Paris… Je T'aime! (Part 3)

Sunday morning, we were suddenly not tired. Or aches and pains had all but gone and we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for our day of exploring Montmartre and The Champs-Elysée.

Montmarte is the best. It is home to one of the most beautiful basilicas I have ever been to: Sacre Coeur. This relatively new church was built between 1875 and 1914. It has the most incredible mosaic ceiling. I couldn't take any photos inside, but here's one I found online.

Originally, it was a town built on a hill covered in windmills that were used to crush grapes for wine and grind gypsum for plaster of Paris. In the mid-1800's Montmartre became the place to go for drinkin' and entertainment and cabarets like Le Moulin Rouge and Le Chat Noir opened up. Then, the artists moved in. Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Dali, Picasso, Degas and Renoir, among others, all lived and worked in Montmartre at some point. It is also where Edith Piaf, who sang 'La Vie En Rose', began her illustrious career singing on the street-corners for pennies. The best part about Montmartre is the atmosphere. Tourists and genuine Parisiennses visit the little boulangeries and patisseries that line the narrow, cobbled, streets that wind up and down the hill. We had lunch at Café de Deux Moulins, where Amélie worked in that film. I could have spent the rest of the day exploring Montmartre, but we had to get going so we could check out…

…The Arc de Triomphe! The Arc de Triomphe was built to honour those who fought in the Napoleonic wars. It was pretty triumphant-looking. Next, we meandered down the Champs-Elysées, which used to be a very exclusive neighborhood where posh Parisiennes would promenade in their best attire. Now, it's just a busy shopping-centre. We had time to get our names painted in pictures by a street artist before we headed back to Le Marais.

We got into the tiny elevator one last time. I gathered up all my bags and said goodbye to my parents before hopping on the train to the airport. A couple hours later, I sat in front of the apartment door again. My flight had been canceled due to volcanic ash over the UK. Luckily, my parents were still in Paris, so I had a place to stay. I was happy to spend another night in Paris, but it was hard to enjoy as I was so stressed out about getting on the next flight to Birmingham. Luckily, after some rigmarole regarding purchasing a phone card, I found a flight for Monday afternoon. I was home by 7pm!