Squares is back once again after a long hiatus. This challenge is hosted by Becky @ The Life of B. May’s topic is about Burgeoning – Move Forward – Reconstruct – Renew.
This photo was taken in Paris last year, a tourist boat moving forward along the River Seine.
Renewal and Reconstruction of Notre Dame
I had a few days in Paris last year with a friend and her husband used to like to sit and watch the progress of the rebuilding of this famous landmark.
To live in Montmartre would have been any artist’s dream place to stay. Most lived in hunger and poor accommodation but they were living with hope and passion and wouldn’t be anywhere else. Fuelled by their love of art and the camaraderie of their fellow artists, they struggled on regardless.
It is one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit and so it was on my last day we headed out to walk the cobbled stoned streets and climb many stairs to the top.
We took the metro to Abbesses, one of the most beautiful metro stations in Paris. 144 steps to the top! There were fantastic paintings on every level, I wish I had taken more.
To start with we tried to follow the walking map as to what to see, but soon gave up as everywhere you looked there was something to see or a little alleyway to walk through.
A wall dedicated to love in the garden of Square Jehan Rictus. The work of Frederic Baron and Claire Kito, is a meeting place for lovers from all over the world.
Situated outside the Galerie Montmartre, a moving mural with the faces of hundreds of famous people. Can you spot Mona Lisa?
I did like the detail in this little critter
By the time we had climbed to the top to look at the The Basilica of Sacre Coeure, the rain had started and as we didn’t bring umbrellas or raincoats, we were forced to buy one. It was well worth the climb to see the astounding views from the top.
My first view of the Basilica, quite awe inspiring after climbing up along those tiny staircases to see this great beauty.
We didn’t venture in as you can see the queues were long! Also I imagine you would need booked slots.
Heading back down into the main square and walking very gingerly on these slippery wet cobblestones we agreed it was time for lunch.
Inside La Boheme Montmartre with a steaming bowl of French Onion Soup and a glass of chilled white wine.
With so many choices we took pot luck and chose one that looked relatively busy. Deciding to sit inside as it was too chilly and wet for outside (Paris in the Summer, who would have thought!).
There are so many famous buildings and restaurants in Montmartre and have written some potted histories below.
La Maison Rose – The Little Pink House was originally bought by Ramon Pichot in 1905. It was first a painting studio and visited by Pichot’s friends Dali and Picasso. He turned it into a restaurant and painted it pink in 1908. It is believed that La Maison Rose became famous because of Utrillo paintings. But Élisée Maclet (sadly forgotten) painted La Maison Rose and Montmartre long before Utrillo. Source: La Maison Rose
There is much more history on the link above about what has happened to this house over the years.
Le Consulat – Another famous cafe frequented by world renowned artists, Picasso, Sisley, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Monet. The building dates back to the 19th century. It is still serving delicious home cooked food.
La Bonne Franquette – A 16th century house in the heart of Montmartre. The name was given in 1925 by Francisque Poulot. The motto of this restaurant is “Love, Eat, Drink and Sing”. This is the place where Van Gogh painted the famous “La Guingette”.
We then went looking for the “Man in the Wall”, something I’d never heard of but my friend wanted to see.
M. Dutilleul, a fictional character by Parisian writer Marcel Ayme, who discovers he can walk through walls. He uses this power to commit crimes and carry on an affair. On his last visit to his mistress, he suddenly loses this power and becomes immobilised inside the wall.
It seems that this was not well known enough for other tourists as we were the only ones there.
Next up was the Windmill and of course last but not least, Moulin Rouge.
There were once thirty windmills in Montmartre dating back to the 16th century and now only two remain. The other is Blute-Fin. Before Montmartre became a place known for its artists it was just a humble village populated by peasants. The windmill that sits atop the Moulin Rouge is just a tribute and not an active one.
I loved exploring Montmartre and would have liked to wander more, but time was pressing on for me to venture back to Gard du Nord for my trip back to London.
Montmartre is well worth a visit and you could easily spend a whole day here. It’s not easy walking and you would definitely need a good pair of walking shoes!
My friends had planned a day out of Paris today to see the house and gardens of Monet. It would take around 90 minutes to get there by metro and overground train. Once off the train there is a shuttle bus that takes you directly to the house and gardens. As there was a queue to enter we decided on lunch first. There were many places to choose and all looked so quaint. We settled on one by the entrance and I had the largest omelette, cannot imagine how many eggs were used.
‘My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece. I can only draw what I see. Everything I have earned has gone into these gardens. It took me time to understand my waterlilies.“
Claude Monet lived in his house in Giverny for forty-three years, from 1883 to 1926. You can see and feel his passion for gardening as you walk through the beautifully planned gardens and especially the water gardens.
The windows of the house all look out onto the garden and I could imagine sitting there with a summer breeze gazing out onto this spectacular array of colour.
Exquisitely decorated rooms, my favourite was the kitchen with the blue tiled fireplace.
After we had wandered through the house we ventured out into the gardens and down to the water gardens.
“I am following Nature without being able to grasp her… I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.“
I must have flowers. Always and always. Water Lilies’ is an extension of my life. Without the water the lilies cannot live, as I am without art.
“The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration”
Finishing up in the gardens we had a wander through the village just outside the grounds. We saw some beautiful ivy clad houses, including the mayor’s. There were many art galleries as you would expect displaying all of Monet’s works.
The famous Hotel Baudy, once a humble grocers and cafe owned by Angelina and Gaston Baudy. In 1886 Willard Metcalfe, a young American painter living in Paris, came looking for accommodation but was turned away by Mrs. Baudy as she only had the one bed. Many months later he returned with a group of artists and Mr. and Mrs. Baudy gave up their house and stayed with a neighbour. Realising they had a new potential business on their hands they turned their house into a hotel. Over the years this hotel housed many famous painters such as Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
We had an incredible day here and I’m so glad my friend made the suggestion. It wasn’t something that was on my agenda and was a wonderful surprise.
With only three days in Paris, there’s no better way to see all the sights than on a hop on/hop off bus. Nowadays with many people travelling and the need to book online for tickets and a time slot, I decided not to do any major attractions but to just enjoy being in Paris.
My friend Rita met me at my hotel, after a decadent breakfast. I have to say I chose well as it’s a delightful hotel. A small boutique hotel with a lovely seating area at the front and a dining room in the basement.
We first walked over to Notre Dame and saw the work in progress after the fire in 2019. There was so much to see, and I was stopping all the time to take photos. Some of the streets we walked down looked like they belonged to an old style Paris of the 1950’s, with cute window boxes and old fashioned pastry stores. Tranquil parks and men reading newspapers.
The Dame herself! With a crane in the background as the work still has a way to go yet.
Before we hopped on a bus we stopped and had lunch in Tuileries Garden. My friend is a huge walker and I wasn’t sure if I could keep up with her pace which was super fast.
From the bus
We did alight a few times, once to walk a little way down the Champs-Elysees and again to take a few shots of the Louvre. It was great fun being on top of the bus at the front and going around the famous Arc de Triomphe roundabout.
By now it was late afternoon, meaning it was almost happy hour! So we jumped on the bus again and headed to Galerie Lafayette. Sadly not much time for shopping but to treat ourselves to a champagne in one of the many bars and restaurants they have.
Rooftop Views over Paris
The incredible neo-Byzatine-infused polychrome glass cupola created by master glassworker Jacques Gruber. It really was a sight to behold and I could have stood for ages looking up. It’s a place where you could easily spend half a day or more. Lunching, shopping, drinking and spending big bucks!
It was back to the hotel after this for a short rest before dinner. We ate at a place called Le Machon d’Henri but not before stopping at a magnificent church on the way.
The Saint Sulpice Church’s claim to fame is the organ inside and also where some of The Da Vinci Code was filmed. The organ is supposedly the largest in the world with its 6,600 pipes.
I think we had covered enough for one day, and even though we did use the bus I still clocked up an incredible 14,000 steps.
I hope you’ll stay with me for the rest of my trip to Paris and if you’ve got this far thank you for reading.
