So we now are officially in Paris. Our first day here was the first of April and we made it to our hostl safely. Ther hostel is not too bad, except that we are located kind of in the sketchy area of town. This part of Paris is quite similar to Morocco so Katie and I are playing it safe and tramming everywhere.
One of the first things we did was of course explore the city. We went to the Sacré Coeur, or the Sacred Heart. This Basilica was buildt between 1875-1914 and is the higest point in Paris. The view here was superb because you could see most of the city. Oh there was also this guitarist who was playing for a large crowd and was quite good. He even sang Let It Be which I enjoyed as I looked over the city. From there we went on yet another free tour Put on By New Europe. I think this is one of the best first things to do when you get to a city because you learn so much about the sites that you wouldnt learn on your own.
Ok so here is a list and so descriptions of what we saw:
Moulin Rouge
* means the Red Windmill in French
* super sweet to say I have been there, though not to an actual show because tickets now cost around €79, yikes!
*made me want to sing the songs from the movie, cheesy yes but they are quite catchy.
* shows used to cost 50 cents but the place is now super classy and you get a glass of free champagne and that is why it is so expensive
Paris Red Light District
*nothing in comparsion to Amsterdam
Picassos Studio
Van Goghs House
* his room is the one featued in his painting The Blue Room
Montmarte Vineyard
*guess the wine here is pretty gross
Paris' last Surviving windmill
*hey dad this one is for you- the windmill was used to grind wheat which was then used to make gallets, which was the poor mans food and now i know how to spell it
Statue of Headless Saint Denis
* legend goes that he was paris' first bishop and was beheaded because he was a Christian. After he was beheaded he picked up his head back up and rinsed it off in the streams along the way to another part of town where he then layed to rest. Everywhere he rinsed his head a fountain is set up in his honour and I guess artists have a hard time deciding where to put his halo, above his actual head or where his head is supposed to be if it were attached
Cafe des Deux Mullins (Cafe of Two Windows)
* So the importance of this cafe is that it was featured in one of my favorite movies, Amelie. We also saw the little grocery store where she ran her fingers through the nuts and where the owner of the store called his worked a vegetable
* Oh the front of the Sacre Coeur is also featured during the last scene of the film when she returns the mans photo book
Other places we saw included ther Lapin Agile
*cabaret bar where picasso often exchanged paintings for food
France's Flag
Map of France