For the first time on this trip we were out of the apartment before noon. I know! I felt extremely guilty for missing out on the early mornings in Paris and stopping at cafes for a Cafe au Lait and a buttery croissant. Then I remembered that we're on vacation, so no more guilt!
The motivation for the early rising was to catch a Paris Walks tour of the town of Montmartre and it was so worth missing out on an hour or two of sleep. Paris Walks offers several short tours (about 2 1/2 hours) of different areas in the City. They are really inexpensive (only 12 euro each) but filled with lots of great info and you don't have to make a reservation; just show up at the designated metro strop!
Our tour guide, Rochelle, took us around the lesser know streets of the area as well as the most touristy sites of this delightful little town.
She's standing in front of the "I Love You" wall. These words translated in many different languages and translated onto blue tiles. So romantic!
We loved this little artist town with it's narrow streets and probably reminiscent of an older Paris. Apparently, the residents consider themselves a world away from the Parisians. Here are a few photos of the highlights of the tour.
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| Metro Abbesses - One of the few remaining art deco metro stops in Paris. |
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St. Jean Church
Art Nouveau design, built in 1904 |
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| The climb up these hills will be worth the it at the top! |
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| #54 - One of van Gough's residences in Montmartre |
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One of a few "Wallace Fountains"
Named for the person who financed their construction |
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| A little ambiance during our tour |
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| A peak into a Montmartre artist studio |
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Bronze statue of "The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls"
See this link to read this short story |
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| A Boules or Petanque Court |
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| Small Montmartre Vineyard |
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| The Lapin Agile (Agile Rabbit) - a Cabaret! |
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| Detail of the Agile Rabbit |
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| A Beautiful View of Paris from the top of Montmartre |
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| Beautiful Mosaic Above the Sacre Coeur Altar |
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| Funicular that will take us down Montmarte |
After our tour we were starving and had lunch at one of the "locals" cafe's recommended by Rochelle. I had duck confit (again) and Scott had a nice Croque St Jean (ham and cheese sandwich). Love the potatoes that are served on the side.
Next another local spot - the Coquelicot bakery for a Cafe au Lait and the most delicious pastries!
After our morning into afternoon adventure we head back to our apartment to rest, pack (sadly) and then another memorable dinner. Fitting for our last meal in Paris.
Someone on my favorite travel message board -
Slow Talk (a sister to
Slow Travel) - recommended this cafe not far from us called Au Sud Ouest. Apparently known for it's wonderful duck dishes. I had no idea that was the only thing on the menu. So, for the second time today I had duck, but absolutely no complaints from me. The waitstaff were lovely and the food was fantastic! We were too full to try a rich dish of foie gras; much to my regret. I'm definitely going to have it on our overnight layover back home.
I had a duck stew with orange sauce and those wonderful potatoes and Scott had the cassoulet. Curiously, each table had a toaster on it and it was explained that the French like to toast their bread first before slathering it with the foie gras. Scott asked for a half bottle of wine, which they did not have. He was told, "don't worry, I will bring you the bottle, you drink half." I love Paris!
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| The Waitstaff at Au Sud Ouest |
Tomorrow it's Au Revoir Paris...
What a beautiful church! I'm so delighted to hear that you had such a wonderful stay in Paris~ just love your blog!!!
ReplyDeleteOKAY Ann & Scott: you've just made us decide on Paris instead of Tahiti for our 25th. Your photos and writing make me long to be back amongst the cafes and beautiful churches.
ReplyDeleteXOXO Janie
Thanks Cece! We really did enjoy our stay there.
ReplyDeleteJanie, Paris is just the place for an anniversary. We did go in search of the store you told me about near the Champs but it is no longer there. There's a new store called Farva. I know that we were in the right place because the cross streets were exactly as you said. Although this store did sell scarves and pashmina's they were still pretty pricey about 200+ euro and not much variety. Darn! I was really looking forward to it.