A few final details

I was in front of the church when it opened this morning (0745 in case you need to know) so I headed on in. I wasn't expecting to find anything new but I didn't want to miss one final opportunity to be inside when only a very few other people are in there. I have a new lens for my camera so I got what I think is my best photo yet of the North Rose window.

That window is of Mary surrounded by figures from the Old Testament and is famous for being substantially intact and unchanged since the 13th century.

I paused before leaving the building for one last look at what the guide book calls the high-vaulted central nave down toward the huge transept, the choir and the high altar.

It is a spectacular building, one that never fails to impress at least the likes of me.

I stopped at our new favorite boulangerie and returned to the flat with petite dejeuner.

That's a quiche provencale, a quiche champignon, two chasson au pomme and a couple of apricots.  I have belatedly realized that this tour's postings have been devoid of useful pastry updates.  I can only offer as an apology that I had a croissant aux amande et framboises one day earlier in the trip and I am pleased to report that that particular pastry can readily be characterized as a mighty fine donut.  There have also been several iterations of pain au chocolate, another excellent donut substitute.

Here's another thing I know some people want to see, a look around the flat.  This view is from the window back towards the two steps down to the entry and the kitchen and bathroom level.

Glenn met us at the nearby cafe to facilitate the check in.  He says he believes this is a 15th century building. The ceiling of the main room is dominated by the ancient framing timbers.

So we headed out for one last thing that we both wanted to do.  I am going to just introduce this by saying that we walked up about 150 steps inside the Metro station before we even saw street level.  I checked the map and located the route to the funiculaire but instead of following that route I just went ahead and followed the sign at the end of the street pointing the way to the basilica.  As a result we never made it to the funiculaire but instead ended up at the bottom of this set of steps.

Which led to the bottom of this set of steps.

We counted both of those sets and it was 86 and 93.  It seemed like a good time to pause and regulate our breathing and heart rates before trying too much else.  It is only a short walk around the corner from those steps to the corner of the basilica,  the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur.

We had a little sit down in Montmarte village.  The tourist foot traffic is an interesting watch as are the approximately 69 dozen guys with sketch pads who will do a caricature of you "for free".

Sacré-Coeur is a landmark but the historic and really interesting church up there is Saint-Pierre de Montmarte.  We visited there last year and I liked it so much that this time I did the proper research and we headed back inside.

The church is all that remains of the great Benedictine Abbey of Montmarte, founded in 1133.  Inside the church are four marble columns said to be from a Roman temple that stood on the site before that time.  That is the detail I was unprepared for last time.  Not this time.  Here are two of those extraordinarily ancient marble columns, behind the altar on the left.

We had walked up the stairs to the mountain, we walked down the terraces and stairs in front of the basilica to leave.  This is one of the most visited and photographed scenes in the city.  I have gotten a couple of photos here before but today I had a good sky background and my camera battery did not expire, problems that have plagued my photography efforts there in the past.

If you don't like that one I have, oh, maybe about a dozen others to choose from.

Back to the flat, here is that oldest tree in Paris thing I have threatened to post.

The tree was planted in 1601 and clearly no longer stands on its own, that faux trunk looking thing on the right is concrete.  There is also concrete filling some of the cracks in the real trunk.  I don't think either of those treatments are accepted silviculture practices any more but on the other hand the tree IS still standing.

While I have been finishing this up the FT has been out walking. I captured her again while she was unaware as she walked through the square just after passing the oldest tree and with the ancient old Eglise Saint Julien de Pauvre as a backdrop.

She's going to be surprised again.

So that's pretty much it for Paris.  Tomorrow morning we are off to Gare Saint Lazare and a train trip to Rouen.  There is a cathedral there that Rick Steves promises is a landmark in art history and also what Rick promises is a cobbled old town with half timbered buildings that is a delight to wander.  By night fall we will be in Dieppe.  I am not positive what the Wi-Fi situation is going to be in Dieppe but we will endeavor to persevere with the travelogue.