Wednesday morning, and I still had visions of the museum’s instruments dancing in my head.  How could I top that?  Funny you should ask.  As I mentioned in the opening of this series, my travel agent had unfortunately chosen the French national holiday, May 1 – today – as the beginning of my pricey 2-day Paris Pass (“Everything you could possibly want to do in Paris in one handy coupon booklet!”)…and Paris was closed.  Oh sure, there were more street vendors out than ever before, and cafes and boulangeries (bakeries) were going full tilt, but I was approaching “crescent overdose.” So what to do?

I had heard that Montmartre was a nice area to visit, and I imagined it would all be outdoors, so this seemed the perfect plan.  Just for fun, as it was vaguely on the way, I decided to first try to find the “Guitar Store row” that I had read about.  It took a while (the iPhone GPS crapping out for the umpteenth time), but I finally located the area, which was, as expected, closed.  Judging from the dark windows I peered into, I didn’t miss a thing.   Checking the Metro map, I looked up the closest stop to Montmartre and saw that I was probably just close enough for a walk.

A long walk…

…uphill

It actually was a great, fun winding climb through another maze of streets.  I didn’t even bother with a map; I just made sure I was always ascending, and when I spotted others trekking upwards, I’d follow them.

The foot traffic became heavier and heavier until it finally exploded into a full-blown tourist’s mecca.  If you love tchotchkes or having your portrait drawn (with a large cartoon head) in under ten minutes, this place is nirvana.  One soon sees what the real attraction is, turning a final corner…

This is the famous Sacre-Coeur Basilica, built between 1875 and 1914 (as a testament to France surviving the onslaught of the Franco-Prussian War).

Beautiful and inspiring

I heard what sounded like a soundtrack to some classic French film as I got closer…

This guy was great and looked like he could’ve walked out of an old movie

So I played “art director” for a bit…

Mighty impressive…

But I realized I had been largely remiss in archiving Jaci’s endless doors in her absence…these were large bronze beauties

It was certainly worth the long line to get inside

While the outside offered a bit of a view…

By the time I headed back, a few buskers were out

I loved this guy’s bass!

The trip back was a heck of a lot easier…

…while always on the lookout for interesting architectural elements…

It was another unexpected gorgeous day, and I was motivated to go back and spend some more time around Notre Dame.

Next time: Gargoyle Envy