Exploring Montmartre

We took a chance on the RER-B train to get back into the city!  Fingers crossed we could get back home on it!  We had the metro stops down pretty good and arrived at the foot of the “mount.”   Montmartre is crowned with Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Sacred Heart Basilica).

It is a lovely church with a circle of beautiful stained glass windows.  The line was fairly long but the kind that just kept moving and didn’t take long to be inside.  We spent time looking at everything and lighting candles for persons who have need of God’s blessings.  

We had taken a furuncular up the bottom part of the hill and our RER-B ticket was accepted.  It was the best bargain in Paris.  

Then there was a train to take you on an hour tour of the area.  It is a “bohemian” area so lots of colorful things to look at.  

A famous landmark is the Moulin Rouge, famous for the performance of the Can-Can.  The music is actually Orpheus in the Under World but in US is mostly identified as The CanCan.

A lively and risqué dance probably of French origin, usually performed onstage by four women. Known for its high kicks in unison that exposed both the petticoat and the leg, the cancan was popular in Parisian dance halls in the 1830s and appeared in variety shows and revues in the 1840s.

We stopped for a pizza, found a pharmacy for Ted who was starting with a cold, a luggage place for Kristin who bought too many souvenirs and a Paris bag for my neighbor who keeps an eye on things.

We were able to take the Metro and the RER-B train back without incident.  We left an order for a bellman at 7:00 and a taxi at 7:15 for the next morning. It was going to be a long ride home.  

The bellman came for our bags, the taxi arrived and luggage was stowed.  It was a nightmare of taxis 3 lanes across at the terminal but somehow he got two carts, loaded up our bags and left them on the sidewalk in front of the terminal without getting run over.  We said goodbye to Kristin as she went right while we went left.  Kara had gone home the day before and she warned us to keep passport and boarding pass handy.  We had to show them at least six times.  I got patted down to the point I thought she would charge for a massage.  Wiped everything including the bottoms of my feet!  Kelly and Pat were leaving from a different terminal.  We had time to grab breakfast at the Air France lounge then flew directly to IAH about 9 hours later.  Kristin got stuck in Boston for 5 hours.  Pat and Kelly were also delayed in Dallas.  But all arrived home safely.