Most of us decided to take advantage of the good weather and take the trek up to Montmartre. It is a beautiful breezy day this morning as we get off at the Abbesses metro stop. Just in that vicinity is a small park with a large wall mural with "I love you" written in nearly every language imaginable. It is one of those small, but special things that one will see in a city like Paris.
We walked over and took the funicular to avoid the steep walk up to Sacre Coeur. The view from the top in nothing short of amazing on this clear, hot day. Luckily, it is not too crowded. Most of us tour through the basilica and are impressed. The church itself is more modern than most of the other churches in Paris, built in the early 1900s. We then go over to the Place du Tertre, filled with painters and sketch artists. I took a walk over to the only vineyard in Paris and to the famous Lapin Agile, the famous cabaret once the famous hangout for struggling artists like Picasso and Modigliani.
After that, it was off to the Marais for a fallafel at L'As du Fallafel, the famous restaurant. Everyone in our group tried the fallafel and agreed that the Israeli treat, consisting of fried chick peas, red cabbage, pickled vegetables wrapped up in a pita. As one walks through the Marais, every other person is munching on one. We toured the Marais then decided to get back to the Pantheon.
We first stopped at Eglise Saint-Etienne du Mont. It is built upon the original abbey of the patron Saint of Paris, Saint Genevieve. It is bright church with interesting stained glass windows.
We walked over to the Pantheon, the giant domed building that is the resting place of some of France's most famous such as Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Emile Zola and Louis Braille just to name a few.
At dinner, we headed over to venerable Chartier. It was fun and lively. Our Paris first-timers struggled with the menu a bit, but were happy to meet the challenge. We took a little walk through the charming Passage Jouffroy after dinner before heading over to Le Cafe Petit Pont for a nightcap. There was a piano player and French songstress that inspired some of us to get up and dance before we needed to head back to the hotel for some much needed rest.