The city that has inspired so many writers, artists and lovers is really is a very beautiful  and walkable city. That is, if you contain yourself to the city center. It has a huge metro area which we didn’t see much of.

After spending nearly a month in Barcelona without traveling anywhere, we were heading off again, to Paris and to a house sitting gig in Scotland.

We had booked a hotel in Montmartre, also known as the painters neighborhood. After walking around a little I could see why. There were steep, narrow cobblestone streets leading up to the highest point in Paris where artists line up next to each other displaying their work.

At the top of the hill was the beautiful Basilica Sacré-Coeur. We stayed downhill closer to the famous cabaret Moulin Rouge.

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy57A9GYYds&w=530t=4s]

 

Our first full day was a busy one spent visiting the Louvre where you can’t possibly see everything in one day. We were ready for a siesta by the time we left and found the perfect spot in the lounge chairs at the park next to the Louvre.

After an incredibly decadent Mont-Blanc and chocolat chaud at the Angelina Tea House we walked to the Eiffel Tower. I had my doubts about ordering a hot chocolate when it was 90 degrees but I’m glad I did. It was worth it!

We had arrived in Paris in the midst of a heat wave and were starting to wilt. So rather than stand in line to go up the tower, we enjoyed it from the ground. The Eiffel tower website claims that it attracts more tourists than any other paid tourist attraction in the world. My guidebook says that Gustav Eiffel built the tower as a temporary exhibit for the 1889 World Fair. It’s hard to imagine Paris without it!

The next day we had planned to take the bus to a street market and got taken on a crazy bus ride way out of our way. This sometimes happen when you ignore the bus drivers instructions.

We ended up in Saint-Germain on the south side of the Seine River. But it worked out because we came upon another street market where we found some interesting cheese and tiny plums. And we found that we were just  blocks from Notre Dame Cathedral. Again, there were long lines so we enjoyed it from the outside.

That evening we went on a cruise down the Seine. It started about sunset so we got to see Paris as the lights came on. It was especially dramatic as we passed the Eiffel Tower and the sparkling lights came on!

Our last day in Paris coincided with Roy’s birthday. We spent a good part of the day visiting the Musée de quai Branly which is very near the Eiffel Tower. It has a wonderful collection of artifacts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. We also spent some time walking in the Bois de Boulogne, a large public park on the west side of Paris.

We really enjoyed just walking around the little side streets and I loved seeing all the cafes with their sidewalks just jam-packed with tables and chairs. We finished off the day with toast to Roy at one of these.

The next morning we flew to Manchester which is a topic for the next blog.