Day 7 - Paris

We had begun our morning at the local bakery right by the train station (which is how we started most mornings off).  We would always get croissants, sometimes some quiche or an éclair, and then eat it while waiting for the train. 

 The trains in Cormeilles showed up about every 10 minutes or so.  Once we arrived at St. Lazare, we took the metro to Montmartre.  We hiked up the stairs to the Sacre Coeur.  

It’s a beautiful church.  Again, we didn’t go inside, just walked all around and took in the views.

Then we found this little tunnel on the back side of the church and found a spot to drink our wine and eat a bit. 

And then we walked to the artsy part of Montmartre and found a little café right near where some music was playing.  Then we ate some more.  Ha ha, it seems like all we did on this trip was eat.  And drink.  We perused around the paintings.  We ended up buying a painting that we both really liked.  The artist told us he was from Normandy and lives there too, but comes to Paris every other week to sell his work.  He was very nice.  We spoke only in French. 

Then we found the Moulin Rouge windmill and took pictures.

We then headed to the Rodin Museum.  I was excited about this because I hadn’t done this before (everything else up to this point was a repeat as far as museums, churches, etc. go).  I am super glad we went, but was a tad disappointed because they are doing extensive remodeling to the museum (outdoors).  So while we got to see all of the famous stuff (like the Thinker), a lot of the other statues were relocated and the backdrop was lots of construction noises going on.  But the park itself is so beautiful and the indoor museum is super pretty too.  And we got discounted tickets (only 7 euros) because of the construction.    So I am still really glad we went.

That evening our friends treated us to a nice dinner.  We went to Chartier, a place that had been recommended to us by a friend.  It was delicious and the atmosphere was great.  It’s very popular.  We got there early and didn’t have to wait for a seat, but by the time we left, there was a line out the door waiting to get in.

Here’s an upside down picture of what we ordered.  The waiters write down your order on the table and then check everything off as it is delivered.  And then when they do the bill, they just come and look at your tablecloth to see what you’ve ordered.  Very quirky and fun.

My husband tried escargot for the first time (I’ve had it once before)….it doesn’t taste like much except for garlic and butter.

I didn’t snap pics of our food, but I definitely took a picture of our dessert.  It was sponge cake soaked in rum.  I mean….soaked.  The first bite I took was just so surprising….like I had just taken a shot ha ha.  

The really funny thing is that we asked our waiter what he recommended for desert and he said the rum cake and we said ‘oh we didn’t see that on the menu’ and he smiled and said ‘oh it’s not on the menu’.  Things like that tend to happen a lot in France.  Everything is laid back, menus are a bit outdated, etc.  It’s always good to ask!!

It was a great dinner.  And afterwards there was a gelato place right across the street, so we had to stop there too (because when in Paris, why NOT have two desserts?).  They shape each cone into a flower.  Mine was melty so you can’t really see it well, but they were super cute.

Another full day!