the real montmartre

so here are some of the photos from the neighborhood once we stepped away from the tourist areas- and as you can see - the area is very hilly- not what one usually thinks of for Paris-

we stopped for lunch and then headed off to Notre Dame and the Ile de la Cite-

the cathedral is celebrating its 850 anniversary and so they have built a horrible semi-permanent set of bleachers across from the entrance where there used to be a nice park- one can only assume for some awful touristy sound and light show- somehow crass commercialism and an 850 year old cathedral don't belong together IMHO-

which actually brings us to a good point to discuss the issue of the deterioration of Paris- just like American cities it is clear that Paris is suffering from a lack of funding for infrastructure projects- broken and uneven sidewalks were never the norm in the city center but now exist with alarming regularity.  things are dirtier and less well maintained than they have been at any time in the last 15 years or more-

so while I am a huge believer in "GO NOW" this time I might say wait until the economy of the EU picks up a little and they can get back to the well maintained Paris of prior decades.  Memo to City Officials- in 2008 you were vying for the Olympics that London won the "right" to hold- and things looked marvelous- so let's use that as our benchmark!

back to Notre Dame- as I mentioned about the funicular to Sacre Coeur- a line - a line - a line (which we never saw in March- hint, hint!)

no those are not the same window - they are on opposite side of the church- LOL

after exiting we headed to the river to find a bus that would take us close to the d'Orsay and home to the hotel-

such a beautiful day- everyone wanted to be outside!

later that evening we stayed close to the hotel for dinner and ate right around the corner at a charming place (we sat outdoors) where the service was excellent - alas the food was nothing special- but they couldn't have been nicer-

next up - a day of museums- for which everyone in their right mind buys a museum pass and skips the incredible lines to get tickets at the entrances!

another day outdoors

so on the next day- the good weather was holding- actually it was getting warmer!

we decided a quick trip up to Montmartre for a walk and lunch and then a subway ride over to Notre Dame (850 year old Notre Dame) - all teeming with tourists of course because it IS - April in Paris! We have frequently come here in late February and early March and I would vote to return to that schedule as things are much less tourist infested and while the weather can be iffy it can also be very nice- one year the cherry blossoms were blooming early March!

and- even if the weather isn't wonderful - your time in the museums will be greatly enhanced by the smaller crowds... except for the Mona Lisa - which is a complete joke- you can never get near it and everyone has their cell phones up trying to get a shot of her... you would think it was Madonna or something- LOL

so off we went on the Metro - our transportation of choice in both NYC and Paris- and we got off at Abesses so we could take the funicular up to Sacre Coeur (we have never had to stand in line before!) but I am getting ahead of the photos - so let's go there...

OK none of these photos was actually taken on the way over to Montmartre but they do illustrate the metro system we used... our first stop was the small park right across from the metro stop-

in the park is an oft photographed mural of many language expressions of love:

including the one from AMESLAN- (don't know if I spelled that correctly)

then we headed to the church behind the metro exit - all made of poured concrete-

then we headed down the slope to the funicular-

at least there was entertainment while you waited- unfortunately they were only running one of the two cars so things went slowly-

 

Sacre Coeur was mobbed of course and so we headed right to the Place du Tertre-

 



we stopped for a soda - thirsty but not wanting to eat in this area - too mobbed!

then some photos of the souvenirs available for those in need of a place to spend their money-

decisions decisions decisions---

we headed down the hills and into the heart of the non-tourist neighborhood for lunch- so I will post my last photos of tourist Montmartre and then the next post will start with real neighborhood photos and on to Notre Dame-