Aaron had to work on our second day in Paris, so I was on my own. He showed me everything I needed to know so I could get anywhere I needed to go on the metro (the subway system). I had never been to Montmarte and wasn't sure exactly where it was. So I stopped at the closest metro stop and began walking UP...and found exactly what I was looking for!
Montmarte is in northern Paris and is the highest point in the city. Sacre Coeur Basilica, or Basilica of the Sacred Heart, sits on the highest point. It's construction started in 1875 and ended in 1914. It is quite amazing to see!
I had a nice view of Paris from Sacre Coeur:
Montmarte is also known as the Art District. Many artists like Dali, Monet, Picasso & Van Gogh had studios and studied there. Street artists are everywhere and I just loved the ambiance.
I also visited the Salvador Dali museum. He has always been one of my favorite artists of surrealism. He was an extremely eccentric person, ...and incredibly imaginative! It was really neat to see some of his pieces in person.
I explored more of Montmarte, and ate lunch on the steps of Sacre Coeur.
Before our trip, Aaron and I thought it would be so fun to eat at Le Jules Verne...the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. After realizing how incredibly expensive it is we quickly decided we could do without that experience. A colleague of Aaron's told him to save a night for dinner. We thought he wanted to go out to dinner with us, but it turns out he made reservations for Aaron and I to eat a Le Jules Verne!!! And his company would pay for it...Holy COW! I was really excited.
Le Jules Verne is 125 meters from the ground on the second level of the Eiffel Tower. When we arrived, we were personally escorted to an elevator and up to the restaurant. We felt a little bit like royalty :)
We ate and ate and ate! It was sooooo good! They just kept bringing us food, and by the time dessert came I didn't think I could eat another bite..., but I somehow managed to :) Just as spectacular as the food was the view!
I think we sat and ate for over three hours.... We are pretty sure THAT was the most expensive and elaborate meal we will ever eat. It was an amazing experience!
When we were done it was really late, but we walked through the grounds of the Eiffel Tower back to our metro stop (unlike all the other patrons of Le Jules Verne who arrived by limo or taxi :) We were met by rowdy crowds celebrating Spain's victory over Portugal in soccer. It was pretty fun (and incredibly loud) to watch. Our subway ride back to the hotel was shared with the gangs of soccer-enthusiasts...cheering, hollering, and singing Spain's National Anthem. It was a little scary, but mostly awesome :)
UNBELIEVABLE! That is the coolest thing, ever!
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