next time it would be a good way to get across town.
Here's the name for the boat landing. It's too bad vandals have messed up the sign.
Lee gets onto the Batobus. Yeah, this will be great! What a treat. . . .
From Quai St-Michel, we continued to stroll along the Seine. You stay on the same riverbank, only the name changes. I love this view of Notre Dame!
We found a vendor with animal stamps. We both love animals and Lee is a stamp collector, so we enjoyed looking, but didn't buy. I found a vendor who had a Paris touristy pocket knife with lots of blades and tools on it. I knew Sue would like it for opening things at work. For the longest time, she was using an "art" knife I have for pulling big staples and I didn't realize it! Now she'll have a handy tool for almost any purpose - with an Eiffel Tower on it, too :)
We liked these prints, espeically the one in the center with the dancers on the beach, because this artist's work from the same series was hanging in our hotel room on the last trip, when we stayed at the Hotel Les Argonautes. 
Moving along, here's another view of the quai as we approach the Pont au Double. That's Lee in the white sweatshirt.
OK, so this is the kind of hack print I don't like, but the scene is . . . scenic.
Notre Dame is beautiful from any angle. The clouds are adding some drama today.
I thought this artist was pretty good. He's working in semi-caricature; I'd rather see a real portrait, but he seems to be one of the more talented. I wondered if he was a student, but we didn't disturb him. I like how he was emphasizing the kid's spiky hair.
Another shot of the magnificent cathedral and the clouds.
There is more. I really cannot get enough photos of this building. I think I keep hoping I'll get the perfect shot. I've taken so many where the light areas are burned out. There's so much contrast with the interesting shapes.
Flying buttresses - Notre Dame was the guinea pig for so much in Gothic architecture.
More Notre Dame.
Finally I tried setting my camera on wide angle, which I used also in the next post. I don't use it much and usually forget that I have that option. I like the result!
