Montmartre Shopping

We met this morning at Miss Manon for breakfast chocolate.  Meals – even breakfasts – have been a lot of fun with the gang.  Dayton and Gaye reported that they enjoyed their day together yesterday, where they explored their extended Left Bank neighborhood.

After the long breakfast, we jumped on the Metro and popped out at Anvers station.  From there, we followed the standard path through the sea of street performers and hucksters to the Sacré Cœur Cathedral.  We spent a bunch of time in the nearby Place de Tertre which is filled with painters selling their wares.  Dayton and Gaye bought a small painting.  A bunch of us bought watery crepes.

From there, we descended (both meanings of the word apply) to Boulevard de Clichy with all of it’s, ummm, burlesque shops.   After looking at the various windows (toys of Santa in various un-Santa like poses are currently popular) we paused for coffee at a Starbucks across from the Moulin Rouge.

Next, we zipped over to Galleries Lafayette and took in the rooftop view.  There, we split up and agreed to meet at Café de Flore at 7:00 PM.  At Café de Flore, we had a bottle of 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau.  The Beaujolais Nouveaus were just released yesterday and the wine joke “last month was a good month” applies.  They serve it ice cold, which helps.

Greg had made a reservation at Allard, which is a Paris institution.  It was a good meal.  It is remarkable how easy it is in Paris to spend 2 ½ hours eating.  The event was bittersweet because afterward, sadly, we had to say our goodbyes to Dayton and Gaye who leave back for home tomorrow morning.