A Walk Through Montmartre

Our final day of sightseeing in Paris was spent walking through the Montmartre area. We found a recommended path to take through this hilltop village in our guide book and Brad did a lovely job playing the part of tour guide.

We took the metro from our hotel and started our journey in front of Moulin Rouge. Yes, Brad and I both took turns pretending to be cancan dancers...but we'll save those pictures for another day.

Just around the corner was the Cimetiere de Montmartre, a large cemetery with hundreds and hundreds of massive tombs. Honestly, we didn't know a single "famous" person that had been buried here but we found it interesting anyhow.

Along the way up the steep hill we passed one of the homes Van Gogh lived in for several years in the late 1880s. Thank you Fodor's Paris Guide Book, I would have missed this completely without you.

The streets continued to get steeper and steeper but it was so beautiful, we didn't seem to mind. I hope the parking break on these cars works better than on Brad's beater BMW; could be dangerous.

Another stop was in the Square Suzanne-Buisson where we found the statue of the third-century bishop, St. Denis. St. Denis was beheaded by the Romans and legend has it that he picked up his head and washed off the blood in the fountain right at this very spot. Thus the statue. A little strange, huh?

This is where guide books come in really handy. We were given directions that brought us up to the Sacre-Coeur basilica from the backside giving us an incredible view of the beautiful church. And we had the park to ourselves with the exception of a class of small children who appeared to be on a field trip. It was breathtaking.

When we walked around to the front side of the Sacre-Coeur basilica it was just swarming with people. This was to be expected as you have quite the panoramic view of Paris from the front steps of the church. We walked through admiring the many sculptures and mosaics; unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures inside.

From the top of the hill, we could see the Eiffel Tower off in the distance.

The afternoon was spent popping in and out of souvenir shops in the Place du Tertre. The square itself was filled with artists painting portraits of celebrities and willing tourists. As our self-made tour was coming to an end and it was time to make the trek back down the steep hill, we found ourselves in a small gallery. I had intended to do a little shopping in a unique store we had just passed but ended up going in the wrong door and before we knew it, we had picked out a beautiful painting by a local artist. It's my favorite souvenir from the trip.

Exhaustion was beginning to set in so we made our way back to the hotel. We ended the evening with a lovely dinner at a sushi restaurant followed by cappuccinos at a nearby cafe. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

The following day we were catching our train back to Frankfurt at 1:00 pm so we spent the morning shopping. I was adamant that any clothing I bought in Paris could not come from a store I could go to in Germany or Dallas....I came up empty handed. Fortunately, I found a cute top at a little boutique in the massive train station....it will now be known as my Paris shirt.

And that was the end of our Parisian Adventure. We said "au revoir" to Paris.......and "hola!" to Barcelona!