Brian and Marg's Mediterranean Cruise and European Vacation - Spring 2014: May 25

Marg has chosen a wonderful spot to stay in Paris. It is an apartment on Rue. St. Marc. Within a twenty minute walk from the apartment there must be a hundred restaurants and bars. They range from very quiet and classy to loud and noisy pub styled bars. Late Friday night we heard loud singing and cheering which must have been fans watching a football match.

Right next to us is one of the world’s first indoor shopping concourses called Passage des Panoramas. This maze-like passage has numerous entrances and is full of wine bars, restaurants and shops.

The apartment is in a building is of mixed occupancy. The first six floors are offices and the top two floors are apartments. To gain entrance to the apartment building you must push this huge heavy iron gate. This is good for building muscles.

We are still trying to figure out how to use the combination clothes washer/dryer. So far we haven’t been able to dry anything. The apartment has windows that open up by swinging in inwards on the side or swinging inwards from the top.

It has taken us six days to become comfortable getting around Paris on the Metro, but it now seems natural. Of course we'll be leaving in a couple of days.

This afternoon we went to Montmartre. Montmartre is a hill in the north of Paris. It is 130 metres high and gives its name to the surrounding district, in the 18th arrondissement. Montmartre is known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit. It is also well known for its artist community, its nightclub district and its red light area. Many famous artists such as Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh had studios or worked in Montmartre

The Basilica of the Sacré Cœur is a beautiful church and is much nicer than Notre Dame. Being that is on top of the largest hill in Paris, it has a commanding presence over the city. Next Sunday they are having a service to commemorate the anniversary of a visit Saint Jean Paul II. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures from the inside of the basilica.

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur in Montmartre

This is a very popular place to visit on a Sunday and the crowds were out enjoying the sun and warmth. Around the church there were many street performers and sketch artists. In Place du Tertre, next to the church, the serious artists displayed their pictures. Marg bought a nice print of the Eiffel Tower.

We stopped in a cafe in Place du Tetre to enjoy a glass of wine and ended up having a kettle of delicious muscles in a garlic broth.

Place du Tetre

This evening we went to dinner at a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower called Carette. Marg had scallops which she loved because of the sauce that came with them.

Afterwards we went on a scenic cruise of the Seine River after dark. This was very impressive and we would highly recommend it. They call Paris "The City of Lights" and buildings along the Seine River are all lit, and the Eiffel Tower is truly amazing.

A lot of people stroll the banks of the river Seine at night. One of the more bizarre sightings of the evening was of a couple where the male was taking pictures of his girlfriend/wife as she posed in the nude.