The Sun is Back! Yea!!

1) Moulin Rouge;
2 and 3) Cimetiere du Montmartre;
4) Windmill high on the hill;
5) Yet another windmill; they’re very popular here!

Allo! Allo!

There was sunshine today, so even though it was REALLY cold (not by East Coast standards, you understand, but certainly by AZ standards!) it was fine – as long as you stayed in the sun!!

Up about 7 and breakfasted as usual – remembering, though to buy croissants and juice for two days instead of one, as our boulangerie is closed on Sunday. We needed to get a few things for R’s special French chicken dish tonight, so we headed out to the closest Champion. They really don’t have a very good selection, but we were able to find shallots and Madiera, which was all that mattered!

After returning to the flat to put things away, we decided, it being such a nice day, to take a walk through Montmartre. We only brought one tour book, the AA Key Guide to Paris, and it has some lovely walks, so thought we’d try one! Took the 85 bus over towards Montmartre, and transferred on Blvd. Rochechouart to a 30 and got off at Place Blanche – right in front of the Moulin Rouge! Now I have to tell you, that Montmartre certainly isn’t my favorite part of Paris. It is full of strip clubs and sex shops and all sorts of truly tacky things – including people. However, it is also home to Sacre Coeur, a truly beautiful church, as well as some wonderful little winding streets. So…to proceed on our walk…

Our first stop, certainly new to us, was the Cimetiere du Montmartre. It is, like many French cemeteries, full of wonderful above ground vaults and monuments – but this one is actually built with a major street “fly over” over it! Makes it very odd – to see all these monuments underneath the overpass – R was wondering what kind of fuss was kicked up when that proposal was made! I’m sure it was enormous, as the cemetery is still in use today.

From there we headed up streets and down alleys – seeing old actual mills as well as former residences of Berlioz, Van Gogh and Picasso. Fortunately, while the area is VERY hilly, the walk was gradual rather than steep all at once, so we enjoyed the stroll – lots of other tourists strolling also; you can tell them by their guidebooks and the fact that we all seemed to be heading in the same direction!

The highlight of any Montmartre visit is, of course, Sacre Coeur. And, while you can see it from all over Paris, it isn’t until you get up close to it that you realize what a truly baroque birthday-cake of a church it is! We were able to take outside shots from a tiny park off to one side (very unfrequented by tourists, fortunately), but no photography is allowed inside, so you’re just going to have to google Sacre Coeur for the interior shots! It is a beautiful church. Built between 1875 and 1914, it was commissioned as atonement for the deaths of 58,000 people during the Franco-Prussian war. As a fairly “new” church, it is very light and airy with contemporary stained glass. There was some sort of service going on while we were there – not a mass, but a group of about 14 or 15 nuns, singing and playing the organ; just beautiful!

By this time, we were definitely hungry, so we looked for food. Found a café down a side street that looked pretty good – and surprise! It was!! We are finding that if you look for food right around noon, you can find places just opening up with plenty of room. If you wait an hour or so, though, places are full and service becomes VERY slow! It was about 12:15 p.m. when we entered, and we got a small table near the bar. (Again, SO good that the no-smoking laws are working!!!! YEA!!!) I ordered the menu of the day – tomato soup with a steak and frites (fries) and dessert. R had the soup and a salad. Soup was great; always is on cold days! R’s salad had potatoes, ham, corn, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce; he said it was good. And, I got dessert! Turns out it was tarte au chocolat! I’ve never had a chocolate tart before – and it was GREAT! It was warm, and tasted like eating hot chocolate with a spoon with a bit of crust! At any rate, it disappeared quickly enough, and then we were back outside – probably about 45 degrees by this time, still sunny – but brrrrrrr….cold in the shade!

We wound around and down the hill and made our way back to the Moulin Rouge and hence a bus headed home. Decided, though, to stop at Galleries Lafayette, as it was their last day of their semi-annual sale. (Sales here, unlike the U.S., are regulated by the government, with specific days set aside each year; how different!) Well, that was certainly a mistake … CROWDS of people everywhere! We went to our favorite section – food (what a surprise that is!) but it was so crowded that we decided rather to shop then, just to bail and get away from all those people!

So, found our old favorite 21 at the Opera, and headed home, stopping at 8 a 8 to pick up a few munchies – do NOT want to go into Sunday with no snacks on hand!! Got back to the flat somewhere around 4; full day, for sure!

Now, I’m blogging away while R is making dinner! His wonderful chicken in a mushroom/madiera/cream sauce, (YUM!) with boiled potatoes with butter and haricots verts. Yes, I’m a lucky gal!! (Although following tradition, this means that I get to do dishes…oh well!)

Take care! Until tomorrow!
Love,
m