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Published: April 18th 2011
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Arc de TriompheI may have found the cure for jet lag ... a lovely Chateau Haut Pineuilh Bordeaux. I woke up at 2 am this morning and was wide awake. The effects of jet lag of course. So I pounded back a couple of glasses and back to sleep. Heck ... some people take Gravol or Melatonin. A lovely Bordeaux works just as well and it will even help you curb your cholesterol. I may need that soon ... wait until you hear what I ate today!! The moral of that story though is that I slept through to 9:30 am ... I've never adjusted that quickly to the time change in Europe.
One of the things that I have been wondering about this whole trip was the question of what I was going to get out of it personally. What lessons would I learn? It struck me early this morning that one of those lessons would be about just enjoying the moment. As a relentless tourist, I often feel in a rush to get to wherever it is I am going ... part of it is because I am so excited to be going wherever it is I happen to be
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Little shop in Montmartre going but at the same time I shouldn't feel stress about it. I still have 85 days to go so ... really ... what's the rush!! So today I made the point of just soaking it in ...
One of the places I had been really looking forward to going back in Paris was Montmartre. Montmartre is filled with winding streets, artists, cafes and cutesy little boutiques. It is what I have always imagined Paris to be. But before getting there, I made a quick stop to see the Arc de Triomphe. I had been here last time but still just wanted to see it again. And truth be told, my photos last time were really boring and I just wanted a redo!
So any visit to the Montmartre area has to include a stop at Sacre Coeur. It sits high atop a hill (the Butte as it is known) and glistens in bright white under the beautiful Parisian sun (side note ... it was ridiculously gorgeous weather today ... no jacket required!). As I mentioned yesterday, the crowds are a little bit more abundant than the last time I was here but so were the artists and
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Chocolate covered olives ... interesting! street performers. It truly added to the atmosphere of the area.
As I said before, I had really decided to take my time and soak it all in (and in case you are wondering ... I know I'm in Paris but it still has not hit me that I am doing this for the next three months!). The first performer to peak my interest was a harpist. The reason he caught my attention was because he was playing My Way (or as the French woman sitting beside me kept humming ... Comme D'Habitude). He then went into a beautiful rendition of Let It Be. Loveliness! Then making my way up more stairs to finally reach the basilica, there was a violinist playing La Vie en Rose ... that's when you know you are in Paris!!
I had a quick visit of the basilica itself. Just as beautiful as I had remembered it. I took the time to sit in a pew once again and just look at the beautiful stain glass and details within this enormous church. I lit a candle and then made my way out again. This time a group had gathered around a young gentleman
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Souvenirs who was making these enormous bubbles. Little kids were of course running around trying to pop them. Another group had gathered around a musical group called Presteej. They were awesome and I stood there listening for a good five or six songs.
By that time I had "un petit creux" so it was appropriate that I found a cafe called "Aux Petits Creux". Cafe creme and a crepe filled with chocolate (oh what the French can do with Nutella .... I'm guessing that it's a food group for them!!) and bananas. Yum!!
I continued my aimless meandering around Montmartre being highly entertained by all of the artists painting or drawing portraits and all of the fascinating little shops. This walking around aimlessly took me to the Abbesses metro station; one of the few remaining metro stations with the antique art deco awnings. I remembered that there was a cute little park behind there and popped in once again (a little respite from the sun too!).
From there, I made my way towards the Cimetiere de Montmartre. I know ... visiting a cemetery is weird. I did the Pere Lachaise last time I was here and the Montmartre
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Souvenirs Cemetery is the second in popularity. Truth be told ... cemeteries make for great photo ops. I have quite a collection of different photos of angels that I've taken over the years and I was hoping to add to it. No such luck but still an interesting walk. I did see the tomb of Dalida, famous French singer. It's a little over the top I do have to say but she was the Charo of the French world so really what else could you expect!!
My day wound down with a quick stop to the Centre George Pompidou and the Stravinski Fountain right beside it. The fountain is filled with colourful objects like a firebird, a heart, snake and flaming red lips that twirl and spray water. The square where it is located is surrounded by cafes and young kids seem to congregate around the fountain and at the back of the Centre George Pompidou. There was a street performer juggling fire and other things to keep them entertained and he sure gathered quite a crowd. The Centre Pompidou is interesting to see because the building looks like it is inside out ... all of the infrastructure is actually
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Sacre Coeur on the outside. Apparently this is to make the inside more flexible to accomodate whatever art exhibit may be going on at the time.
The last time I was here I stayed just up a little from the Centre Pompidou. This prompted me to go back to the little bakery that had kept me in pastries and other goodies during my last stay. It's called Aux Desirs de Manon. There I found a panini chevre and the dessert to end all desserts ... a mille feuille! I grabbed the subway to make it back to my hotel and was getting weird looks from my fellow riders. I think that the panini was stinking up the train!
So another day in Paris comes to a close .... to be determined what I will be up to tomorrow!
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JFFournier
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Best. Picture. Ever.