For our last morning in Paris we revisited one of Tony's favorite haunts - Montremarte. We dropped our luggage off at Baggage Storage at Gard du Nord - a really great thing if you have half a day in Paris before leaving on the train.
From there, it is an easy walk up to Montremarte. We waded through the annoying street vendors. Thankfully, there were a lot less than there had been the previous summer. We climbed the hill to Sacre Coeur - the highest hill in Paris and looked out over this magnificent city.
We made our way past all the tourist stores into the quiet shady back streets that Tony loves. We followed Rick Steve's tour of Montremarte as Mark hadn't ever been here. It's nice to see this quiet area in the midst of such a huge urban jungle.
It almost feels like one is in the country. The first time I came to Paris, we were told to be sure to visit Montremarte as it summed up Old Paris. And having visited here a couple times now, it is clear why so many of the artists chose to live and paint in this picturesque area.
We stopped at La Maison Rose for lunch, which has become a tradition for us. They make awesome French Onion Soup, and on a cold rainy day like this, it sounded perfect.
Mark loved it.
One of the fun places to visit in Montremarte on Rick's tour is a small park containing a statue of Saint Denis. The Story goes that Saint Denis was beheaded while trying to spread the gospel, but that didn't stop him as he picked up his head and continued preaching for another 2 miles.
We made our way down the road back towards the more urban part of Paris, passing Vincent Van Gogh's apartment, and "The Two Windmills" where they shot "Amelie", a really cute French film that Tony and I love. One of these days, I want to go in there and get an espresso.
We ultimately reached the bottom of the hilm and the world famous Moulin Rouge. Though not the filming location for the film of the same name (which built a replica on a stage in Australia of all places), it always makes me think of that film. I finally got a decent picture of it free of tour buses, which always seem to be parked in front of it when I'm there.
It was time to make our way back to the train station to start the 2.5 hour train ride back to London. It was a fantastic weekend, despite the weather, and if there were a way to celebrate one's 50th birthday in style, this was certainly it!
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