France 2023 - Day 11 / Montmartre & Rouen instead of Lille

Steps today : 22 390 / 14.76 km

The original plan for our day-trip today was supposed to be Lille, but when we went to buy the tickets yesterday, they were 60€ each just to get there! That's almost 100$ so we baulked. When I went with Frank, I remember that the early train was 60€, but the trains leaving just a little later in the morning were only 35€. In hindsight, I wonder if we bought the tickets that morning we would have had the same discounts? Anyway, it was not to be. We picked Rouen instead. 

I visited in 2012 and I thought it would be nice to see it again, plus I knew there would be lots of nice sights my mom would enjoy. The train left from Gare St Lazare which is about 20 minutes away by metro, so we said we'd have breakfast there. We arrived at the station and couldn't find the trains! LOLOL  it was a huge shopping center...  with no breakfast spots. Poor mom.

I was happy because there was a Paul (they are everywhere) and I don't know if I mentioned it before but I am in love with their to-go Rosette de Lyon sandwiches (salami) so I enjoyed my breakfast! My mom prefers to sit and relax with a coffee, and a to-go cup on a train station bench easting a croissant from a bag is not her idea of nice morning, especially when you're starting to get a cold, but she's a trooper - she survived.

We arrived just before 10 and made our way straight to a café in the old town to sit down and have a 'real' breakfast...  but guess what: they didn't get their bread delivery yet that morning! So, it was just coffee for us and a little later, another croissant out of a bag for my mom. ha!

A few sights along the way:

My fellow Montrealers might get a kick out of this plaque:

We admired "Le Gros-Horloge", a Renaissance era astronomical clock; the movement dates back to 1389! 

(I can never get used to the 'Le' instead of 'La', I asked Google and it seems that the gender of the word has evolved over the centuries, interesting!) 

And then the Notre-Dame cathedral. WOW! it blew me away in the same way I could not get enough of the cathedral in Strasbourg. Last time I was here parts of it were covered up for renovations and it didn't make an impact on me at all.  This time, I was transfixed by the façade.

The inside was HUUUUGE! wow. But lots of renovation work being done.

After, we just wandered around exploring the city

... and settled in for lunch around 12:15. It was awful. I was tempted by the pasta: Orecchiette with truffes, but it was mushy and lukewarm. Terrible choice!! Perhaps because I was still laying off the alcohol? Could a glass of wine have rescued it?

After lunch, we walked around a bit more and inspected the shrapnel damage on the Palace of Justice, and the quirky option to repair the holes with Lego!

The rest of the "normally" repaired building was quite nice too...

After this around 1:30, we called it quits on Rouen and decided to head back to Paris and explore Montmartre which we hadn't dipped into yet on this trip.

Back at the St Lazare train station around 3:30, we headed to the Abbesses metro station. As we were exiting the metro, I remembered reading somewhere that this was the deepest metro station in Paris and there were warning signs if you wanted to take the stairs. I didn't see anything to confirm that anywhere and so I thought I was mistaken and that it was another station... then I saw the signs!

We decided what the heck! Let's do it.

As explained in the green sign, the way up is interesting, they decorated each section of the staircases with paintings relevant to the area and it really does motivate you along your climb because you want to know what's coming up next!

I especially got a kick out of the first panel. That Elton-John looking man in the blue suit is Michou, a local celebrity. How do I know? because a few visits ago I sat next to him in a café and had no clue who he was! Many people came up to him to say hello and shake his hand, I just thought he had a lot of friends. It wasn't until a young girl sheepishly approached him for a picture did it dawn on me that he might be famous.  I googled "popular man wearing blue in Montmartre" and found him right away. He died in 2020.

We started our tour of Montmartre with a swing through the Eglise Saint - Jean, I find it so entrancing! The interior is so original.

An attempt to get a picture of the "I love you" wall without tourists feels like an impossible challenge. So many influencers trying to look bored in front of it, like they were just there minding their own business then suddenly someone snaps a picture. UGH. so contrived. Like duck lips and V-signs

The usual suspects in Montmartre:

Of course, Sacré-Coeur

And the latest "picture - must" now a days: The Sinking House. 

We walked down the hill towards the Boulevards for supper because I remembered a place where my mom and I had lunch on our last visit and we really liked it. 

I know I was feeling better and that the worst of my cold was behind me, so I was ready to indulge in some of my French Favourites again.

My mom on the other hand was completely exhausted. Her legs were finished as her turn with the cold was gaining ground.  She made me promise that we would head straight back to the hotel by metro after this - and if we were going to have a night cap - make it quick!

So we had some immune-system boosting nightcaps (fresh squeezed orange juice) about seven Google- minutes from the hotel and got back to the room around 8PM.