Our last full day in Paris on this end of the trip, we headed towards the art Museums. First stop - breakfast for cafes et croissants. A beautiful way to start the day. And we needed all the sustenance we could get.
The d'Orsay has a wonderful collection . It is housed in the gorgeous old train station. We started with the Post-Impressionists and saw many Van Gough's, Gaugin's and countless others. We all wandered at our own pace and eventually ended up on the 5th level for the beautiful Renoirs, Manets, Monets, Degas.....The space on this level is great with views over the city and a very decadent cafe.
Once out we headed towards the Pompidou for round 2. We had a bit of light rain as we walked along the Seine, taking in the sights of the city. As it is a Sunday there are not many shops open, but there are still a lot of tourists around. We walked through the Chatelet area and found a little shop selling crepes that had some covered seating to get us out of the drizzling rain. Our first crepes for the trip, I had nutella and banana. The others all went savoury. Yum.
Ken then voted on ice cream, I had a refreshing Mojito sorbet, perfect after that chocolate lunch!
As we approached Pompidou we heard an entertainer amusing the crowd so sat on the forecourt and enjoyed his comedy/magic show . He was an English guy and quite funny. He certainly drew a big crowd.
Into the amazing building that is the Pompidou Centre. With it's exterior escalators and exposed architecture it is very unique. We went all the way to the top and enjoyed the views over the city before starting our tour. There is a lot of art here too. Being modern some of it is a bit weird, but mostly it is great. There were quite a few Picassos, Kandinskys, Giochomettis....
We were quite exhausted and our feet quite sore so we left and went for a beer at a bar overlooking Fontaine Stravinsky, with it's funky water features, before getting the Metro home for some of us (them) to have a nap before going out for dinner.
We caught 2 trains to Sacre Cour. The first took us to Saint Lazare and then we hopped on another to Lamarck Caulaincourt which took us to Montmarte behind the Sacre Cour. The area is so lovely with all the narrow streets and beautiful houses. We wandered along before coming to the shops and restaurants and many, many people. We made our way to the Sacre Cour and went in . It is really beautiful with a lot of tiny gold mosaics glittering in the frescoes. The basilica is set at the top of a hill overlooking the whole city. The views are spectacular.
We went back up and found a restaurant right on a corner and sat outside. It was a great spot to watch the people come and go, and the young girls in their heels tottering on steep cobbled streets. Although people say you shouldn't eat in tourist restaurants it is hard to avoid when you are visiting iconic tourist locations. The one we chose had a great location, a friendly, cheeky waiter and the food was ok. We only had chicken and fish with chips, but it hit the spot.
We popped into a couple of little shops, sampled another ice cream (2 in one day!) and made our way back down.
The crowds at the Sacre Cour were massive. Everyone was sitting on the steps enjoying the beautiful evening. It looked beautiful all lit up in the night and the city views were spectacular.
With very sore feet and calves we walked down about a million steps and found our way to the Abesses station and then walked down a million more underground to get to our platform. Did I mention the sore calves - the stairs were great!
Finally home it was soon to bed.
A big day - 29,000 steps! 21kms! On My Feet, in a pair of ballet flats. I think we earned that second ice cream.
Tomorrow Dijon.

29,016 steps
21.2 kms walked