Montmartre District, Paris (FRANCE, baby!)

So, after about 9 hours of hanging out in Chicago O'Hare airport, the plane finally left...a mere 3 hours late. As soon as I got on the plane I popped a melatonin, put on my eye mask and tried to sleep. I was semi-successful at sleeping on the plane, and have managed to stay awake since my arrival in Paris except for one brief nod on the train. Good work.

I cannot believe that I'm in Paris!!! It is rather surreal to walk around hearing the language and seeing the things that I've only read about!  I also cannot believe how little I prepared/planned for my time here.  That is rather unlike me, but I wanted to just play it by ear and allow myself to wander wherever the wind blows me.  So far, so good!

Speaking of wandering, I managed to find my way to the train from the airport, get on the correct train, and get off at the correct train stop.  That's where my luck with directions ended, which also happened to coincide with a downpour.  Thus, my very first experience of Paris (outside of the train station) was schlepping my heavy luggage around the rainy streets for a good hour, lost and trying to find my hotel.  :-)  I found it eventually and spent a few minutes in my room drying off and trying to figure out what to do next.

I found out about a cheap walking tour of Montmartre and had a few hours to kill beforehand, so I decided to just start walking around.  I'm not sure exactly when I figured it out - could have been the Sexodrome or the Erotic Supermarket - but I somehow stumbled directly into the Red Light District.  There was some pretty funny stuff, including several gigantic signs that simply say "SEX."  I always appreciate directness.  I also saw a street vendor who had ASS-KEBAB on their menu, but I'm not sure if that was an erotic menu item or just a typo.



Oh yes, street vendors will make you an awesome fresh crepe for only a few bucks!  They have a hot, flat stone that they place the crepe batter on, then they thin it out evenly with something that looks like a flat wooden rake.  On the recommendation of my friends Ryan and Mary, I got one made for myself and had them add Nutella.  I must say that that was the most amazing dessert item I think I've ever consumed.  Warm liquid chocolate on a warm, fresh, thin crepe - DUDE!!!  It was amazing.

By the way, Michael Jackson is very much alive in Paris.  His music was blasting out of many of the shops and restaurants in Montmartre, including the Bistrot Chat Noir where I had my very first French meal (it was absolutely DELICIOUS!).

As I wandered around I happened upon the most beautiful cemetery - it was incredibly peaceful and ethereal.  I think some famous people are buried there, but I was just captivated by the monuments and crypts.

My walking tour began in front of the Moulin Rouge (back in the Red Light District) and included plenty of funny commentary by our tour guide.  We got to see Van Gogh's house, the Basilica de Sacre Coeur, lots of working artists in the squares, restaurants and homes where Picasso, Van Gogh, and Toulouse Lautrec all worked.  AWESOME!!!!

Here is something that cracked me up.  An artist named Misstic was angry when her boyfriend broke up with her, so she painted pictures all around Montmartre of herself having sex with various people in an attempt to make the boyfriend jealous.  I don't know if it was effective, but it's rather shocking to walk around the corner of a cozy Parisian street and see stuff like this on the side of a building.  :-)  That's art, people.

One last photo - this is a huge piece of art in one of the public gardens/parks.  It says "I love you" in every known language in the world.  Pretty cool, huh?

My plans for tomorrow are the Musee du Louvre (wooooo hooooo!!!!!) and another walking tour of all the "big stuff" in Paris - you know, the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarter.

Right now, it's time to catch up on some much needed beauty rest.