Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Montmartre on a Foggy Day

We had a stretch of too many rainy days while Kate was here. And then a couple of days with blue sky and bitter cold. Then the fog came. On one of Kate's last days in Paris, we decided we couldn't wait for the sun to return and set out for Montmartre. We took the métro around to the back side of Montmartre to the Lamarck Caulaincourt stop. We walked up the curving Avenue Junot approaching Montmartre and Sacré Cœur from behind. It is a more scenic walk than coming up from the front. And much less crowded and touristy. We came first to the Moulin de la Galette on Rue Lepic.

Moulin de la Galette
Montmartre was once dotted with 30 windmills. Moulin de la Galette is only one of two windmills that remain and is the only one that is fully functional. The windmall was used in the 1800s to grind flour that was made into a brown bread galette, hence its name. By 1870, the windmill and buildings around were transformed into an outdoor dance hall that were made famous by Renoir in his painting 'Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette.'

Walking up towards 
Place du Tertre


Kate walking towards 
La Maison Rose

















We continued up the hill towards Place du Tertre, the square with all the artists.
La Bonne Franquette
Restuarant Chez Eugene
























The Place du Tertre was almost empty. Although the weather was not great and it was February, I was surprised to see so few artists. They were mostly artists doing portraits and caricatures of the tourists.
Artists at Place du Tertre

La Mère Catherine Bistro
Founded 1793






















Then the side of Sacré Cœur came into view through the fog. It was mystical!
Walking towards Sacré Cœur
Suddenly we were in the midst of a ton of tourists and street vendors. It was quite jarring.





















Instead of walking down the stairs through the park below the front of Sacré Cœur, we walked down the other side to catch a métro towards the Latin Quarter and the crêpe stand at Odéon.
Foggy View of Sacré Cœur
Kate needed one more crêpe from our favorite stand before leaving Paris.
Kate and her Cheese Crêpe
Kate and Luna's time with us went much too quickly. 
Descending our Apartment Steps
with Luna and Kate


1 comment:

  1. What a wonderful museum! So happy to see Sande, Kate, Kelly and Luna too!

    ReplyDelete