Day 3 started off with a train ride on the Métro, and a hike up Montmartre (mountain of the martyr). We walked passed the Moulin Rouge. As we ascended Montmartre, we made a short stop at Café des 2 Moulins. It may look familiar if you enjoy French films. Amélie was filmed in this café. I was so excited to visit this café. I don’t drink coffee (I know, not a coffee or wine drinker in Paris!), but did get a picture at the counter with my hot chocolate (looks like I am drinking coffee). As we walked up even further, we came across the little market from the film Au Marche de la Butte.
We then visited Le Bateau-Lavoir, the meeting place for many famous artists of the past including Picasso. We continued up Montmartre, and passed Le Passe-Muraille (The Walker through Walls). This is a bronze statue of a man who is half trapped in a wall in Rue Norvins. This is inspired by a story by Marcel Ayme of a man who discovered he could walk through walls. He had a doctor make a pill for him to reverse his ability. He did not take the pill originally, but saved it. He started an affair with a married woman, whose husband would leave her in her room with the door locked at night. This is when the man would visit her. One morning, he had a headache and took 2 pills that he had. That night, he met up with his mistress. As he was trying to leave, he became stuck within the wall. He has mistakenly taken the pill the doctor had given him to reverse his ability.
We then made our way to Le Mur des je t’taime (The I Love You Wall). The wall was created in 2000 and the phrase “I love you” is written 311 times in 250 languages. Then we hiked up to where Saint Denis was decapitated. We then hiked all the way to the top to admire the beautiful Sacré-Coeur Basilica. This is the highest point of the city. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed inside, so I guess you will just have to go visit for yourself. This is where our tour activities ended for the day.
After Sacré-Coeur Basilica we walked over to the Place du Tertre, where a local artist cut our profiles out of black paper in a matter of minutes. It was pretty impressive. One thing we did not get to was the Dali Museum, which is unfortunate because I love Salvador Dali’s paintings.
We then visited Le Bateau-Lavoir, the meeting place for many famous artists of the past including Picasso. We continued up Montmartre, and passed Le Passe-Muraille (The Walker through Walls). This is a bronze statue of a man who is half trapped in a wall in Rue Norvins. This is inspired by a story by Marcel Ayme of a man who discovered he could walk through walls. He had a doctor make a pill for him to reverse his ability. He did not take the pill originally, but saved it. He started an affair with a married woman, whose husband would leave her in her room with the door locked at night. This is when the man would visit her. One morning, he had a headache and took 2 pills that he had. That night, he met up with his mistress. As he was trying to leave, he became stuck within the wall. He has mistakenly taken the pill the doctor had given him to reverse his ability.
We then made our way to Le Mur des je t’taime (The I Love You Wall). The wall was created in 2000 and the phrase “I love you” is written 311 times in 250 languages. Then we hiked up to where Saint Denis was decapitated. We then hiked all the way to the top to admire the beautiful Sacré-Coeur Basilica. This is the highest point of the city. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed inside, so I guess you will just have to go visit for yourself. This is where our tour activities ended for the day.
After Sacré-Coeur Basilica we walked over to the Place du Tertre, where a local artist cut our profiles out of black paper in a matter of minutes. It was pretty impressive. One thing we did not get to was the Dali Museum, which is unfortunate because I love Salvador Dali’s paintings.
We then hopped back on the Métro, and headed towards the Basilica of Saint-Denis. This is located in the city of Saint Denis in northern Paris. It is believed that Saint Denis carried his decapitated head from Montmartre to this location where he wanted to be buried.
We made our way back to the hotel for a little rest. Then our guide had a little wine tasting planned at our hotel. Since I do not know much about wine (other than there is white and red, and it is not really Champagne unless it is from Champagne, France) I learned a lot. I didn’t taste any, but learned a lot about how wine is named, the different areas where wine is made, and that they take their wine very seriously in France. Then it was off to another group dinner. At this group dinner, my dad ate escargots for the first time. He was a natural at getting those snails out of the shells. He really enjoyed them too!
We made our way back to the hotel for a little rest. Then our guide had a little wine tasting planned at our hotel. Since I do not know much about wine (other than there is white and red, and it is not really Champagne unless it is from Champagne, France) I learned a lot. I didn’t taste any, but learned a lot about how wine is named, the different areas where wine is made, and that they take their wine very seriously in France. Then it was off to another group dinner. At this group dinner, my dad ate escargots for the first time. He was a natural at getting those snails out of the shells. He really enjoyed them too!