As a Parisian afternoon turns to dusk

It didn't take long to get from the Louvre to Montmarte, but we were absolutely starving when we got there and had trouble finding a restaurant that wasn't a rip off. Even then, Lucy's vegetarian meal came with clams, so it was quite disappointing overall.

But, once half of us were fed, we wandered through tiny, charming streets up lots of steps to find Sacre Couer and the highest point of Paris. It looked glorious in the full sunshine:


In contrast, the interior is gloomily amazing. Like Notre Dame, it wasn't possible to walk into the middle. There were high walls put up, and I had to content myself with peering through arches on my tiptoes. However, it was enough to show me what is my favourite church ceiling. Here is someone else's photo:


The blue of the roof is unlike anything I have ever seen, and gave me pause for thought the whole rest of the afternoon.

After Sacre Couer we wandered round to the village of Montmarte and gawked a bit at the 'painter's' selling their work. I am always sceptical of these markets, but I enjoyed the vibe:


Some lemon crepes gave us energy for the stroll back into Paris, and it was going so well we decided to try the Eiffel Tower again.

Amazingly, after half an hour in the queue and a truly truly truly terrifying elevator ride, we got to the top at dusk. Lucy and I had long enough to spot the landmarks we'd visited on our jam-packed trip, and could then pinpoint them again after dark. So perfect:




It was also very romantic. (Must be the altitude....?)

I am very happy to have been up the Tower. I had decided against the effort on my birthday but now that I have done it, I must say it it is one of the best tourist things to do. The lookout is lower than that on the Empire States, but somehow more special.

We got a lovely backwards view on the way to dinner: