April 4, Wednesday
Well, today I slept in a bit since I was up so late last night catching up on my blogs. Shower, breakfast, then ready to go. I looked up youtube videos about my camera's problem, and there have been many people with the same issue. All were basically the same--remove the lens, clean the electical points of the front of the camer and on the lens, then let them sit out to dry. All of which I did. I wiped the points again with a microfiber cloth, then put it all back together again. More lights on the screen lit up and fewer were blinking, but again within a few seconds it gave me the lens message again. *sigh* One of the videos said to wait a few days, so I'm letting it air out even longer. I have the battery, SD card, camera body, and lens all laid out--here's hoping it will help. I can hear the camera trying to open the lens (when it extends), but it just clicks.
Well, using my phone as both my navigational tool and my camera, I set off. I decided to go to the Montmartre Museum--about the history and art of Montmartre. Right up my alley--I love learning about the history of places and the people who lived there (which is why my favorite books are historical fiction--because I still want characters and a plot). Since Google Maps told me it's only a 36 minute walk, I walked. The entire way was slightly uphill. As I passed Place Saint-Pierre, the area became very touristy. The area I am staying in is not touristy and most of the neighborhoods I walk through are not either, so it was a bit of an unpleasant jolt. Although long ago, there would have been small houses and many stalls set up, so maybe this is just a modern-day version.
 |
| On the way |
 |
| Sacre Coeur |
 |
| detail from a cafe awning |
 |
| detail from above a cafe entrance |
At the base of the big hill (the butte), I saw the steps and I saw the funicular. I've always taken the steps before, but my metro pass covers all transportation, including the funicular, so I took it for the experience. Well, I would have had to stop on the steps on the way up, so it saved a lot of time! Plus, I had more energy for the fun part--exploring! I walked around the village at the top of the butte--up and down steps and hills everywhere. I saw a great view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
 |
| funicular |
 |
| photo of the Eiffel Tower in the distance from Montmartre |
 |
| James' Tower? |
 |
| View from the top |
I found my museum--no line(!)--and went in. The tour starts in the garden. It is the home and gardens of SuzanneValadon and her son, Maurice Utrillo, who were both artists. She was a model for artists when she was a teenager before she learned that she also had talent. You are able to see their ateliers (studios) and their apartment. Evidently, when Montmartre was a village, everyone loved it. Most were not happy about being incorporated into Paris and especially not with Sacre Coeur being built. They were all about the arts and people. There were several well known cabarets. Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat), Lapin Agile (the Agile Rabbit), and the Bateau-Lavoir (The Washing Boat) were the most well-known (in addition to the Moulin Rouge). Old photographs and art of the time help you to see what the area was like prior to gentrification. It was a medieval cluster of shacks--like a shanty town with poor sanitation surrounded by scrubland. But they loved it and the art and culture was awesome. The gardens of this museum were the inspiration for many of Renoir's paintings. There was also a special exhibition of Kes Van Dongen's paintings. In summation--great museum (only 12 euros to get in) though I wish there had been more of the history of the non-artists as well.
 |
| One of the museum buildings and part of the gardens |
 |
| A neighbor's vineyard (they still grow crops here!) |
 |
| A view from the gardens |
 |
| Another museum building and gardens |
 |
| Flowers!!! |
 |
| gardens |
 |
| This must be how they get materials in and out with these crazy hills! |
 |
| The other neighbor's garden |
 |
| The neighbor's vineyard |
 |
| The garden from inside the museum |
 |
| Shadow plays from the Cabarets |
 |
| See below for a description. Renoir used this area in some of his paintings. |
Well, as I was leaving the museum to wander a bit more, it started to rain. This time I was smart and put my bag under my jacket. I had worn my sweatshirt and stashed my jacket in my bag--glad I did! Even though it was sunny with blue skies when I set out. So I wandered just a bit until I was feeling absolutely done with the rain. I decided to check out Sacre Coeur (since I was there), but there was a very long, outdoor line in the rain. I passed and used my metro ticket to get home, only having to walk a bit at the beginning and the end.
 |
| I saw this mosaic on the side of a building on my walk home |
I changed into a dry sweatshirt and fixed a wardrobe malfunction, then answered a few emails from Antoine about when I leave (only one more day!) and tried my camera again (no luck). Then I went out into the mostly dry late afternoon/early evening to wander and find a place to eat. Though I passed three McDonalds, two KFCs, a Pizza Hut, and a Burger King, I did not succumb. I found the Hippopotamus Restaurant with reasonable prices. I went in and asked if I should seat myself (so he knew I spoke English) and was seated with an English menu. When he came back, I attempted to order in French: Le poisson avec les pommes frites (fish and chips). He pointed to the item in the menu and spoke English to me. Very disappointing. Then a different man brought my food and we used French with each other! :) The food was great! He even gave me a bread basket! I had to ask for ketchup for the fries. So, no great stretch on the food, but it was a cafe in a non-touristy area and I used some French. Satisfactory.
I decided to wander then, and set out randomly, not keeping track of streets (why bother when you can Google Map your way back when you're done?). I saw some interesting buildings and shops and ran into a crown around a group of 25 adults playing band instruments. It sounded like possibly French folk music--very happy and they sang part of it. That was fun before making my way back to the apartment. To blog and then to bed.
Things I saw:
 |
| Canals of St. Martin |
 |
| Demain means tomorrow---not sure what the whole thing means. |
No comments:
Post a Comment