A day in Montmartre

Today was a blast! We walked to Montmartre, through the sex trade part of town, which appears to run about six blocks along Rue Clichy, beginning just after you pass the Moulin Rouge, going east. It is fine during the day, but it is advisable to stay away from that area after dark.

I wanted to find La Virgule and Shirl wanted to find Le Refuge des Fondues, a restaurant she had read about online. We found both eventually, totally by accident. Montmartre is a warren of tiny streets going every which way, and packed with sourvenir shops, cafes, restaurants, and art galleries. A lot of business are closed on Sundays, which is quaint for people like us who are accustomed to the 24/7 lifestyle.

We walked up to Sacre Coeur and I am not sure how to relate to it. Is it a circus or a church? It looks like a church, but it acts like a circus. There is acually a carousel at the bottom. Not only that, there are people hawking purses and cheap Paris souvenirs all the way up the stairs and on every landing on the way up to the basilica.




There was a mass being conducted while we were there, so we hung out inside the basilica for a while, until a nun crossed our path. They still wear habits, like in the old days, and I have to tell you she creeped me out. We had to leave, because I was flashing back to my old school days when I was surrounded by nuns, and Shirl was laughing at me.


After Sacre Coeur we wandered around Montmartre and that is when we found La Virgule. We stopped there for an excellent lunch (Shirl had a crepe and I had quiche Lorraine). This lovely couple offered to take our picture. To top it off, La Virgule has a bulldog named Maggie. Made my day.






After lunch we continued strolling and we came upon some really cute purses. Now, Shirl intended all along to find a purse in Paris, so this was according to plan. I, however, had not intented to do any purse shopping so imagine my surprise when I found myself buying not one, not two, but three purses. The prices are fantastic here. And Shirl is no slouch in the purse department. The thing with her is that she changes her mind occasionally, which results in changing one purse for another after the fact. There is nothing wrong with this, but I can tell you that now if we come within 50 feet of a store that sells purses, I yell "STEP AWAY FROM THE PURSES" to keep both of us in line.


Wandered home around five o'clock, stopping on the way for a glass of wine, and dessert and coffee. We are going to try the hop on/hop off Paris tour tomorrow.


By the way, if you thought I was kidding about the Shirley scarf situation, here is proof. And she found one more after the picture was taken.