Friday 14 October 2016

Day 3 in Paris

















No museums today or time limits so a much more relaxed day. Although walking up to Sacre Coeur at the top of Montmartre Hill, had us both catching our breath. We didn't bother going up to the top of the dome as the views from the church and surrounding area were good enough..



Maybe if I had gone higher I wouldn't have had TV aerials on the skyline.



The nuns were singing as we walked around the Cathedral making it quite a spiritual experience.

Once outside I made the mistake of going downhill missing the Place du Tertre, the Square with its many artists. So once again we had to walk back up the hill. There are steps and a handrail but still it is quite a climb. But it was worth the walk.

We wandered around the Square looking at all the different styles of art work and the different range of prices. We resisted the many offers of having our portraits done by the numerous talented artists each with their own individual style.























It was another sunny, hot day, time to sit down, have a drink and do some serious people watching..







Not a lover of the numerous selfie sticks taking over the streets.



Time to move on. We walked down the hill to the Metro station through the more seedy end with its sex shops and Museum of Eroticism.



This is also where you find the Moulin Rouge. When first built at the end of the 19th cent it opened up the world to Cabaret entertainment and was the birthplace of the can-can. Frequented by artists, in particular Toulouse- Lautrec who was commissioned to produce a series of posters for the Moulin Rouge.
The original building was burnt down in 1915 but was soon replaced. It still offers musical dance entertainment for the many tourists who visit this area.











Next stop the Arc de Triomphe. Erected by Napoleon in 1806 it is a must on the tourist trail. At the centre of 12 avenues, it is one place I would never try and cross the road. Thank heaven for subways.


Then a walk down the city's most iconic avenue, the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde but there was a lot of work going on in the square so we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and walk by the river.




Yarn bombing can also be found in Paris.




We decided to book an evening cruise down the Seine which would be leaving from Pont Neuf so we were ready for a meal when we came across this vegetarian restaurant not far from the bridge. It had only just opened the day before and had not had its official opening.


Thankfully we were not put off by its lack of customers because the food was outstanding.

I had a cauliflower cream soup accompanied by a galette made from semolina and covered in a beetroot houmous and roasted veg.

I decided to have a dessert of pistachio ice cream with raspberries. Mmm fabulous. By far the tastiest food I've had in a long time.



As the sun was beginning to set we boarded the boat, sitting on the top deck we were perfectly placed to enjoy  our trip down the Seine as night descended.















As we travelled back up the Seine to the Pont Neuf, all along the banks of the river were young people enjoying a picnic or drink. It was a fitting way to end our last full day in Paris.

Sharing with James at  Weekend reflections




17 comments:

  1. What a nice trip to see all the highlights of Paris. You had a good workout with all the steps at the Sacre Coeur :-)

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  2. Thank you for inspiration... I love Paris! And therefore I thought, to travel again to Paris. My first stopping by was in the year on the death of Romy Schneider. By the way, I`m nearby 60th Birthday. ;)

    Smile to you

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  3. 'serious people watching' ... I've done some of that in my day :)

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  4. A lovely trip with you. Thank you for the wonderful pictures and commentary. I enjoyed it very miuch. :-)

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  5. I really enjoyed this post and you had such an interesting day. Art is fine, but you can only take so much in at a time. Now, were the young people on the left bank and therefore of an artistic bent, or future industrialists on the right bank? Working out which is the left bank and which is the right bank in a kind of east west river is a challenge in itself.

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  6. It sounds lovely! I almost travelled myself just by reading your post. The food looked delicious! I also dislike the selfie sticks... I hope they go out of fashion soon!

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  7. What fun to reminisce with this post. I was there in many of those places and remember well the artist’s square. We bought a couple of prints there to take home. Wish we had heard the singing nuns though, that would have been amazing.

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  8. How wonderful! I'm so enjoying your trip recap.

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  9. Paris, a beautiful city and you have captured the atmosphere well. Your shots bring back memories of when I was last there some years ago now.

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  10. Gorgeous shots of Paris! Such a wonderful city.

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  11. A wonderful post! Thanks for the nice tour of one of my favorite cities! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Oops. That was me. I forgot to log out of my wife's account.

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  12. What a grand time. I had a little bit of Paris in my last post. The locks. I've never seen them in Paris though.

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  13. Looks like you were having a great time.

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  14. Eiffel and reflection, what can be more romantic.
    Your photos are lovely !

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  15. I am sitting in my sun room in South Carolina reading your blog and my memories are floating back from my visits to that wonderful city. Thanks for sharing!

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