Montmartre
The sun was shining (hip hip hooray) this morning, so I decided to go to Montmartre. I heart Paris, but I especially heart Montmartre. Yes, it's touristy, but it's very charming and beautiful. And I walked and walked and walked today - all the way up the hill from the Metro station to the Sacre Coeur, then ALL the way home. I just wandered until I found myself close enough that I figured I'd just keep going.
Of course, I had another wonderful lunch - this time in an Auberge that was once frequented by just about all the famous artists you can think of, AND Zola. Its garden served as the model for one of Van Gogh's paintings. What I liked was that it had a nice shady terrace out of the way of the throngs on the street, but I could sit and watch the world going by. Also, apart from a couple of Germans, I was the only non-French person there, as far as I could tell, which made a nice change from all the touristy ones closer to the Sacre Coeur. Here, because lidocafe asked for it, is a picture of my lunch.
Chicken with chervil, the best bread so far, house white wine and coffee to follow. The beans were overcooked again - I'm surprised by this trend, having thought the French knew better. However, the chicken was delicious. I can't believe how much I'm eating on this trip; it's a good thing I'm doing so much walking or I would definitely get fat!
EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to mention: I saw two cats today. After all the hundreds of dogs (that I love a lot) it was nice to see a couple of felines. One was obviously the "house cat" of the restaurant where I had lunch.
And today's musical offering was a harpist on the steps of Sacre Coeur. Rather nice until he started to play "My Heart Will Go On"...
Of course, I had another wonderful lunch - this time in an Auberge that was once frequented by just about all the famous artists you can think of, AND Zola. Its garden served as the model for one of Van Gogh's paintings. What I liked was that it had a nice shady terrace out of the way of the throngs on the street, but I could sit and watch the world going by. Also, apart from a couple of Germans, I was the only non-French person there, as far as I could tell, which made a nice change from all the touristy ones closer to the Sacre Coeur. Here, because lidocafe asked for it, is a picture of my lunch.
Chicken with chervil, the best bread so far, house white wine and coffee to follow. The beans were overcooked again - I'm surprised by this trend, having thought the French knew better. However, the chicken was delicious. I can't believe how much I'm eating on this trip; it's a good thing I'm doing so much walking or I would definitely get fat!
EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to mention: I saw two cats today. After all the hundreds of dogs (that I love a lot) it was nice to see a couple of felines. One was obviously the "house cat" of the restaurant where I had lunch.
And today's musical offering was a harpist on the steps of Sacre Coeur. Rather nice until he started to play "My Heart Will Go On"...