Would you stop staring at the ceiling?

Yes, I couldn't help but stare at the ceilings of the Louvre. They were almost more beautiful than the paintings and sculptures! I found myself taking more shots of the ceilings than of the art!

Yes, you can take pictures at the Louvre. They are trying to teach the masses on how to interact with art.

Lesson 1 - How not to act around priceless pieces of art...

Now for the Grand Dame of the Louvre! The Mona Lisa is fenced off and enclosed in a glass box.

Some of my best shots of the Louvre courtyard, came from taking pictures out the windows.

Towards the Jardins de Tuileres

This is a piece made of mosaic tile, its called the Judgement of Paris

And for all you Da Vinci Code fans, here is the upside down pyramid

How we planned (or didn't plan) and what we took...

Someone asked me the other day how we planned for our trip. Aside from trolling the internet, we took the books listed below...and yet we still forgot what was closed what days..oh well, I blame jet lag.

• Frommer's Paris Day by Day
• Knopf MapGuide: Paris
• Rick Steves' Paris 2009

Truth be told, I read through the Rick Steves book before we left and then used it if I needed to find more information that the basics.

The Frommer's book was great for specific topics like shopping etc. but the best part was the map that came with the book. It was water/tear proof and was almost constantly used to figure out where we were.

The Knopf book was thin enough to bring along with my bag (more on my PacSafe bag in a second). It has flip out maps for each general geographical locations (i.e. Le Marais, Saint Germain, Latin Quarter etc.) and provided suggestions on where to eat, sleep, shop and must see sights.

I searched for a long time to find a bag for my stuff to carry with me. I didn't like the idea of carrying a knapsack due to pickpockets nor did I want to carry my normal purse. I wanted to take my new super zoom camera (a FZ28). I debated for a long time whether I wanted to carry a bigger camera bag (such as a Crumpler bag) or carry a reasonably sized secure bag and then carry a smaller camera bag inside the outer bag.

In fairness, Paris is prone to pickpockets and perhaps the odd snatch and grab but most tourists oriented areas are heavily patroled by police on roller blades and bikes. That being said, I didn't want a bag that screamed I have an expensive camera either, so a Crumpler or larger LowePro was out.

I discovered my CitySafe 200 PacSafe bag through a lot of internet searching. I opted for the larger purse like bag as I usually carry everything including the kitchen sink.

I also purchased a smaller camera bag to go inside my PacSafe (an Olympus Nylon Ultra Zoom Case) and lined the bottom of the camera bag with a divider from my LowePro bag to absorb any heavy knocks from the bottom. Maybe this was a bit much but it worked well.

We did pack light but took duffel bags just in case we found something extra big to bring home.

I HEART our hotel

May I just say that I loved our hotel. LOVED IT! My husband and I both agree that unless we suddenly become millionaires before we go to Paris again, we will be staying at the Hotel Europe Saint Severin.

You could not ask for a better place in terms of service, location and very pleasant staff. Isis the cat was also a wonderful addition. Our room was big by Paris standards and we were very happy with the option of sitting on the balcony to enjoy our afternoon snacks. We were provided the option of upgrading for 10€ a night to a bigger room than the one we had booked. The staff suggested we do this since we were staying for an extended period of time. It was awesome.

I spent copious amounts of time researching where we wanted to stay in terms of location. Once I got it down to the general area, I went onto Trip Advisor and started at the highest ranked hotel and worked my way thru each one, slowly eliminating choices based on price, location and ranking.

The Europe Saint Severin offered price, location and based on the reviews, great staff. All of what I had read was true. If ever you find yourself headed to France, I would suggest you consider this hotel. It is in the heart of the Latin Quarter, minutes from many sites and about a 2 minute walk to at least 2 if not 3 metro stops.

I made extra effort to keep my eyes peeled for the other hotels we had considered when we got down to the final 6 hotel options. Of the ones I located, all of them were on side streets significantly away from restaurants, tourist spots and metro stations. Actually seeing where these hotels were located in terms of where we had actually booked, it only solidified our choice of hotel. Its hard to visualize hotels on a map but when you see it in person, its quite surprising.

The Trip Advisor reviewers had said that the Saint Severin was at a great location for a great price and a great base from which to explore. All of these things were true. Given that we probably walked well over 30 miles, it was beyond nice to quickly find our hotel at night and then not have to search long for dinner options or hop on the Metro to visit even more of Paris.

There must be a taxi driver code of conduct I don't know about...

...We booked our taxi for the final ride to the airport on Sunday afternoon. We asked that the taxi be at the hotel for 6am. I was there when the clerk booked the call and she said 6am.

At 5:45am, I asked my husband if we could just go downstairs because we were ready to go and just had to check out. He opted to wait another 5 minutes. By the time we got downstairs, the taxi had arrived.

Now, in Paris as before the taxi even moves an inch, the base charge is 6€ (about 12$US). By the time we got to the taxi, the ticker was going on 12€. Hmm, okay I can swallow that but we didn't ask him to be there until 6am so if he started the ticker early, that's his own coin right?

So we loaded our luggage into the trunk, bid a tearful goodbye to the Latin Quarter and headed toward the airport.

We didn't fly out until 8:45am so we had time to spare and the driver took every last opportunity to drive very slowly. So slowly in fact that he hit the brakes every time he neared the speed limit. Mopeds were driving faster than this guy did.

Finally, we reached the airport. The ticker read 57€. I told my husband the total. The driver commented that it was 59€ with the luggage. Now, I'm not sure what exactly he meant with the luggage but I didn't care, I just wanted out of the cab and to start heading home.

That being said, I wasn't impressed. My husband gave him 60€ as he didn't have any change, and the driver offer a 1€ back in change. Seriously?

At least someone missed us!

After calling home every day to see how things were going, we got the same story. T is doing fine and she really hasn't seem to be missing you.

Thanks. I'm not sure how to take that. But good news, someone or should I say two someones have been missing us greatly. The cats.

I can always depend on my trusty furballs not to let Mommy down. Gryffin and Phenix have always made sure to remind me, even at 2am when I am trying to sleep, that I am loved.

They missed us so much they meowed outside my ILs' bedroom downstairs at 5am. Why is this important? Well, they get fed usually around 5:30am by my husband. So yeah, while they missed us, they missed their food more.

That being said, we were no sooner tucked into bed after 24 hours of traveling Monday night and they pounced on the bed and came over to snuggle with us. They haven't left our sides since and at every opportunity are looking for a cuddle and a pet.

I just won't tell them that we stayed at a hotel who had a house cat too. They might get jealous.

Is that a Canadian flag?

My husband and I were walking down one of the small side streets leading away from our hotel towards I can't remember what when he says "Did you just see a Canadian flag?"

It was shortly after we had arrived in Paris so my brain was still rather fuzzy.

We backed up a few steps to see a small alley way off to the left. And yes, sure enough, there was a Canadian flag.

Intrigued, we walked down the very narrow street only to discover AB Bookshop / Librairie Canadienne (29, rue de la Parcheminerie). I highly recommended a trip inside.

On Friday, I popped in to see what they had to offer. I left after nearly an hour of searching the children's schedule with a Caillou book, an english version of a Babar book and of course, a book on hockey (The Moccasin Goalie). It was all I could do not to buy the beautiful copy of "The Hockey Sweater" but I resisted.

Yes, I could have bought the same books from Amazon for probably less money, but there is something unique and patriotic about supporting a fellow countryman abroad.

The fowl of Paris

No, I'm not talking about the smell from the sewers. I'm talking about the birds. THE BIRDS!

All those postcards you see of pigeons and an older gentlemen feeding them is true. The rats with wings are everywhere.

But they are not alone. They are accompanied by bugs, creepy crawling bugs. I don't know if it was a tick, a spider or a bug of a different colour but as I sat and ate my croissant, this pigeon walked up to me.

With its beady little eyes, it eyed my croissant. About the same time, a little creature scurried out from under its feather and then hurried back in. I watched it do this about three times. I nearly lost my croissant and I'm not talking about the part that was still in my hand.

I can handle many things but a few things freak me out, heights, deep water that I can't touch the bottom, sharks, snakes and bugs. Bugs. I'm getting itchy just thinking about that bird.

Don't even get me started on the ones with mangled legs.

Oh the horror.

On the upside, there are these cute little sparrows. Honestly, they are the most adorable little things and despite the fact, they too probably have creepy crawlies on them, they are much more cute than the pigeons.

Our last full day

On our very first day in Paris, we found ourselves in this quaint garden just outside of Saint Julien de Pauvre. It was a quiet respite from a long journey.

A place where you could sit and enjoy your morning coffee and croissant. A place where you could contemplate your day ahead. A place that allowed those less fortunate gather and meet their friends. While still others found a place to sleep away from the prying eyes of the public who might otherwise judge them as many do when seeing a homeless person sleeping on a sidewalk.



Its difficult to see by the picture, but the grey 'tree' on the right that seems to be holding up the tree trunk on the left, is in effect cement and is holding up the tree. There's a story behind it I'm sure but I didn't get a chance to find out what it is. Many visitors exiting the church, stopped and admired the tree with reverance. Some even photographed themselves with the tree. There must be some amazing story behind this cement support.









It is this place we found ourselves on our last full day in Paris. As we munched on our pain au chocolat and sipped our coffees, we were silent. Full of thoughts of the day ahead and of our very long journey home.

We brushed off the crumbs from our food and sent the pigeons and finches off in a cloud of feathers.

We made our way back up to the Pantheon. We almost unknowingly retraced our steps backwards from the Sunday before. Back the Pantheon, back towards the Jardins de Luxembourg but instead of going there, we turned down Saint Michel, briefly visiting the currently under construction Sorbonne.

We made our way through the streets of the Saint Germain district to a wine shop where my husband bought a pricey bottle of wine to bring home.

We passed 'L'Hotel' where Oscar Wilde spent his last days. We even stopped at a Starbucks for a coffee. The prices were almost the same there, only in euros..now that's one pricey cup of joe.

Back to the hotel to reorganize and relax. We had planned an early dinner at a fondue place my husband found on his way to find a grocertia but alas, it didn't start serving dinner until 7pm. We knew we had to be up and out of the hotel by 6am to make our flight to Munich so that place was out.

I know my husband really wanted to eat there, perhaps it was because it was called Alexander's. Next time we visit Paris we will make an effort to be there for the 7pm all you can eat fondue.

We wandered back through the maze of streets and restaurants while we pondered what to eat for our last meal in Paris. We hadn't done a lot of pricey French places and this trend would continue. We opted instead for the smaller bistros and cafes. It was back to a pizzeria that we ate our last meal.

We nibbled on our pizzas while we watched the last of the book sellers and tourist swag hawkers pack up their goods and store them in the big green lockers until next weekend when again they would bring out their wares.



We headed back to the hotel full of pizza and post meal caffeine. We packed up our luggage and prepared for the very long day ahead.

A little known market and a find worth its weight in gold

I wanted to experience a Parisian market, ideally one where I wasn't going to be harassed to buy stuff or worry a lot about the bands of travelling panhandlers that came with more tourist oriented markets.

I found in a guide book, a market that fit this bill, le Marche d'Aligre. Along the way to get there, we also past another street market filled with lots of fresh produce and goodies. My husband stopped to get a Mille Feuille pastry.

Now, I hear you ask, where are the pictures? I don't think its fair to take pictures of people doing their daily lives. For me, there is a certain level of privacy that comes with a resident of a tourist oriented city. How would you feel if you were headed to the local farmers market and someone is in your face taking pictures of you buying tomatoes?

After we hit the market, we had one last thing we had promised ourselves we would look for in Paris. We had two noticeable spaces on our livingroom walls. As long as we've lived in this house, my husband has always envisioned having maps framed on these two walls.

We were able to purchase a large map print that hangs over the staircase to the basement we haven't found one he likes for the living room. Ideally they would match or have some similarities since they are in the same room.

Along the Seine, there are these huge green metal containers. Right along the edge of the cement railing. For a while I didn't know what they were for. Now, I do.

On the weekends, the sidewalks along the Seine become one big flea market. Artists sell canvases, antique maps and books among other tourist oriented items. It was among this stalls we found our maps.

We have been looking for these maps for MONTHS. We thought we had made a choice but if we were to get them ordered, framed and shipped, it would cost well over 250$. We got 3 maps for about 30€ (45$US) so after they are framed, we will be well under that cost.

That purchase was well worth the weight.

Welcome to the MOULIN ROUGE! pt. 2

We arrived at the Moulin Rouge, only to be asked about a dozen times if we had a reservation. Yes, we did, we answered every time.

I had to surrender my camera to the coat check because no photos are allowed. Fine.

We were guided to our seats, which weren't very good. We were at the far left of the stage and really couldn't see much.

Other guests had come to enjoy dinner and the show. They were being entertained by a warm up act. Those tickets were twice what we paid.

After a couple of minutes and speaking to the waiter to tried to take our drink order, we realized that we were in the wrong spot. We were quickly moved up to the upper and cheaper sections. We were more than happy to go as those seats were far better than where we had originally been seated.

Now, there were some who sat near us, who weren't too happy to have to seat is what they believed to be the nose bleeds. We tried to explain that these were pretty good seats considering it was Paris on a Friday night. We had not doubt that the really good seats had been sold out for weeks.

The show was amazing. Yes, there was a lot of boobs. It was the Moulin Rouge for pete's sake. But the performances were really good and between the acts, we were treated to a couple of variety acts which were far superior to warm up act who did a very bad rendition of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's Islands in the Stream.

Was it worth 180€ (about 270$US)? It was something that is synonomus with Paris, so it was. Would I go back? Not likely.

Welcome to the MOULIN ROUGE! pt. 1

Unfortunately, we would not be enterained by Ewan McGregor...damn I'd pay to see that! Just kidding, okay maybe not.

My husband decided he wanted to head over to Montmartre early (around 4pm) so that we could have an early dinner and head to the Moulin Rouge for 8:30-ish because we had only reserved the tickets and he wasn't totally certain of the procedure to be seated etc.

We had to find a quiet place to sit down to call home and see how things were going so we found a bench in the Montmartre Cemetary. Charming, right? Actually it was. It ressembled the cemetaries I've seen from New Orleans where you just have above ground family mausoleums, at least in the section we were in.

We called home and of course, all was well. T didn't miss us at all. Mind you, the grandparents kept her very busy with outings, puzzles, colouring and reading lots of books. I can't forget the trips to the park.

We decided to try to find a place for a snack, so we grabbed a beer at Corcoran's before heading off in search of a baguette to tide us over until we could find a restaurant that was open early for dinner (remember the French eat dinner much later than us North Americans generally do).

We knew from our Sacre Coeur adventure that if we headed east of the Moulin Rouge, there wasn't much else aside from a lot of sex shops and they don't sell the types of baguettes we were looking for.

We walked and walked and found nothing. Finally we opted to try a grocertia and found a baguette. We headed back down the street back to the area near the Moulin Rouge and grabbed dinner.

About this time last year, my husband was sent to Toulouse for business. There, he came across a meal called Entrecote. Basically, its a beef dish made from the meat found between the ribs of the cow. He kept saying I needed to try it however the opportunity didn't really present itself until Friday night.

We ordered from the formules available. One of the items my husband ordered the foie gras. It was something I wanted to try and will likely never eat again. I got to try French Onion soup in France (it was much better than a lot of versions I've had) and the entrecote. The beef was decent enough but not something I would rush out to have again.

So finally we were off to see the Moulin Rouge.

Porte de l'Arsenal

By Friday, we needed a quiet day. We had played tourist really hard the first few days and now we started to really feel it.

We had booked tickets for the Moulin Rouge Friday night so my husband wanted to take it slow. He wanted to walk over to the Bastille monument and then walk back. He wanted a quick rest and then get dressed for the night in Montmartre.

We headed over the Bastille. There really isn't much to see, save for a monument. It seems the French like their fountains and their remembrances of days gone by.

We ended up walking along a part called the Porte de l'Arsenal. It was a very calm place with a few pigeons, boats and a small garden. A quiet place for a quiet day.

It was like watching a train wreck in progress..

Okay, I was raised in a rural community. That being said there are some things in life that you can be raised in a small town but you still know not to do. Such things might include not insulting your boss, going out in public in your underwear and touching a piece of art at the Louvre.

My husband and I were walking through the Grecian marble exhibit at the Louvre when we saw a train wreck about to happen.

Now, I've done some bad stuff. I nearly knocked over a candle stand at a church we visited but I recovered fast enough to overt an international incident. The North American tourist (I know this because we were close enough to hear them speaking North American english) we saw in the Grecian exhibit, errr not so much.

We were strolling along, down the centre of the exhibit. Along each side were various busts and sculptures. Security politely strolled through the exhibit but honestly, you were rarely aware of their presence...until this happened.

Just to the right of where we were, we spotted a couple looking at a torso sculpture. It had no head or arms, just a torso. To our left, we saw a security guard patrolling. The couple decided to take a picture. Totally allowable.

What is not allowable is to touch the artifacts, which is what the man (of the couple admiring the torso) was about to do. He was about to put his arm around the statue. Oh no you didn't! Oh yes, he did.

For whatever reason, he changed his mind and decided to take off his hat and hold it above the torso's non existent head. Oh dear, this is going south really fast.

Barely a second after he took his hat off and placed it over the torso's head, the security guard pounced. Both my husband and I cringed and had to look away. Thankfully, all that was said was something like "Please sir, you are at the Louvre and that is an original."

It was uncomfortable just to watch.

The Eiffel Tower at night...

...is far nicer than during the day. There are still the crowds and still the security but its just prettier at night.

Wednesday night we headed over to the Trocadero neighbourhood opposite the Tower to have dinner. It turned out to be one of the better meals we had in Paris. We had steak with pepper sauce, veggies and creme caramel...drool.

I got to wear one of my French scarves, too. All in all a great night.

These two shots are the Trocadero neighbourhood as the sun is setting (the Eiffel Tower is behind us and this neighbourhood is on our left as we crossed the bridge)

S and I took turns trying to get a decent shot of the Tower with the lights on

Its finally open!

Thursday we decided was going to be museum day. And it started off a good day to go the museum, since the temperature had dropped and it was much cooler/rainier than it had been all week.

We started off with breakfast and headed for the Metro to check out la Musee Rodin (Rodin's Museum) which along with the Louvre, were now open. Yay!

We opted to go to the Rodin Museum first, as it was rainy and we figured everyone would want to go inside. The Rodin Museum has both outdoor and indoor exhibits.

Stunning, truly stunning. If you are ever able to finagle a trip to Paris, this would be a must see. Both my husband and I agree that while the outside gardens and layout are nice, the bronze statues don't really do it for us. The marble statues found inside, however were amazing.









After we toured the museum, we headed off to the Louvre. We crossed yet another bridge (there must be 20 bridges that cross the Seine) and headed east towards the Louvre.

The weather had improved but was still not as hot as the previous few days. We stopped for lunch at a stand operated by Paul, a boulangerie in Paris. We had a fantastic baguette but an even more amazing rhubarb tart. I could eat those tarts for every meal for the rest of my life. Its so hard to find decently priced rhubarb where we live and despite my best efforts to grow it, I only kill it.

We made our way through to the Louvre, paid our entrance and scoped out what we really wanted to see. Our legs were really starting to get tired so we knew we needed to limit our outing.

Now, I've seen a few exhibitions of Renoir, Monet, Picasso and Corot back when I lived in Ottawa, so I had two goals for my visit, see the Mona Lisa and see the Venus de Milo. Pretty basic and very fulfillable. Not seeing these two artifacts would be like going to Egypt and not seeing the Pyramids.

We headed off to the Italian painters section in search of the Mona Lisa. Don't get me wrong, the paintings are spectacular. The colours as vivid as the day they were painted, but the surroundings, OMG. The building and its adornments were almost more breathtaking that the actual exhibits. And of course, because I was allowed to use my camera, I can show you too!

BTW, the Mona Lisa is a much smaller painting than you'd think and the Venus de Milo is quite impressive but so are all the other busts.

Head over to Would you stop staring at the ceiling? for more pictures of our trip to the Louvre.

The upscale department of downtown Paris

In one of the three Paris guides I took with us, there was mention of a store called BHV.

Truly a fascinating place. They were like The Bay, Mark's & Spencer, Ikea and Lowe's all rolled into one big department store in downtown Paris. Go figure.

It was fascinating. If you ever get to Paris, a definate must see, just to see it. It was expensive but intriguing.

Life on the other side of the river

Tuesday night we took a walk after supper. I know like we needed to walk more. As it was when we got home Tuesday night, my husband headed off to find a groceria we found Monday night while I rinsed out some clothes.

I stayed behind to rinse out our clothes but it was also a chance to soak my very sore feet. Imagine squashing grapes in Italy, only was in a Paris hotel tub, using laundry soap and our clothes. The hot water soak did wonders for both my toes and our clothes!

We wandered past Notre Dame over to the Marais side. Its the Right Bank's version of the Latin Quarter but perhaps with a few less narrow street. Its more so the shopping district than the touristy district we stayed in.

There many shops and restaurants to choose from. We planned to head there during the day on Wednesday so this trip was more so a scouting mission.

Wednesday morning up we got up and headed to the newly discovered breakfast place of choice, le Boulangerie du Papa.

If you ever make it to Paris, I would highly suggest stopping in for a cafe creme and pain au chocolat. Its just one of those things you need to do.

After breakfast, off we went. I was really intrigued to visit Les Halles. It was once described as the Belly of Paris because of the multitude of food stalls and food sellers. The market has since been relocated and in its place an underground shopping centre has re-emerged.

One of the many entrances to Les Halles

We found Les Halles and checked out the shops. I was interested in finding a new top to wear to the Moulin Rouge show. I lost my husband for a few minutes in H&M but managed to get a dress, new top and a scarf.

After Les Halles, we headed of to see the list of things I had requested for visit for the day. My husband was tired and threatening to head back early.

We visited les Mariages Freres, known for their tea. We ended up not being able to make it to high tea but we did buy some to bring home.

We walked through the gardens of the Musee Carnavalet. We didn't feel that we wanted to tour the indoor collections but the garden was a welcome respite from the streets outside.

The entrance to the Musee Carnavalet

The garden outside the Musee

All I can say is can I hire these garderers to fix my garden? My boxwoods don't even look neat compared to these manicured lawns.

We checked out les Places des Vosges as well but our energy was startin to wane. We planned to check out the Eiffel Tower at night that day so my husband wanted to head back.

So we headed back but not before we had lunch and picked out a couple soccer jerseys for my husband and a Manchester United soccer ball for our daughter.

A uniquely designed place of worship

We stopped at the base of Sacre Coeur to find a quiet place to call home and see how our daughter was doing. Of course, she was more interested in what her Nana and Poppa were going to take her to do that day than worrying about Mommy and Daddy being gone. We were so easily replaced...How loved did we feel?

In the section of Montmartre where we stopped to call home, across the street was the Pariosse catholique Sainte Jean de Montmartre. Unlike many churches we had seen which where stone faced, Sainte Jean de Montmartre wash brick and tile covered.

The inside was a little darker than average but it was as beautiful as the others. The tile on the outside formed a stunning look that is uniquely Montmartre, which is considered the black sheep of the arrondissements of Paris. Its a little seedier than your average Paris area.

Unfortuately, I'm not a good enough a photographer to capture the beauty of this church but hopefully I do some justice to the stunning uniqueness of this place.

A closeup of the front entrance.

A close up of the tiles.

Outside the church was a tile plaque listing those who had died from this parish in WWI. This is something that nearly every church we visited had.

Paris is a city that does not forget those who tragically left too early.

Gracious, that's a long way up! Just don't look down..

After buying our Moulin Rouge tickets for Friday night and having lunch, we headed off into Montmartre to find Sacre Coeur.

Paris' Right Bank (Rive Droite) seems to be on a higher level than the Left Bank. So the basilica Sacre Coeur, is up a hill. Way up a hill. So high up that there is a trolley bus and a Funicular.

Here in lays my defeat. I'm a terrified of heights. Panic attack sized terrified of heights. Add to that the lack of sleep from jet lag, being in a unfamiliar city and you have a very bad Mommy Jeans day.

I had been having small panic moments through out the trip but the hike up to Sacre Coeur was the pinnacle of these moments. But I really wanted to see Sacre Coeur. It was a battle of emotions and slow walking.

I barely made it up the hill and much less take any pictures. Most of the pictures taken were by my husband. You aren't allowed AT ALL to take shots inside the church. That was maddening because it was a) the most well lit of all the churches we visited and b) it was among the most grand.

After we left the church, visited the gift shop and headed back down, my brain returned to normal. I still had the fear of crossing over bridges that spanned the Seine but those were very minor compared to the trip up the great big hill.

At the base of the hill, where these fountains that are strewn throughout Paris. They are basically fountains designed to bring up water to refresh yourself. I can only wonder if that is what started Parisians to wear scarves around their necks constantly. If you refresh yourself, you need something to dry off your face with, ergo a thin scarf.

The exterior of Sacre Coeur

Just under the church arches

A zoomed in look at the center of one of the arches interior

I'm not sure what this is but it is next to the Church so I would suspect maybe a monastery or priests' quarters.

A refreshing fountain

I take you to Paris and you order a hamburger?!

After we reserved our Moulin Rouge tickets, we were starving. Its amazing when you are walking so much, how often you forget to eat...if only this happened more often.

We headed over the cafe across from the Moulin Rouge as we wanted to headed over Sacre Coeur before we headed back home for dinner.

I was starving and for whatever reason, I was desperate for a hamburger. I can't explain it but I was looking for something familar. My husband upon hearing what I wanted to order, he exclaimed "I take you to Paris and you order a hamburger?!"

Yes. that is a hamburger with an egg and no bun. I didn't order it this way, that's how it arrived. Paging Dr. Atkins? And do you want to know how much this cost? About 14€...21$US but worth every penny in my book.



There is an air vent across the street from the Rouge, that appears to be a tourist favourite. It must be a vent that pumps hot air out of the Metro below. Everyone seemed to want to stand on top of the vent and re-enact the Marilyn Monroe pose from the Seven Year Itch.

I only wish I could have stopped inhaling my burger or whining about my sore feet to get a picture of this.

Also of note, I had to pay ,20€ (about 35 cents) to use the restaurant toilet. I lost ,20€ by using two ,10€ pieces instead of one ,20€ coin. The restaurant reimbursed me. Thankfully, I was not in deperate need of the toilet or it might have been very bad.

Did I mention that just about every restaurant has their bathroom in the basement? Sore legs, having to pee and nearly 90 degree inclined stairs equal agony for yours truly.