Paris

Today we are heading off to Montmartre. We though we would get an early start and train it. We probably left a little too early as the place was deserted when we got there. Montmartre is the place that nurtured most of the great artists and writers living in France this past century. Montmartre is talked about by Parisians the way New Yorkers talk about the Village: It’s not what it used to be, It’s like Disneyland, the artists can’t afford to live here anymore, too many tourists. We didn’t find it that way, although we are tourists so I guess we are part of the problem.

There is a funicular that takes you from the train station to the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur (the big white church) on the top of the hill and as I’m now officially classified as an old man we took that to the top rather than walk the steps.

Montmartre is really cute, little cobbled stoned streets winding their way around the hill. There are a lot of street artists, trying to get you to let them do your portrait and I’m ashamed to say we let ourselves be conned into having our portraits done. We wanted a single portrait done of both of us together and agreed on 30 euros, but when it came time for our sitting, he called his mate over who drew me while he did Di. Of course it then became 30 Euros EACH. Two totally different artistic styles. Oh well at least it’s better than a fridge magnet from Montmartre.

We had such a good time yesterday biking around Paris that we decided to bike home and see a few sights on the way. so we grabbed a bike and headed to the famous Moulin Rouge. For some reason Di wasn’t keen on seeing the show so we moved on.

I really feel like we are getting to know the lay of the land in Paris, the biking helps with this. We took our time on the return journey and tooklook at the MUSÉE DE LLORARNGERIE, thats the big glass domed  building on the other side of the Seine river. I remember seeing this building on the last trip from a distance but didn’t know what it was. It’s a museum of artworks and a huge exhibition area. There were no exhibitions on at the time, but this building is huge, very impressive.

When we got home we decided to just sit at a cafe and people watch. We both decided that a simple meal was all that was required tonight so Di had a food from the Boulangerie on the corner and I had a Souvlaki what was delicious from a little side walk outlet across the street from our Hotel.

That’s it for today, tomorrow we head off to the International Convention in Paris.