It's Day 3, only one more day in Paris for Laurie and Mercy!! Checking our list (like Christmas), we have Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, Sainte Chapelle, the Catacombs (already booked for tonight), the Louvre (booked for 10:30 a.m. tomorrow), l'Orangerie for Monet's Waterlilies. Oh and the bookstore Shakespeare & Co. How much can we reasonably get done in a day? Much depends on where things are in Paris. Sacré Coeur is basically in the district of Montmartre so they definitely go together. Sainte Chapelle is close to the Seine on Île de la Cité and quite close to Shakespeare & Co., and then the Catacombs aren't far from there. The art museums are close to each other as well, so we decide that we will go to l'Orangerie as soon as it opens and see it before we go to the Louvre, just a five-minute walk away. An added bonus, as we study the small booklet that came with our Paris Passes, is that there is a "train" that goes from Blanche Metro station, at the foot of the Montmartre District, up to Sacre Coeur. We decide that would be a fun thing to do, especially as the train fare is included in our Paris Pass.
Thus, at 9:00 a.m. we head off to our local Metro station, Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, stopping first at the bagel shop next door for some muffins as breakfast. The Metro is, as I wrote, wonderful. Just follow the signs, the tunnels, and within 10 minutes we were at Blanche, one of the Art Nouveau Metro stations, near the Moulin Rouge.
The little train was great. Having walked up the streets of Montmartre towards Sacre Coeur in April (and I never actually made it all the way up!), I knew that most of my energy would be expended on that, to say nothing of the walk back down. The train allowed me to enjoy the views of that bohemian Paris that is so much a part of tourist photographs. Had I the energy, I COULD wander those streets all day. But there were sights to see....
Arriving at the top, near Sacré Coeur and its lookout, we checked when the train went back down--once an hour--and decided that we would wander the area around Sacré Coeur a bit, look inside it, and then have lunch at one of the many brasseries nearby.
Except for the fact that it is beside a river while Sacré Coeur/Montmartre is the highest point in Paris, I felt like I was back in Old Montreal. The artists sketching people and buildings, the restaurants and cafés and, yes, the souvenir shops--it was all like home. Except the alleyways are vertical.
Sacré Coeur is unlike Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. This is Notre Dame, which is in the Gothic style, like Notre Dame de Paris:
(This is not my photo, I have used it, with attribution at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basilique_Notre-Dame_de_Montreal_07.JPG)
And this is Sacré Coeur Basilica (these ARE my photos.) It was built in Romano/Byzantine style, completed in 1914 but not dedicated until 1919, after World War 1.:
As we entered the Basilica, there was a sign that said "No Photography." I was saddened because I wanted to take photos of the gorgeous interior. So I asked an usher if that meant no photography at all and he said "No, just don't take photos of the Mass that is going on, or the celebrants in the pews." It was a feast day to St. Marguerite Mary Alacoque, a French mystic/nun/saint who died in 1690 and nuns were assisting at the Mass, the Basilica filled with their beautiful singing. I was careful not to take a photo of the actual Mass, instead I aimed my camera at the dome above the apse, which has one of the largest mosaics in the world, finished in 1923.
After quietly walking around the Basilica, listening to the music and marveling at the beauty of the interior, we looked for the closest restaurant--and restrooms! We found La Bohème du Tertre which was literally around the corner, in the Place du Tertre, where the train had left us off. Such a lovely brasserie with marvelous food--pictured is the best guacamole outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico--charming waiter and clean restrooms. We had a leisurely hour and a half lunch--we never rushed our meals, nor were we ever rushed--then stopped in the souvenir shop that was also in the square. Several berets later--my granddaughter Quinn's request--we boarded the little train again and set off down the streets of Montmartre, passing several buildings famous for being places where artists such as Picasso and Dali lived.
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| Au Lapin Agile is a famous Parisian cabaret, frequented by Picasso, Modigliani and other artists. There is a Picasso painting featuring a Harlequin with others at a table entitled "Au Lapin Agile." Looked a bit gone to seed to me but I recognize the fence outside it as the type of fence that Van Gogh painted. |
Another street scene that felt like an Impressionist painting.
View looking back up at Sacré Coeur. I used telephoto to make it look closer :)
The train deposited us at a different Metro station in Montmartre, Abbesses. I made sure I took a photo of it because we had spotted a duck store just around the corner and wanted a reference for when we returned. What is a duck store? Well, it is Mercy's current passion, collecting rubber ducks. So it was quite exciting to see the "Paris Duck Store" as we rode down on the train. We were running short of time though if we wanted to get to Sainte Chapelle before it closed so we promised her we would somehow get back to it tomorrow.
Then it was on to Sainte Chapelle and the rest of our day-into-evening.
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