We had to walk back to Montparnasse Metro Station in order to get all the way to Abbesses, at the bottom of the Butte (Beaut, not but) that is Montmartre. We love walking the back streets first thing in the morning, when restaurants are putting out their chairs, and butchers are sorting their window displays:)
By now we were wearing our rain coats, which were a whole lot easier to carry than our puffy blue jackets.
It is a steep climb up yonder hill. The cobbles are rather hard on the feet, but we set off. As it was time for a Grand Crème (10-ish), we stopped at a café not far from the Metro Station, and were directed to the upstairs room which was petty full of patrons. We waited, and waited, and then decided to not wait any longer and walk out...which we did, climbing all the way to the top of the hill.
Of course I had to stop and take a photo of a display in a Patisserie! Always good to begin the day with one of those....photos, that is!
Let me go back a moment....
Making our way to Montparnasse Metro station, we passed through some little back streets, where the Rotisserie is out on the side walk! but...no matter! No room inside!
I love these Metro Stations!:) especially the Art Deco ones.
Now this is a Jewish Temple, and very different . Still ornate, and rather beautiful, but definitely different:)
City of Paris Heraldry.
Such beauty...and this garden was locked. Private?
Arriving near the top of the hill (Butte) we could see the first of the Sacre Coeur Domes.
We were on the look out for a coffee, having had that first attempt thwarted at the bottom of the hill. I have to say I was both horrified and grateful to find a Starbucks near the top! not this one, below!
We entered, ordered a Tall Café Latte and were happy to discover that American sizes are still the same in this country...larger by far than the average French size...good or bad? In our case, good...except that we then had to queue for the ONE toilet. There was a code to get in, but most people were just holding the door open for the next patron to enter. Thankfully THAT toilet was pleasant! phew!
Per usual, there are street vendors lining the streets on the way to, and all around the Place du Tertre at the top, where the artists of the Impressionist school used to gather.
Some memories from this little restaurant, going back to my visit in 2001. I seem to remember a lunch here. They serve take away Crepes from the window.
Voila! There it is!
Looking down the stairs, to the rest of Paris.
We didn't indulge....it was really expensive! but it looked fabulous. I'm pretty expert at putting my camera and not my person in through doorways and windows to take photos:)..although I have to say that most vendors are happy to let me take photos...I think they like my delight in the subject matter...it is contagious!
Sacre Coeur has never been one of my favorite Churches. It looks lovely and clean for the most part, now, but there is something lacking....age, perhaps? Is it a bit sterile, after all the glorious decoration on so many other old churches? Could be. It could also be that there are not other buildings this size around it, so it stands there like a pimple on a pumpkin, which I guess is the whole point of building it on this site in the first place.
Gorgeous Bronze doors, and some idiot has to carve his name (has to be a guy, right?) in the bottom of it! aiee!
Have your photo taken with this person who is trying to look like who??? and put money in his tin! Occasionally he sang something vaguely Catholic (what does that sound like???hmmm....get it? Hymn???)
We joined the multitudes in viewing the city from the steps of the Sacre Coeur.
Yes we did eventually get some blue sky and it got rather warm for a bit.
Time to walk down the hill....
...and we found an art gallery with some interesting art inside, but didn't go there...instead took photos through the window..naughty! This looks like touristville, which is everywhere in Paris. Oh give us the quiet, or relative quiet of the countryside, any day.
We didn't opt for the stairs...there is a limit to what my hip will do, and stairs is one of them. Walking is fine, for the most part, but stairs....nope!
Someone lost their bra on the way down the road!
Going up? no, not this time!
I felt the pain for this group of young people, but at least they were young!!
They had a long climb ahead of them.
This is at the bottom station of the Funiculaire, which you can pay to take up or down or both.
Again, we opted to walk, rather than Metro, just for the sake that we see so much above ground, and to go underground means we miss all the fun, though we do get a foot rest!
We are walking here in a very ethnic neighborhood. We are in the area known as Pigalle. Pigalle is famous for the Moulin Rouge Night Club where so many artists spent their time and their money, and some of them honed their artistic skills. We are walking east, here, towards the Gare du Nord...though we didn't know it at the time! We were just walking, if you know what I mean.
Indian, Turks, Armenian were just a few of the ethnicities in this famous neighborhood which we dubbed Weddinghood. This is Rue de Fauborg Poissoniere, and it appeared that every other shop was a tailor shop, a shoe shop and a Wedding Shop. Aieeee! fancy dresses like you have never seen before!
Ooh la la! Shoes for the fellas...or girls, if they are that way inclined!
This shoe was obviously a Lemon....or is it that the Lemon is obviously a shoe?
Street food...This man is grilling the corn on a brazier in the shopping cart! novel! but that is how he feeds his family, with the proceeds! 1,00 euro per cob.
We were pretty starving by now, and contemplated going back to the apartment for lunch, but seeing as it was already 1pm, and I could barely walk any further, we decided to stop opposite the Gare du Nord at ....McDonalds! Don't hate us....I have been most rude about Americans only eating at McDonalds wherever they go...well, this was rather a godsend in terms of finances. We were running out of cash, so it was a good place to eat relatively inexpensively.
It was decided to catch the Metro home to Port Royal, from Gare du Nord. I loved this painting inside the great entry hall where all the trains from other countries stop. Van Gogh features rather a lot in France.
This huge and ornate facaded train station is where all trains from other European countries stop, in Paris. There were lots of Brits getting off their train ...the Chunnel Train, as they call it, just as we walked in.
We walked to the right of this main station, and into the Underground to catch the metro home. I have to say I was very glad to sit down and just relax. There is nothing much to see on the way, other than fellow humans, which can be very interesting too, but it was nice to just kind of chill out.
It was lovely to get home around 3pm. What long days we have had, and how lovely it has been. Really, there is never enough time to see ALL of Paris, and there are never enough hours in the day to then spend time exploring the OTHER places that Paris harbors in her bosom...those out of the way beauties that the average tourist never gets to lay eyes on. I have been privileged, over the 4 visits, to see some of them...just a few, and they are tantalizing!
Next time!
This was Waz's first visit to Paris, and indeed, to France. What did he think??
Fabulous! Lets go again!!:)
The two of us had so much fun, saw so much, went to so many different places that we wished we could have spent more time exploring, but that too will have to wait for another time.
We were happy to have the same bed to come back to each night, even if it wasn't the most comfy. It made a huge difference coming home, lighting the fire, enjoying a routine of sorts in the same place. No, this isn't a sign of old age....I did this in my youth, and it was the best way to get to know the people and the places. Fleeting glimpses a country doth not make! Country people are wonderful. Their honesty, openness and wonderful hospitality is second to none. We feel very blessed to have been a small part of their lives, as they were of ours.
For our final night in Paris, we decided to go out for dinner. I have cooked most of the time on our 6 week stay, so this was to be special. How come we hadn't turned left at the top of the street before??
Well, we had always been intent on going right, to catch the tube on Blvd St Michel. Turning left down Blvd du Montparnasse was a whole otherwise undiscovered world for us...and what a shame we left it so long!!!
Once we were home, each night, we had no need to go out again, so we rather missed out on the night life on the Boulevards.
We strolled along, hand in hand, as we do, and of course had to stop at a wonderful Gourmand Chocolate shop......Feast your eyes!
We purchased a few little choccy things, and went right next door to Café St Jacques. At first we sat in the smoking section because we wanted to be near the pavement and see everything that is going on outside, but soon the smoke got to us, and we retired inside...way, inside.
With a glass of wine for moi and a Bier for him, we were offered some marinated Olives, which were lovely to chew on while we contemplated the menu, and made our choices.
I was trying not to be too obvious, taking a photo of the inside of the café...so I rather rushed this one...sorry...a bit blurry!
The outside where we had initially sat, was now filling up with after-work young people and older folks...all with cigarettes, I might add. Phew, do they all smoke??? One would think!
I ordered the days special which was Cote de Veau,or Veal Cutlet, and Pommes de terre Grille Dauphinois. a very lovely cheesy little stack of sliced potatoes Dauphinois. I got two halves of a very small and slightly green (as you can see) cherry tomato as garnish. The sauce was superb...kind of a balsamic glaze, and I licked the pot clean with the veal. Yum!
We sat back in most satisfied silence and contemplated whether we might order dessert....but we were full.
Somehow our order for two Grand Crème to finish, got mixed up and we shared one cup. Not to worry...less on the bill! We sound so cheap!lol.
Much satisfied, we strolled home, hand in hand, taking in all the sights, sounds and smells (some very fishy ones!) of the Montparnasse area we were staying in. What a fabulous four days in Paris!
Tomorrow we had to be up and at it, to get to the airport.
Fortunately we had already packed our bags before going out to dinner. The price for dinner??
53,00euros (no tipping!). About $60 US. We had no complaints, so that was worth everything to us:)
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