A Day in Paris' Charming Montmartre District: Day XXII Euro Adventure 2022

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Our last full day in Europe was split between Spain and France.

We had another early wake-up call to answer in order to get to Barcelona's El-Prat Airport for our flight to Paris.

We found a taxi big enough to haul all of our new found treasures on Las Ramblas. It took us a few tries trying to unsuccessfully cram our belongings into medium sized taxis Tetris-style, until a taxi van came to our rescue.

Third time's the charm.

Why can't LAX be as efficient

and clean as El Prat?

Cafe con leche and a pastry got us

all in the right frame of mind

FC Barcelona's last ditch attempt

on getting to buy something

We will all miss Jamón Ibérico

Our flight to Paris' Orly Airport

was delayed 90 minutes

For seasoned travelers like ourselves, this was a minor blip.

For many of our Spanish fellow travelers, this was a reason to declare war on Vueling Airlines!

This was especially true when our flight ran out of overhead space and several passengers were forced to check their hand luggage into the plane's cargo hold.

For many our Spanish mates the key word was forced.

Anger is an ugly mood to start the day, but it is laughable to watch if you are spiritually centered and have a backpack that easily stows under the seat in front of you.

To kill the time during our flight's

delay, Brian lectured passengers about

to travel all over Europe on the wonders of

"The Up Sweep Pass"

Once our flight finally took off amid some still grumbling Spaniards, the two hour flight to Paris was smooth as was our taxi ride to our charming little two bedroom flat in the bohemian Montmartre district in Paris' 18th arrondissement.

Our rustic kitchen area

There were two wall hangings of interest . . .

That Scrooge McDuck was a crook

was no surprise but . . .

 

. . . who knew about Minnie's

seedier side?

Not I, you can be sure.

Plus, I did not know that Minnie was over six feet tall.

Cool, exposed kitchen plumbing

I don't think that we'll have

to worry about running out

of toilet paper tonight

After settling in, our forces were amicably divided for a few hours as Brian and Koreen wanted to visit Paris' dynamic modern art Mecca, the Musée d'Orsay.

As Laurie and I had viewed this museum's fantastic art collection on several previous occasions, we opted to spend more time exploring one of our favorite areas of Paris, the hilltop Montmartre district.

When we turned the first corner

from our flat what did we see?

It was none other than our latest glimpse of the Montmartre's iconic landmark, the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur!

Sacré-Coeur translates into Sacred Heart.

The Sacré-Coeur is almost

as photogenic as Laurie

Our view during lunch at a

sidewalk cafe

Artsy reflection of two diners

This reflection comes from one of two Vigipirates cars that parked in front of us while we ate.

The Vigipirates is basically Paris' roaming, heavily armed SWAT teams that go randomly around the city trying to thwart any terrorist activities before they start.

We felt safer.

With good food and an adult beverage in our systems, we started exploring our bohemian surroundings in earnest.

Blue is a good color

The quaint little hotel where Laurie and

I stayed on our first trip to the

Montmartre in 2013

A more than interesting store selling . . .

. . . all sorts of stringed instruments

The owner of this shop was

using some free time wisely . . .

. . . don't you agree?

You just can't escape the

Sacré-Coeur

To get to the Sacré-Coeur all you

have to do is climb these steps

Of course, you could take the funicular at the right to the top of the hill for 1.90 Euros but where would the fun be in that?

Interesting wall art

More interesting crêpe shop

An omen?

If you'll recall, I'm scheduled to be the Special Teams Coach for the Brasil Onças in January's IFAF World Championship Qualifying Tournament to be held in Mexico City.

Brian Guzman, the Head Coach of the Brasil Onças, had contacted me about five minutes earlier regarding some change of plans.

Last week, IFAF announced the postponement of the World Championship Tournament from 2023 to 2025.

Despite this puzzling set back, our Qualifying Tournament will still happen in 2023 in Mexico City but now it has been moved from January to July. Of good news, Brian reported that we will probably hold another Onças team camp this coming Spring to prepare for the tournament.

If true, São Paulo, HERE WE COME!

Quaint and Colorful

A drink here could be in our future

Original Recipes

Blending in with the locals

Street art yet again

Cool wall

Repeatedly saying "I Love You" in just

about every language imaginable

Is she flipping off Brian and

Koreen as they rejoined us?

They raved about their shared Musée d'Orsay experience as we knew that they would.

Little kids enjoy this excellent street

musician who entertained us for over

an hour with his blues renditions

Laurie loves hearts

An iconic Citroën 2CV

The view of Paris from atop

the Montmartre hill

Sacré-Coeur in the twilight

Time to shop in the Montmartre

I like the formidable crêpe chef

framed in the window

Another Citroën 2CV

This one zoomed past us at breakneck speeds.

So Parisian

Waiters were busy

Stores were all lit up . . .

. . . as was the Sacré-Coeur

Just can't get enough of

this shopping and dining area

A famous hangout . . .

. . . for world class artists

over the many years called . . .

. . . La Bonne Franquette

as their sign plainly states

More info on some of the famed

artists who enjoyed life in Montmartre

Koreen and Laurie enjoyed

shopping in Montmartre

The Eiffel Tower

far in the distance with its warning

beacon for any low flying aircraft at night

The Eiffel Tower's beacon light

in action complete with sound effects

by Laurie and Koreen

Our final view of the

Sacré-Coeur for the night

Moderation in all things

Our Adventure comes to a close tomorrow as we fly home to California from Paris' Orly Airport in the afternoon. You never know, something exciting may still happen in the morning, stay tuned . . .