Definitely not enough sleep last night. It was an early 8:30 departure for our guided tour of Montmartre. This is one of the most historic and charming areas of Paris. We boarded our busses and set off for the highest point in the city. About half way there we changed to a scenic train that wound it’s way up through the steep and winding streets.
We had a local guide who led us through some of the back streets and passages of the artist mecca. The
streets are filled with tourists and very armed guards. There is also a
lot of wall art - a bit more than isolated and pointless graffiti.
The most outstanding feature of Montmartre is the Sacre Coeur, the majestic church that stands atop Montmartre. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to spend in the church. I had seen it before and done Rick’s guided tour, so I didn’t feel as if I had missed much.
The most outstanding feature of Montmartre is the Sacre Coeur, the majestic church that stands atop Montmartre. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to spend in the church. I had seen it before and done Rick’s guided tour, so I didn’t feel as if I had missed much.
We were back on the ship by about 12:30, just in time for Bloody Mary Hour! Lunch was an Alsace Sauerkraut soup, a salad bar for me, and a rice pudding with prunes in red wine. Earle had the chocolate cake, of course.
By the time lunch was over, we really didn’t have much time to do any more exploration of Paris before having to be onboard for our sail. It was complicated by the terrorist incident on the Champs Elysées with metro stations and roads closed.
I opted for a bit of blog writing and a nap while Barb, Charles, and Earle opted for a short catnap and a walk along the Seine.
As we left Paris, our Captain, J.B., did a sail around on the Seine so that we could see some of the landmarks in daylight. He had done such a sail on Saturday night to see the lights, but my legs just weren’t up for staying up that night.
For a surprised during Happy Hour, the PDs served some delicious macarons.
Dinner tonight was Salad Nicoise, Lobster Soup with Cognac, Honey Glazed Leg of Duck on a bed of Sautéed Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts, and Walnut ice cream with Apricot compote or a Crepe au Chocolat. (Sometimes the food was so good looking, we forgot pictures)
After dinner was a port talk and a discussion of the 3 optional excursions.
It was definitely time to go to bed around 11:00 to try to catch up on some sleep.
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