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Thursday, July 8, 2010

French Friday in Montmartre!

Hello All
Welcome to French Friday, where I share something French. I began this special day because in May I traveled to Paris for the first time in my life and spent two fabulous weeks there. I have been sharing bits of it each Friday, as well as having some giveaways.

Today, we are going to Montmartre! We had a bit of a long metro ride to this special area of Paris. When we got off the metro we began to make our way up, up and up, many stair steps until eventually we reached this incredible plateau close to the top of the hill that is Montmartre.


I realize now that I did not take any photos on my way up, probably because I was focusing on not collapsing! LoL!

The first photo is the view once we reached the first plateau, looking back towards Paris. The second photo (above) is if you turn and look behind you, then you see this lovely fountain. It is much nicer than in my little photo. I was so hot and sticky, I wanted to jump right in : )

To the side of the fountain are more (ugh!) steps, and then a few more, and then........you see what crowns the hill, Sacre Coeur! It is a basilica of the Roman Catholic Church, which is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus.
We had visited Notre-Dame earlier that day, and it was just incredible. But somehow, Sacre Coeur was even more beautiful. I really can't say why. It was just a feeling. We spoke to a nun there for a little bit. She was telling us about the present Pope, which we were embarrassed to admit we did not know. Some how, I always get flustered in front of a nun!

We were not allowed photos in this church, so unfortunately I can not show you the absolutely incredible wall paintings inside. Right outside the front doors though, I took these two photos. The stone medallions on the walkway and (below) the lion handles on the gorgeous old doors.

Here is a photo of one of the sides of the basilica.

Just around behind the church you come to the main square where there are a large number of artists outside painting. Many of them want to paint or draw you. It is very interesting to see all the different kinds of artwork being done there.


I took this photo of this artist.....he was not too happy about that. Sorry, I did not know.

Below is a creperie, one of many in Paris. It smells heavenly by one of these. Notice the jar of Nutella, it is bigger than that man's head! Huge! We learned that Nutella is a favorite on just about anything.

Now, this shop below really caught my attention. First off, it is on a quaint winding cobblestone street. It looks so.....I don't know....old world? To me.

It was just filled with gorgeous delights to eat!

I only looked in the window : (

MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This is a corner coming down again from the hill.

Cafes are everywhere. So pretty!

We turned the corner and stumbled into the textile center! Whooo hoooooo! Don't you love surprises like that???

Piles and piles of fabric up and down the sidewalks. I went into one shop and bought some trims and some beautiful feathers.

This fabric and notions shop was just packed full of all kinds of supplies for the creative mind!
Oh how I would have loved a U Haul!

Montmartre is a place of creativity and beauty. The views from the top of the hill are inspiring. I wonder if it is much changed from when Vincent van Gogh was there, or Pablo Picasso, or Claude Monet?

I hope you enjoyed our trip today.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Hugs,
Terri

25 comments:

Patti said...

Paris IS definitely as beautiful as it is rumored to be. The view from the top of those many stairs is SO lovely. I can imagine how difficult it was to climb all those stairs. (We went to Yellowstone National Park a few years ago, and Uncle Tom's Trail is the trail which leads to the most magnificent waterfalls...but the trail probably has 250 steps...I can get down okay, but getting back up...well, you know all about it, right?)

That fountain is exquisite. And those pastries. How DID you manage to just look in the window?

Wonder why the artist didn't want his photo taken?

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with all of us.

Hugs,
Patti

Createology said...

Oh thank you for this visit to Montmarte. I have been there and found it to be one of my favorite places. We (Mr. C and me) got baguette sandwiches and at them while sitting on a side street curb watching the many people and artists. Magical! Didn't you ride the funicular up to the top?

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

Beautiful...I lived in Germany for three years...and during my first year there, I had a chance to meet up with a long-time French pen-pal of mine. He lived in Brittany...I've never had the chance to actually see Paris...except the metro and a bit of surface streets, while transferring from one train station to another. They sure do have an over abundance of cafes :) :).. OH my goodness... Brittany "Bretagne" is beautiful. I have TONS of photos as well as quite a few photos taken when I visited a female pen-pal in Normandy!!! I'm not sure how I can scan them since they're pasted in a photo album...but maybe I can figure out a way :)

when I visited my female pen-pal friend...we met up in Paris. We were going to stay there a couple of days and tour the city...but her parents were afraid of letting two 20-somethings alone in the big city...so we went straight back to their home..:) :) That's okay...it was a great time and they lived on a farm. They were some of the nicest people ever!!!!

Thanks for sharing these photos!!! Oh, have you heard of a store called French General? You might like it..there's a lady, Kaari Meng is her name (I might have misspelled it...) but she has some really cool books out with French theme...I have one on decorating the home and another on things for special occasions...so cool and very French :) :)

Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

Vicki said...

Oh, Terri, I do so look forward to my "trips" to Paris with you. The view from the top of the hill is amazing, and I would be like you and want to jump into that beautiful fountain to cool off. The church is breathtaking, and I am sure it was very beautiful inside. The pastries are making my mouth water. Thank you, dear friend, for letting us live vicariously through your travels. Love and blessings to you~ Vicki

Vicki said...

Oh, Terri, I do so look forward to my "trips" to Paris with you. The view from the top of the hill is amazing, and I would be like you and want to jump into that beautiful fountain to cool off. The church is breathtaking, and I am sure it was very beautiful inside. The pastries are making my mouth water. Thank you, dear friend, for letting us live vicariously through your travels. Love and blessings to you~ Vicki

Princesa Nadie said...

Thank you, with you every Friday I remmember our marvelous days in Paris...
Your fotographs are really pretty and nice.Watching them it's a pleasure
LOve

liszha said...

Oh, what a beautiful post and beautiful photos! It has been so long since I have seen Mont Martre. Seeing your photos makes me more convinced every time that I have to go back soon. I do remember the fabric stores.
If I do go again I am gonna ask you first where the flea markets are.
hugs,
Lisette

Marguerite (Tina) Smith Hart said...

The pictures are fabulous Terri and I would like to place an order for that fountain to be packed up and shipped to me here for my yard, :)
(I wonder what that would cost?)
Have a great weekend!
Tina xo

Claudia said...

Oh, how I long to go to Paris someday. Your photos are so wonderful, Terri. Montmartre is such a romantic, artistic area of Paris.
Thanks for sharing it with us.

xo
Claudia

Jann said...

Wonderful photos, Terri!

Marie said...

Hi Terri! Luv'd your photos from Montmartre...you captured the scenes perfectly. If you watched the movie "Amelie", the carousel scene was taken in Montmartre. Isn't Paris fabulous??? It's my fave city in the world and I try to visit as often as I can (afford). Bon weekend!
-marie

Deborah aka Miss Bee said...

Thank you for the beautiful memories. We were in Paris and Montmartre five years ago...I still want to go back! I simply loved Montmartre!

Deborah in NC

Catherine said...

Terri,
It is just so perfect that you are doing French Friday's...as you know I go in early September and you photos and words make me want to run to the airport this very second. Oh September how far away you are. I shall only have three days on our way to Istanbul, how will I choose what to see and do?
We are going to eat and then eat some more, lol. Coups of champagne daily, Lauderee, steak and frites, crepes ala banana nutella. Oh note to self, start dieting now.
Merci ma cher ami,
Catherine

Gaby Bee said...

What a wonderful post! Your photos are terrific. Thanks for the beautiful memories. We were in Paris several times. I just LOVE this city!

Ozstuff said...

Thanks for sharing your memories of France with us, Terri. Your photos are wonderful. Hey, I get flustered when I see a nun because I am the product of a Catholic girls' school (in the 1950's) and they were very handy with a ruler or a stack of books. We used to call it wacking and stacking. A wack with the ruler of a knock on the head with a stack of books. True story!! Today the nuns are an endangered species!
Paris is, indeed a beautiful city because it has retained its old style and hidden the modern monstrosities away so that what we see is a city that hasn't changed in many, many years.
Thanks so much for your kind comments on my blog.

parTea lady said...

Seeing all your wonderful photos is great. There are so many beautiful buildings and sculptures. I would love to go there before I get too old for all those steps. ;-)

Sugar Lump Studios said...

Terri
your vacation photos are amazing! I love how you photographed you trip (makes me feel like I was there with you)...that door knocker really is the neatest thing ever! Hope your temps have gone down...this heat has been dreadful! Only good thing is staying in the air and creating! Happy Sunday m'dear!

Victoria said...

YAY..FABULOUS! Such a wonderfully beautiful and inspiring series of photos and adventures..thankyou! And hvae you ever watched Amelie?..such a heartwarming movie..filmed right there..where all the magic happens!
Have a gorgeous day..thanks for sparkling mine!
Kiki~

Villa-loredana said...

Happy to find your blog and walking all around Paris. Is still time to left the name for give away, if yes sign me. Loredana.

My Grama's Soul said...

Was in Montmartre two year ago. You photos bring back so many memories.....thanks for sharing them with me.

Jo

Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques said...

How awesome for you! Hubby and I honeymooned in Paris six (wow, six already?) years ago!!!

I made the mistake of sitting down for one of the artists...it looks nothing like me! Lol

I would love to see more of your trip... I'm off to look at some of your other posts.

Jillian
Bella Rosa Antiques

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I know I'm so late getting here, but these photos are amazing. They put me in the mood to travel to France. Your description of the day tells how much you enjoyed yourself, even though it was hot and sticky.

I was in awe of how all the buildings are together along long narrow streets. It often looks like there are no cross streets, although I could see one that dead ended in one of your shots.

I was surprised when I went to an art fair this spring how many of the people had "NO PHOTOS ALLOWED" outside their booths. Do they think you're stealing their ideas? It looks like there are temperamental artists in every country.

BTW, I read your comment on Marlynn's post and a signature is a set of pages bound together that go into a book. If you look at any book, you will see there are many blocks of pages. You can see them better in a sewn book than a paperback, but every book has them. Have a great rest of Sunday. Now I should go say hi to Marlynn!

Linda Vincent said...

I love Montmartre! We had such a great time there.....thank you for bringing back happy memories. Your photos are wonderful Terri.

Jean Tuthill said...

Oh yes, Paris is the most wonderful place. I've been there twice and I still would love to go back. There's so much to see! Your pictures and descriptions are very good. Oh, Gay Paris....

Anonymous said...

J'ai vécu 5 ans à Monmartre, et j'aime la Basilique, la place Du Tertre et le Marché Saint Pierre!
Merci !
Giboulée50
gibouchap.canalblog.com

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