Paris: The Birthday Trip - Day 5 (part 3)

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

We left the calm of the cemetery and began making our way back up the hill to the bustle of Montmartre. Denise is attracted to hilly, narrow, winding streets, the more narrow and the more twists and turns and the steeper the street the better, so we spent some time exploring this historic area.

We knew we weren't going to have the time or the energy to visit all of the areas we wanted to see so we paid for a quick tour on 'Le Petit Train de Montmartre'. The recorded commentary is not exactly perfectly synced with the places it is describing and we laughed as we found ourselves frequently twisting and turning to see sites that turned out to be either some distance ahead or quickly vanishing behind us. But we did get to see sites such as the building where Toulouse Lautrec had his studio, and the 'Lapin Agile' - made famous by Picasso, Modigliani, Apollinaire, Utrillo, and others. The 'Lapin Agile' looks very much as it did in 1880 though its clientele is probably a bit more respectable. The 'Little Train' also took us to Place Pigalle, a rougher area of sex shops etc. The Moulin Rouge and its famous windmill are here. It looks smaller and less significant than expected. Perhaps the area looks better at night.

And of course we stopped for coffee when we got back to the Place du Tertre. Denise stepped away from our table to see what a passing couple had pointed at just over our heads and that's when she saw the plaque shown below and took a photo of me sitting under it (not shown). There are thrilling little surprises like this everywhere you go in Paris.

There were a few non-historical places Denise wanted to visit and you can see her in one of them in the photo below-left. This is the Petit Musée du Chocolat where we found an incredible range of chocolate sculptures and other confections.

left: Denise stopped to talk to a man refinishing a restaurant table.
right: A chocolate Notre Dame in the Petit Musée du Chocolat/Maison George Larnicol. Who's a happy girl?

Montmartre is one of those areas that would take months of exploring and reading to see properly, to get a real grasp of its significance. Its history - secular, religious, artistic, political, could occupy a specialist for a lifetime (and probably has). In fact, it may be true to say that you haven't seen Paris until you've made a point of seeing Montmartre. From an art historical point of view that is certainly true.

At the end of the day we found ourselves at the top of the hill and in front of Sacré Cœur. As usual, we had exhausted ourselves and so decided to head for the Metro and home. On the way down on the funicular Denise decided this would be her last chance to climb the 250 stairs so I sat at the bottom and waited while the crazy girl did just that. Then we headed home.

Tomorrow - The Louvre!

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