Paris, Day 7

What can I say, we aren’t half-way through our trip and yet we’ve seen so much. Sadly, the more we see the more we realize that it is impossible to capture it all in a picture or in words; simply put, you have to see it for yourselves-. (But I’m not paying for your trip!!! ;-) )

Today we started off by jumping the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. Built by Napoleon to celebrate his armies’ victories in the early 1800’s, it is a very central point (and has a lot of traffic). We walked around it from the outside of the traffic circle, taking pictures. (You can use an underground passage to get to the middle, but you have to pay €7-8 per person; we decided against it, as we had a lot to do today.)

After the Arc, it was back to the Metro for our ride to Montmartre. Now, let we warn you, parts of Montmartre are very….how do I put it?...very adult. Basically the street we walked down was covered with adult shops on both sides as far as you could see. The only reason we walked down it, was of course to get pictures of the Moulin Rouge! (If you want to skip the Moulin Rouge, and the adult areas; take the Metro to Absesees.)

After the Moulin Rouge, we walked over to this amazing old cemetery on the way up the hill (to the real Montmartre!). There are graves there that date back hundreds of years, right beside graves which are 4-5 years old; very interesting. So many shrines and crypts were very intricate, and some had obviously been vandalized. One cool thing is that they built a road which passed over the cemetery via a bridge; however the bridge clears some of the crypts by mere inches!

Heading on up into Montmartre, which was a popular hangout for the likes of Picasso among others, we soon discovered that this was the place to buy souvenirs! The same souvenirs that you seen for €20 down by Tour Eiffel or the Louvre are only €9 here! So, we did some souvenir shopping in the markets and little shops that lined the streets. We also saw the Sacre Coeur, which is a cathedral, built in the late 1800’s. After it was completed, some church fathers refused to go there saying it was “too decadent”. It is all white, and sits at the peak of the largest hill in Paris.

After the Sacre Coeur, we headed to the Latin Quarter; which is home to several universities; and where a lot of students live. Our guidebook suggested we stop in at a café aptly named “Breakfast in America”; so that’s where we had dinner. Very different to walk into a diner which could easily have been transported from a city in the US, and here a bunch of American students talking (our waitress was from NY, and has been in Paris since September earning her graduate degree). Great burger (for me) and HUGE pancakes (for Jenni).

We took a bit of a respite at the hotel after that, before heading back to the Seine for a ride on a Bateaux Mouche (a river boat). A very nice way to see the city, especially if you only had a day or two to spend here; takes you past most of the main monuments.

Our last sights of the night were of the Tour Eiffel sparkling at midnight as we walked back to the Metro. Apparently it sparkles when they turn it on, and at midnight; simply stunning!

Au revoir pour la noir!