Xmas 2014 - Paris: Day 3

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Today was my last day in Paris, and I have to say - I was quite sad. Like Vienna last year, I seriously did not expect to enjoy this city as much as I did. Elissa posed the question to me yesterday: "Rome or Paris?" I was surprised when I quickly answered: Paris. It was a no brainer. The people were surprisingly friendly, the food was fantastic and authentic, it was easy to navigate, and it was just a wonderful feeling - a city where you actually feel you can live.

This morning, I decided to get a hearty breakfast since I'd had no dinner. I went to the St Germain-des-Pres church area where there was also supposed to be a Christmas market. I walked through the market stalls on my way to locate breakfast - I was sorely disappointed yet again with breakfast. I guess you can just rely on pastries and bread here for breakfast - I should have known better. I was also sorely disappointed with the Christmas market - it was well after the opening time of 10am on a Saturday and when I went back through there were only three stalls open, none of which interested me in the slightest.

I booked an all day pass for the metro and headed to Gare de l'Est to buy my ticket for my journey to Luxembourg. Holy cow was it busy in line! I lucked out that a woman on her way out gave me a much sooner ticket number, but I still had to wait more than 45 minutes! And it was friggin expensive…. I had previously decided not to buy the Eurail pass, but I am starting to regret it.

Once I got my ticket, I made my way to meet my friends at the Montmarte area. Elissa had really wanted to come here during the week and so this was her day. I have to say - excellent choice! The neighborhood is fantastic! Cobbled streets, hills, lots of cafes and shops. So much to do! We did a little shopping where she bought a coat that I'm super jealous of. Then we headed towards the Abbess metro area, which is supposed to have some awesome metro entry - I must have missed it. But they did have a Christmas market and again, it was super lame. I had recently seen Paris on two lists of top Christmas markets and I have to say: they are wrong! I liked the idea of all of them they just were not executed well.

We then did the walking tour listed in the Lonely Planet guidebook, and again - I was not impressed. The cafe where "Amelie" worked is mentioned and it was a whole lotta nothing and Moulin Rouge was pointed out, which was a whole lotta nothing, and two windmills up hill were part of the tour and again a whole lotta nothing. Actually, the windmills were neat looking, but what really sells Montmatre is the neighborhood itself. You don't need a walking tour; just go walk around! It is beautiful!

We headed towards the giant church: Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. From the front, there are incredible views of the entire city - A. Maz. Ing!!! The church inside is itself gorgeous - I actually liked this much better than Notre Dame. The views were insane and we took lots of photos of the area. Then we decided to head back down to the main part of the neighborhood and get something sweet to eat and some wine. We got macaroons at a cute shop and sat for a glass of wine in what can really be described as a dive bistro. We actually found the bottle of Italian wine we loved so much yesterday and spent insane amounts of money for us each to get one. Our pact is that it is our Christmas drink. Let's hope I can wait that long…. I already ate the salami I bought with the intention of a train ride snack….

Then we headed back to my hotel where I watched Lucy while Chris and Elissa went to have a nice, quiet dinner. Lucy was super easy and wound up falling asleep just before they got back. They brought me back roast chicken and truffle mashed potatoes. Yum! I was so sad to see them go, but it was such a great trip and we'll have to do something similar again.

In the meantime: I have christmas shopping to finish, packing, bath, and pictures to upload. Steps walked: 16,002 (6.6 miles).

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Photos

Windmill in Montmartre
or "Moulin"

Lucy
messing around with b/w setting

Place du Tertre
Artist spot in Montmartre

Comments

[Monique in Motion]

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur
Ms. Spencer, I loved your photograph of Basilique du Sacre-Coeur; the angle at which you took the photograph exhibits the looming importance of the building. Good job! Best, Monique

[D MJ Binkley]

Artsy
Nice, nice, nice.