For our last weekend in Paris we planned to do a walking tour of Montmartre that was recommended by a book we had on France. We had a slow start to the day since we decided to do our laundry one last time before leaving for our week in the car on Monday morning and we had to leave things time to dry since we don’t dry most of our clothing (and this isn’t Colorado so it takes awhile!).
We ventured back into the metro around midday for the ride up to Montmartre. We went through a few stations that were a little sketchier than we had yet been in, lower income areas looking a bit seedy. Jack had not been up in that area before and I think he wondered where I might be taking him. We popped out at the metro station in view of the Red Windmills of the Moulin Rouge amidst the teeming crowds that populate the area in a Times Square sort of fashion. It’s a very crowded area with lots of peep show type of storefronts and a museum of erotica (we decided to see the one in Amsterdam 🙂
After a bit of a walk up the biggest hill we have found yet in Paris, we arrived at the arty area surrounding Sacre Coeur, one of the largest and most impressive churches in Paris. There are always a lot of people sitting on the grass by the stairs leading to the church and just enjoying the magnificent view of Paris from this high point in the city. There are artists with easels set up all around a nearby square, some doing caricatures, some portraits. They was a variety of skill with most adequate but some truly talented artists at work. We watched the artists and then sat at the top of the hill in front of the church and looked at the beautiful view and enjoyed the almost perfect September weather. I had to put on my cap since the sun was very intense.
We resolved to walk back instead of taking the metro home and it was only about a 30-40 minute walk with a stop along the way for fresh bread from the boulangerie and some pepper brie purchased from the fromagerie. Home to salad and bread and cheese (Jack also enjoyed some sardines in oil). Tomorrow is our last full day in Paris, hoping its a good one!
Adventures after Retirement 