We did two self-guided walking tours today and both were fantastic. First, we made our way to Montmarte…we didn’t walk there. We took an Uber. Yes, we should have navigated the metro and bus system, but we opted for ease and price was reasonable.
Montmarte is home to the beautiful Sacre Coeur church (Sacred Heart). It is stunning on the outside and inside. A mass was under way when we entered, so we were quiet and reverent and were able to hear the chanting that occurred during the quick service.
At all times someone is in the church praying that Christ will understand and forgive the sins of the world. That’s a tradition carried out day and night since the church was completed a century ago.
The inside was so beautiful. Hard to capture the dome with Christ and figures from the Bible and from government.
The views from Montmarte are amazing.
Montmarte was once ground zero for Bohemian culture. While Prohibition swept Paris, wine flowed freely in Montmarte. Painters, performers and others were attracted to the city and its cafes and festivals and dance halls. Renoir, Van Gogh and Picasso roamed these streets, lived here and painted here. We saw numerous artists walking around with sketchbooks seeking customers. We also saw some very good artwork on display or underway.
We walked around and got lost a few times, and decided to stop for a glass of champagne to clear our heads, and review our walking plans. Yes, that’s a thing here.
We sat at the table shown below that’s empty. We think that woman in the light coat may be famous. Several people came up and introduced themselves and shook her hand and spoke excitedly in French.
Next, we walked in the footsteps of the artists.
This restaurant was made famous by an Utrillo painting and was a hangout for him, Picasso and Gertrude Stein.
Renoir lived and painted one of his best known works here, Ball at the Moulin de la Galette.
This restaurant stands where a garden once gathered people enjoying Sunday afternoons beneath the windmill, one of only two remaining in Montmarte. It is said to have inspired Renior’s painting.
Picasso’s first studio was here.
Here’s Vincent Van Gogh’s house, where he lived with his brother, who served as his patron.
I was excited about seeing the Moulin Rouge. We didn’t see a show there, but it was fun to see the facade. I made Betsy promise to watch the movie with me when we get home. She’s tried to watch it a few times and didn’t care for it…I love that movie.
A few more scenes from Montmarte
This is the street where Renoir lived.
Crepes are very popular in Montmarte
This the last remaining vineyard in Paris. And they do not want you picking the grapes.
So we left Montmarte on foot, walking down and down…past the Moulin Rouge and into the surrounding neighborhood. We realized we were walking in a particular type of neighborhood. The storefront below was just one of maybe 50 or 60 in this area. We decided to take another route.
Another head-clearing glass of champagne was necessary, just down the street from the Moulin Rouge.
Now…off to one of our favorite places in the world…a cemetery, but not just any cemetery, Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Back in an Uber.
Well, first we had lunch. My salad was fantastic with salmon, shrimp, warm potatoes, ripe tomatoes and bits of avocado. Betsy had a hamburger, which we never photographed. She’s been wanting one all year. Seriously, she hasn’t been able to have a hamburger since February due to surgery and then radiation treatment. She said she had to travel all the way to Paris to get a really great hamburger, and it was perfect.
We sat at this cafe for lunch.
Now to the cemetery!
This 100-acre cemetery has more than 70,000 graves, more than one million residents and is a sight to behold. The tombs and tombstones and statues are beautiful and tell thousands of stories about the lives of those buried here. Of course, there are some famous people we know, and thousands more, I’m sure, who we don’t.
Just a beautiful walk along the streets within this awesome cemetery.
The grave of Chopin, who had tremendous stage fright and despised playing large halls, preferring to play for small gatherings. He died lonely and young, before he reached the age of 40.
Edith Piaf, the famed La Vie en Rose, singer who lifted the spirits of the French after the German occupation.
And below, of course, Jim Morrison, forever young at 27. His grave is so popular that it is fenced off and often there is a security guard present.
People place their gum on this tree near Morrison’s grave.
Oscar Wilde’s grave…the inscription on the back says he is mourned by outcast men and lists his works.
Gertrude Stein, an American writer who made Paris her home. Her life partner was Alice B. Toklas, also buried here. Her name is engraved on the back of the stone.
It was a long day. We opted to take a bus back home, No. 69, described as the sightseeing bus (even by the New York Times, not just Rick Steves). However, not once but twice, we got on the wrong No. 69 and driver was nice enough to help us before we went too far. (Lucy and Ethel take on the Paris bus routes…)
I have to admit, some of our traveling is a bit like the Berenstain Bears books of my childhood. First we do the wrong thing…a lot…get on the wrong bus, walk the wrong way, buy the wrong ticket…but then we get it right, thankfully.
The bus took us right through the plaza of the Louvre!
Back home, we enjoyed our own balcony on a wonderful night.
Betsy likes architectural features, like our dormers.
Today…we have no real plans…probably will just explore some neighborhoods. Only two days left in Paris, then off to Brussels…then home!
Kim & Betsy 