Montmartre Plage

Actually that should be hyphenated as there was no beach up on the hill of Montmartre.

This morning we headed off to Montmartre, to Basilique Sacre Coeur. Last year my camera battery staged an insurrection on the day we visited Montmartre and I got very few photos. The battery behaved this year.

Last year we walked up around the hill. This time we took the direct approach, finding our way to the base of the hill directly in front of the church and then up the winding sidewalk to the church.The plaza in front of the church and the church itself have been overrun with other tourists every other time I have been there. This time we were there early and we got a chance to go inside the church.

The "Great Mosaic of Christ" dominates the chancel and is one of the significant features of the church.Sacre Coeur dates only from the late 19th century and as every one knows by now, I have a weakness for really old stone churches. We wandered around the block away from the rapidly burgeoning tourist crowd and found the entrance to Saint Pierre de Montmartre.The church is all that remains of the Benedictine Abbey of Montmartre, founded in 1133 by Louis VI and his wife, Adelaide of Savoy, who as the first abbess, is buried in the church. The church is one of the oldest in Paris or perhaps the oldest in Paris depending on how you define terms. The Abbey of Montmartre at the time of its founding was well outside of Paris, located in the hill top village of Montmartre.

What is unmistakable is that the building is very old.

For example, and I am sorry I didn't get a very good photo of them, but those four columns surrounding the altar are of marble and are said to be from a Roman temple which originally stood on the site.That qualifies as old.

Here's another contribution to my on going water tower series which usually features the likes of the Shoreview water tower.

This is the Reservoir de Montmartre for the Paris department of eau. This is the Montmartre water tower.We were looking to close the circle on Saint Denis. We have been to his burial place in the basilica bearing his name, I have shown the statue from the facade of Notre Dame of Saint Denis holding his head in his hands. The legend says he was beheaded by the Romans at Montmartre, declined to die, picked up his head and carried it to the north until he expired at current day Saint Denis. There is a Chappelle du Martyre in Montmartre which stands on the site of a medieval convent's chapel which was said to mark the spot where Saint Denis was beheaded.

We were working our way down the hill, frequently consulting the map, working our way towards the chapel when we had one of those moments that makes me love France. We were looking at the map when a very old French lady working her way up the hill (I am OK with saying she was very old because she clearly appeared to be older than either of us) stopped and inquired in French what it was we were looking for. The language barrier was immense but I knew a few words and with pointing and reference to the map she directed us towards the "eglise" down the hill from where we were standing. She spoke not a word of English during the exchange but she was gracious and enormously helpful and she pointed us in the direction we wanted to go.

I love France.

Eventually we found the chapel but discovered that it was not open today. I got this picture to indicate that we were there at the place where Saint Denis suffered his significant neck wound and that my personal Saint Denis circle should be considered closed.On the way to the Metro we passed one of the most famous tourist spots in Paris. Who doesn't love the red windmill.Then this afternoon I went walking along the Seine to experience the Paris Plage. It seems to me to be a really nice example of city government inviting its citizens to the river and guaranteeing to them that they will have a good experience. There are activities, things for families and their children to do, there is security, there are refreshments, there are WCs. It totally works.I walked back along the quai on Ile Saint Louis across from the Plage and it was very pleasant over there too but the truth is for family atmosphere the Plage was a couple of strides ahead.

Once back on Ile de la Cite I passed this house which according to my book belongs to the Aga Khan.It is pretty much next to the house on the next street that our house backs up to. In other words, I am pretty much kitty corner from one of the richest persons in the world.

Ligue 2 kicked off the new season this weekend with games Friday, Saturday and Monday.

On Friday, CS Sedan 2:0 FC Nantes.

With negative 2 goal differential and no goals scored FC Nantes after Friday games stood 20th, dead last in the table. On Saturday RC Lens has lost at home 2-0 to Stade de Reims. FC Nantes benefits from having lost on the road as RC Lens moves into the 20th spot in the table. FC Nantes stands 19th.

Hey, I was in France when they played. Maybe next time I can be in Nantes, maybe even in the stadium.