Today promised to be a cooler day so we opted for a visit to Montmartre, one of the entries on Jim's list. I tried a new combination of bus routes that promised to limit some of the walking as he is having a bit of a hip issue today and it worked out quite nicely. Our itinerary takes us for a bit of a walkabout up on top, then lunch at one of Deb and my favorite restaurants in all of Paris, Chartier.
When we got to the bus stop below Sacre Coeur we took Jim up to the funicular that runs up almost to the base of the church via the colorful street that is lined with tourist shops and frequently hustlers running shell games and 3 card monte. Today there were police who had a group of people rounded up, likely hustlers and their victims, and they were writing citations. So up the funicular and out just below the church where it's an easy walk around a little park to the place in front of Sacre Coeur, where Jim was able to take pictures of both the church and the city views. Deb was waiting in the little park to avoid crowds so I left Jim at a bench looking out on Place du Tertre and circled back for Deb.
Reunited once again we did a brief paseo of the place then walked past the Espace Miro, where Jim bought a coffee mug, to a rest stop at Maison Rose, the subject of a painting by Maurice Utrillo who lived almost next door. We showed Jim the last remaining vineyard in Paris before we caught the little bus that carried us through the streets of Montmartre down to Place Pigalle. At Pigalle we caught the bus down to a stop very close to Chartier. We walked to Chartier with a short detour into the Passage Vivienne one of the late 19th century covered passageways lined with small expensive shops.
Once at Chartier we ordered our lunches and had a totally entertaining time with our waiter, he was flirting outrageously with Deb and it was just plain fun. He ended up giving us a half bottle of wine evidently left by earlier diners and given to him, so we poured a glass for him and he sat at the table with us for a few minutes and we chatted (?) in French with Deb translating for Jim's benefit. I slipped him a fiver for his genial attitude even though the bill contains a 20% service charge. After our wonderful lunch we took a couple buses that got us back to our regular stop near the apartment. A very agreeable day indeed.
Today promised to be a cooler day so we opted for a visit to Montmartre, one of the entries on Jim's list. I tried a new combination of bus routes that promised to limit some of the walking as he is having a bit of a hip issue today and it worked out quite nicely. Our itinerary takes us for a bit of a walkabout up on top, then lunch at one of Deb and my favorite restaurants in all of Paris, Chartier.
When we got to the bus stop below Sacre Coeur we took Jim up to the funicular that runs up almost to the base of the church via the colorful street that is lined with tourist shops and frequently hustlers running shell games and 3 card monte. Today there were police who had a group of people rounded up, likely hustlers and their victims, and they were writing citations. So up the funicular and out just below the church where it's an easy walk around a little park to the place in front of Sacre Coeur, where Jim was able to take pictures of both the church and the city views. Deb was waiting in the little park to avoid crowds so I left Jim at a bench looking out on Place du Tertre and circled back for Deb. 
Reunited once again we did a brief paseo of the place then walked past the Espace Miro, where Jim bought a coffee mug, to a rest stop at Maison Rose, the subject of a painting by Maurice Utrillo who lived almost next door. We showed Jim the last remaining vineyard in Paris before we caught the little bus that carried us through the streets of Montmartre down to Place Pigalle. At Pigalle we caught the bus down to a stop very close to Chartier. We walked to Chartier with a short detour into the Passage Vivienne one of the late 19th century covered passageways lined with small expensive shops.
Once at Chartier we ordered our lunches and had a totally entertaining time with our waiter, he was flirting outrageously with Deb and it was just plain fun. He ended up giving us a half bottle of wine evidently left by earlier diners and given to him, so we poured a glass for him and he sat at the table with us for a few minutes and we chatted (?) in French with Deb translating for Jim's benefit. I slipped him a fiver for his genial attitude even though the bill contains a 20% service charge. After our wonderful lunch we took a couple buses that got us back to our regular stop near the apartment. A very agreeable day indeed.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY brother
ReplyDelete