Last night, I did re-visit the Centre Pompidou and paid my respects to the art of people like Picasso, Modigliano, Miro and Dali. I was a little disappointed that the 5th floor promenade was closed because it truly offers the best view of Paris. But I enjoyed the art, even though my feet were protesting entirely too much. I finally had to acquisce and sat down behind the museum like the locals do, just staring up at the quirky design of it. It’s both unsightly and beautiful and very very cool. I’m guessing the French probably had a hissy fit when it was originally put up, as they aren’t fond of change. I hear they also protested the Eiffel Tower!

After that, I went to Pain Vin Fromages, and a had a cheesy concotion called a Tartiflette. It was potatoes and bacon in a cheese and cream sauce, covered in cheese and baked in more cheese. It was CHEESY! It was also awesome. I had a glass of the house white wine and chatted with the couple from Wisconsin who were sitting next to me. You can’t help but talk to people when you dine in Paris – all the tables are very close together! LOL I’ve met people at every meal I’ve had.

Pere Lachaise is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I’ve ever seen.

This morning, I woke up to clouds (but fortunately, no rain) and headed on out to Pere LaChaise Cemetary, which has been on my “must do” list since my last trip. I wasn’t going to miss out today. After I stumbled through the cemetary in order to see Jim Morrison’s final resting place, I then wandered around and just took pictures of the beautiful crypts. This place is gorgeous. I did find a few famous tombs: Chopin and Edith Piath, but I was just there to look. There wre some people who had their noses stuck in the cemetary map that they totally missed some other beautiful monuments. Life is so boring like that!!!

The cobblestone hated my feet, though, so two hours there was enough. I once more went back to my apartment to rest for a half hour. But then it was lunch time. And this trip is all about the food. So I took a recommendation from a fellow TripAdvisor user and went to Au Beurre Sale, which is about a block from my apartment. It’s a creperie. I’ve only had street crepes, so I had no idea how yummy crepes really could be. I ordered the Margaux, which was a wheat galette with ham and cheese (and egg, I think), cream and some sweet onions. It was as good as it sounds. And then, of course, I had to get a sweet crepe, that being the Metisse – it was white chocolate and dark chocolate melted into a sweet crepe. And yes, that was also as good as it sounds. It was DIVINE. I also had a glass of cider, which I didn’t even realize I could get in Paris. But apparently, France makes a darn good cider, too.

With my belly full, I was ready to continue my day. I went up to Montmartre (by up, I mean I must have climbed a 1,000 stairs) to the Musee du Montmartre. There was an exhibit about Le Chat Noir, a cabaret/theatre from the 1800’s there in the Montmartre District. I’m sure you’ve all seen the posters that Steinlein designed for it. Well, I got to see one of the original lithographs of that poster, along with other things from the theatre. There were programs done by both Steinlein and Toulouse Latrec, along with other artists. The Le Chat Noir sign that was missing from the Musee Carnavalet was there, as well, which made me happy. There were also some of the props from the days of Le Chat Noir as a shadow theatre, which was fascinating.

I also got to see the garden where Renoir created some of his paintings. One of those paintings (well, a reproduction) is hanging in my mother’s living room. I ID’d it a few years ago for her and now I’ve seen both the original painting and the exact spot where it was created.

The Real Le Chat Noir at the Le Chat Noir exhibit.

But of all things, what touched me the most at the Musee du Montmartre was the actual living chat noir roaming around the gardens. And I wasn’t apparently the only one amused by the irony of that – everyone was trying to get this poor cat’s photo. But this cat… knowing me for the cat sucker that I am… came up to me and let me pet it. And I got teary-eyed and realized that I was finally ready to go home. I have two chat noirs waiting for me there, after all.

So I bought a book on the exhibit in the gift shop, with lots of great photos of those lithographs I loved. And then I walked to Place Tertre at the steps of Sacre Coeur where I bought a t-shirt. I’m not a big fan of Sacre Coeur and I think it totally clashes with the rest of Paris, but the other tourists love it. It does offer great views of Paris at the top, but I’ve been there, done that.

For this evening, the plan is to go buy a fresh loaf of bread and a half bottle of wine and some more cheese for dinner. I did stop once more at Georges Larnicol to invest in macarons for dessert. I’ll spend tonight packing and preparing for the trip home tomorrow. And I’m ready to return.

Writing beckons to me. Thanks to Paris, I am inspired! Au Revoir!

1 Comment

  1. Brinda

    Reply

    I’ve been enjoying your posts about Paris. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to plan a trip. 🙂

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