Montmartre is the real Paris

The Moulin Rouge, the Pigalle, and the Church of the Sacred Heart are the main attractions of the district of Montmartre, where we spend most of the day. Truly, it is the most beautiful and representative part of Paris, the one I liked the most. The Sacre Coeur is situated on a hill, from which you can see almost the entire city and during the Christmas season it is surrounded by the little wooden houses of the Christmas markets. It is forbidden to take pictures or shoot videos inside the church, but there's only a disconsolate guardian to enforce that rule, and she has to run after everybody, so while she goes to reprimand someone else .... hihihihi

We walk around the neighborhood following a precise route, we discover the place where Modigliani and Picasso used to get drunk and party with some chicks, the "Lapin Agile", a sort of local cabaret. We also discover the old residence of Renoir.

2011 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights reserved

The Church of the Sacred Heart.
2011 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights reserved

Do you wanna see all pics taken in Paris? Then CLICK HERE

We walk around the neighborhood following a precise route, we discover the place where Modigliani and Picasso used to get drunk and party with some chicks, the "Lapin Agile", a sort of local cabaret. We also discover the old residence of Renoir.

There’s still some time before it gets dark and following the advice of my friend Romina, we want to go to see the Defense, the business district of Paris whose builders were inspired by  the giants of Mahnattan. Actually, we don’t find it very interesting, so just the time to take a couple of pictures and to have a quick ride to yet some other Christmas Markets, and we are back on the Champs Elysees to go up on Arc de Triomphe, as we decided the night before.

The arch’s entrance is located underground, obviously following the pedestrian tunnel that leads to the center of the square. We spend a short time in line and then with 10 euros we go up (by feet) and reach  the top of the arc. On the inside, there are a shop, an info point and restrooms. The view from up there’s spectacular: on one side, you can see up to the big Ferris wheel, and on the other side, your sight can extend along the 5-km-avenue that leads to the Defense.

Champs Elisees. 2011 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights reserved

Champs Elisees. 2011 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights reserved

After the scam of a dinner the previous night, we decide to go back to our Moroccan friends who had treated us so well. This time, I taste some kebabs served with mixed vegetables, Sebastiano orders the couscous chicken, which is very delicious. We ask several times for the mint tea of the desert, that they use to serve with a lot of sugar, and that we love so much. Even the bill doesn’t disappoint us at all, as we spend about 26 euros in total (for the two of us). I would like to point out that this restaurant, being Muslim, doesn’t mention wine on the menu, but if you want drink it, you can go to the mini-market next door and buy a bottle that you can bring with you and keep on the table without problem: and the guys even brought us the only two wine glasses that they held in their local! They are definitely one step ahead!

December 11, 2011
Beautiful things come to an end immediately. So we get to the last day of our stay. Our flight is in the late afternoon, so we can use the whole morning to visit the cemetery of Père-Lachaise, where Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Oscar Wilde are buried, along with a considerable number of other famous people. They say that in order to "revive" the image of this cemetery that wasn’t being considered by anyone, they began to bury famous people there.
Pay attention when you exit the metro Père-Lachaise, cause you’ll immediately find a kiosk that sells the maps of the cemetery: it’s not illegal, but be aware that at the entrance of the cemetery, the management provides free maps in different languages! Learn to understand the difference between the number of the tomb’s position and that of "area" in which that is located. I was looking for Oscar Wilde and I stumbled upon the grave of Jim Morrison!
Speaking about Jim, if you're expecting to find a huge space dedicated to him, with many flowers, many people, and much of everything... you'll be amazed. His tomb is located in a quite hidden position (let’s say, in the second row), it’s not very big and it doesn’t stand apart from the ones close to it. So, when he died, he was considered a person like many others. And it sounds right.

The grave of Jim Morrison.
2011 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights reserved

Do you wanna see all pics taken in Paris? Then CLICK HERE

Oscar Wilde’s grave, instead, is protected by a large plexiglass box, because some time ago an idiot broke the statue’s intimate parts on the tombstone ... No comment!
After visiting the cemetery, we move quickly to the center to find the Sorbonne. After a quick lunch with a sandwich, we get back to the hotel to collect our luggage.
To get to Charles de Gaulle airport, we take the underground to Gare du Nord, then the RER (French commuter trains) B line that leads straight to our destination. I don’t know if we have done something wrong, but with only 1 euro (an underground ticket) we’re able to arrive at the airport without any problems. Oh well, c'est la vie!