Excursion 3: Montmartre!

 Excursion 3

Boy oh boy did I love this place! Montmartre is a hilly part of Paris that is absolutely gorgeous. The residential houses are stunning (and very expensive), and the area is located on a hill so there are views all around. The streets here seem slightly wider than other places we have been in Paris, which made it feel more breathable and sunny. Montmartre actually means "mountain of martyrs" and was named this because of Saint Denis who was decapitated in 250 AD on the hill. The story goes that after he was decapitated, he stood up, picked up his head, and walked off. We visited a fountain (below a few pictures) that has his statue.

Our first stop was Moulin Rouge simply because it was RIGHT in front of us as we got off of the metro. It was actually sort of anti-climactic. I have not seen the movie, and I really only know the name from that "Lady Marmalade" song ("Hey sista, go sista, soul sista go sista... He met Marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge...struttin' her stuff on the streeeeet"). That song was stuck in my head for a good two hours that day. Anyway, one thing I did learn was that "Moulin Rouge" means 'red mill'! There used to be mills all over the Montmartre area because the area was just right for it, but today there are only a couple left, one of them being on top of Moulin Rouge!

 How can you not just fall in love with this area? Every street I turned on I wanted to capture with my camera. This was just one of the many beaufitful streets.

 The most narrow street in Paris! (kind of ironic after I just said the streets are wider here - oh well). It is called Rue D'Orchampt. I was the only dorky one who wanted a picture of myself on it haha.

 Just another building in Paris - magnifique!

 Marissa and I posing with the strange man coming out of the wall. I love all the random artwork in Paris. We were really sure how to pose with this one, though.

 The CUTEST little street in Monmartre. All the houses here are adorable little houses that look like they would be in a movie. This street was so pretty, and we stayed to admire it for about twenty minutes. When I make millions of dollars I'd love to live here. hehe.

 I'm running out of ways to say cute. These houses are just SO CUTE!

 fleurs

 One of the main streets in the neighborhood. The other street I posted above was just off this one. There were houses up and down, as well as shops and cafes. The couple to the left were fighting and yelling, but at least they look peaceful in the picture! There were trees lining every street just like this. I was talking with some friends about how the trees that line the streets in Paris seem so natural and fit in organically, while many trees in California just look so staged and blunt. Of course, this isn't true everywhere in California or the US, but we have yet to see a neighborhood that looks anywhere near "Stepford wife-ish"

 ...aaaaand another building.

 This cute little cottage was in a park where the fountain with Saint Denis was. It seemed like every time I turned a corner there was another thing I wanted to take a picture of.

The fountain of Saint Denis!

Heading up more hills in Montmartre. Here, we were heading out of the residential area and more into the bustling square with restaurants, and many people. Right after I took this photo a large bus came barreling down this hill, which looked really funny. I can barely imagine driving my little scion down this hill (it's really narrow).

 A close up of the pretty pink house from the picture above!

 I used an effect on my camera for this one. The colors are really sturated, but I kind of like it. I think the setting was called "painting" mode. My friends and I are planning to go back to Montmartre this week and I really want to eat here. It was inexpensive and in a great location.

 A partial view from a hill in Montmartre.

Musée de Montmarte. We didn't go in here, but I took a picture because I thought it was fascinating that many of the artists whose work is inside actually lived in the building. Piérre-Auguste Renoir and Emile Bernard are the two artists that I had heard of that lived here. If you would like some more names let me know(:

I am trying something new by posting a video. Please let me know if you like it! It takes a little longer to edit and upload but sometimes there are moments that I just cannot capture with just pictures and words. I would love to keep doing this if you enjoy it! Also please let me know if you cannot play it for whatever reason. This video is just as we entered the busy part of Montmartre and there were two street performers on the corner. I was just going to post the audio but I decided to do just the video instead. I love being able to share the visual experience of my trip here. There are so many moment when I am walking around that I think, "I really wish blank was here so they could enjoy this too!" It makes me really excited to come back to Paris and share this place with many more people.

 Inside the oldest church in Paris! I am working on attaching audio to this post as well. I'll update it once I figure out how to do it. (I am new to this whole blogging thing).

 Beautiful.

 Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. This was our final stop at the very tippy top of Montmartre. Our teacher kind of tricked up by taking us up to the top gradually throughout the day instead of having us climb the giant starecase. That was much appreciated. Im pretty sure this is actually the highest point in the city, so the view was spectacular. It was built in the late 1800's and early 1900's and is so incredibly huge. This was my best attempt at capturing it from the outside.

 I love the way the light shines down from the sky in this photo. Standing here was so breathtaking.

 I wasn't supposed to take pictures but I just had to. Like I've already mentioned, this place is GIGANTIC! There is no way to capture it. At all. There were votive candles surrounding the entire place, adding so much serenity and beauty to this place.

 Some girls and I in front of the view! We were all exhausted from a VERY long day of walking.

 Jen and I infront of a fountain on the way down from the basilica. Taking a break on our walk down the hill haha.

A view from about halfway down the hill.

Phew! That was a long one. I feel luckier and luckier every day that I am here. I still can't believe I am going to be here for so long! As I explore, I also wonder how people can possible do Paris in one weekend, or even a week. There is just too much to see in this city. I am so fortunate that I live here and can head to these places after class, on the weekends, etc.

Believe it or not, this still was not my favorite day so far, even though it is REALLY up there. I am pretty much just waiting on getting some more photos from yesterday before I make that post. My camera died in the first hour of the day so sadly I don't have my own pictures of it, but my friends said I could put some of theirs on my computer. I'm off to do some homework (yes, I still have to do that here). Keep checking for some more updates in the next few days!