I left the hotel and wandered around a few minutes before finding the road I needed to be on. Those who know me know that I have zero sense of direction. In fact, I think this became a blessing on my trip because when I got lost I discovered things I wouldn't have seen had I known where I was going. Hey - gotta find the bright side in your weaknesses. If you look at a street map of Paris then you will notice that there is no order to the streets (ok, maybe there is but I didn't see it). They go in any direction they please thus resulting in me getting turned around quite a bit.
I needed to walk down Boulevard Pereire to get to my destination and I was pleasantly surprised that there was a promenade in the middle. So instead of walking down the sidewalk I was able to jaunt through little parks. I couldn't read the sign depicting what this sculpture was but I'm sure it had something to do with the Revolution. A little disturbing. I'll just tell myself they are melting crayons.
At the entrance to Square des Batignolles which was a nice little park to walk through.
Y'all, the tulips were so beautiful throughout the city!!
Vulture Statue in Square des Batignolles.
From the square, I headed to Parc Clichy-Batignolles-Martin Luther King. They have been working on this area since 2007 and there were still areas where fresh grass was being planted. My first architecture job was doing multi-family so I really appreciated these apartments.
Next on the walking tour was to get a glimpse of Moulin Rouge. Saw it and continued walking.
My end goal was to go to Sacre Coeur but as I traveled the streets of Montmartre I stumbled upon these sweet windmills. The Moulin Rouge windmill is not original but these 2 are. They are the only 2 of 14 remaining on the hillside.
I loved the hilly streets of the Montmartre district.
Montmartre is an artist area with a bunch of street painters and studios. I had my eye on a sweet painting of a girl on a bicycle but didn't need to spend the money.
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre is the oldest surviving church in Paris!
View of Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre from the courtyard of Sacre Couer.
I had the hardest time finding this church. It was on my landmark map but I couldn't find it. I finally asked some kind people and they pulled it up on their smartphone. They were locals and didn't even know where it was. It was squeezed between some other buildings on the street.
Hospital.
Gare du Nord. I told Jacob I was going to check out these buildings on the map. He said, "they are just train stations, you might be disappointed." They ended up being awesome!
There was an art exhibit taking place at Gare de l'Est. These artists were famous for their paintings on the Berlin Wall in the 80's. Here is a pdf with more info about the paintings. It's all in French but at least you can see all of the pieces and who the artists are.
I finally made it back to the hotel after clocking close to 21 miles (according to my pedometer). I walked all day, never stopping for lunch. Something about the "thrill of the hunt" kept me going nonstop. I was tired but had so much fun exploring. Jacob got back around the same time. We rested a bit and then headed out for dinner. This became the norm for the rest of my trip. I realize that others might not find this type of travel fun but I loved it and am thankful for all of the marathon training that gave me extra energy.
We shared a Caesar salad. Jacob had sea bass and I had a smoked salmon club.
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