September in Paris
Despite a lack of sleep because of the noisy Americans and Germans across the hall, I was up at 9:00am to make the most of my final afternoon in Paris.
After checking out and taking advantage of the free breakfast at the hostel, I hopped on Le Métro at Républic station and headed to Gare du Nord. Not to leave right away, I just knew that I wanted to spend a chunk of my afternoon in Montmartre which is close to the station.
I also wanted to see if I could find a locker to stash some of my stuff. (Weren't there lockers at train stations at one time?) I only brought my backpack with me with only the things I was going to need for a full day. But it was weighing heavy on my back. No luck, though. No lockers. Probably for security reasons.
So with everything in tow, in the sweltering heat, I marched up the hills, through what appeared to be an area with a lot of Arabic influence, to Sacré Coeur.
I think this is the youngest of the big churches
in Paris. Construction started in 1884, was
finished in 1914 but wasn't consecrated until 1919.
The church sits at one of the highest points in Paris.
Quite a view from up there.
After snapping some pics and resting my already sore feet, it was time to explore the rest of Montmartre. This area interested me because it's prominently featured in one of my favourite films, "Amélie." I did some research and located some of the areas the film was shot. Sacré Coeur was one of them. The next one I located was on Rue Lamarck.
This is the Métro station where Amélie
shows the blind man to and he has some sort of revelation.
(At least, that's what I got out of the scene anyway)
Just to the right of the station is a little cafe where I sat to write some post cards and had a coffee. After mailing them at the post office across the street, I continued.
Rue Saint-Vincent was the first place featured in the film. It's even mentioned by name in the voiceover.
On with the journey, I walked all the way down (I was walking downhill by this point) Rue Lepic to #15 which was I think the highlight of my day.
I sat on the "terrasse" outside the café and ate lunch and had a café au lait. They are proud of the fact that their café is so prominently displayed in the film (hence the poster). So much so that I'm sure they've hiked the prices for us stupid tourists.
But, I digress. A short jaunt down the hill from Les deux Moulins, I found this little place that I think I've heard of before.
Nicole Kidman could not be found anywhere.
Next it was back on le Métro to Charles-de-Gaulle Étoile station and...
L'arc du Triomphe.
The traffic is insane at the huge roundabout where this landmark sits. I stood watching it for 20 minutes and couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. But Parisiennes seem to know...or not.
The next part of my trip took me down L'avenue des Champs Élysées. I didn't buy a whole lot but there is a lot to buy here. Not that I was being cheap (although there was a lot out of my price range), I was running out of time. Since the Louvre was closed yesterday, and I had spent so much time in Montmartre, I wanted to get down to La musée du Louvre with the few hours I had left.
There are 3 wings to the museum, I only saw 3/4 of one of them. I figured if I was going to be at the Louvre for only a few hours, spending it in the Denon wing with all the French, Italian and Spanish art. Plus, the Egyptian, Roman and Greek artifacts. This included the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. By the time I had to leave for the train station, I had only seen 3/4 of the Denon wing. The Louvre will require some further investigation.
Count Basie wrote a song about "April In Paris." I say, even though it was hotter than hell, I was sweating like a pig and there is no air conditioning anywhere, nothing beats September in Paris.
As I write this I'm on the Eurostar back to London. (I got a seat facing backwards again, dammit) In fact, we just got out of the Channel Tunnel (or Euro Tunnel) and it's raining in England. The first time since I've been here. Not too shabby!
One more full day left before I head back. This trip has been too short.
After checking out and taking advantage of the free breakfast at the hostel, I hopped on Le Métro at Républic station and headed to Gare du Nord. Not to leave right away, I just knew that I wanted to spend a chunk of my afternoon in Montmartre which is close to the station.
I also wanted to see if I could find a locker to stash some of my stuff. (Weren't there lockers at train stations at one time?) I only brought my backpack with me with only the things I was going to need for a full day. But it was weighing heavy on my back. No luck, though. No lockers. Probably for security reasons.
So with everything in tow, in the sweltering heat, I marched up the hills, through what appeared to be an area with a lot of Arabic influence, to Sacré Coeur.
I think this is the youngest of the big churchesin Paris. Construction started in 1884, was
finished in 1914 but wasn't consecrated until 1919.
The church sits at one of the highest points in Paris. Quite a view from up there.
After snapping some pics and resting my already sore feet, it was time to explore the rest of Montmartre. This area interested me because it's prominently featured in one of my favourite films, "Amélie." I did some research and located some of the areas the film was shot. Sacré Coeur was one of them. The next one I located was on Rue Lamarck.
This is the Métro station where Amélie shows the blind man to and he has some sort of revelation.
(At least, that's what I got out of the scene anyway)
Just to the right of the station is a little cafe where I sat to write some post cards and had a coffee. After mailing them at the post office across the street, I continued.
Rue Saint-Vincent was the first place featured in the film. It's even mentioned by name in the voiceover.On with the journey, I walked all the way down (I was walking downhill by this point) Rue Lepic to #15 which was I think the highlight of my day.
Café des 2 Moulins was the place where Amélie worked in the film.
I sat on the "terrasse" outside the café and ate lunch and had a café au lait. They are proud of the fact that their café is so prominently displayed in the film (hence the poster). So much so that I'm sure they've hiked the prices for us stupid tourists.
But, I digress. A short jaunt down the hill from Les deux Moulins, I found this little place that I think I've heard of before.
Nicole Kidman could not be found anywhere.Next it was back on le Métro to Charles-de-Gaulle Étoile station and...
L'arc du Triomphe.The traffic is insane at the huge roundabout where this landmark sits. I stood watching it for 20 minutes and couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. But Parisiennes seem to know...or not.
The next part of my trip took me down L'avenue des Champs Élysées. I didn't buy a whole lot but there is a lot to buy here. Not that I was being cheap (although there was a lot out of my price range), I was running out of time. Since the Louvre was closed yesterday, and I had spent so much time in Montmartre, I wanted to get down to La musée du Louvre with the few hours I had left.
There are 3 wings to the museum, I only saw 3/4 of one of them. I figured if I was going to be at the Louvre for only a few hours, spending it in the Denon wing with all the French, Italian and Spanish art. Plus, the Egyptian, Roman and Greek artifacts. This included the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. By the time I had to leave for the train station, I had only seen 3/4 of the Denon wing. The Louvre will require some further investigation.
Count Basie wrote a song about "April In Paris." I say, even though it was hotter than hell, I was sweating like a pig and there is no air conditioning anywhere, nothing beats September in Paris.
As I write this I'm on the Eurostar back to London. (I got a seat facing backwards again, dammit) In fact, we just got out of the Channel Tunnel (or Euro Tunnel) and it's raining in England. The first time since I've been here. Not too shabby!
One more full day left before I head back. This trip has been too short.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home