Paris…Slowly Savoring

March 29th, 2016

There is SO much to catch up on as I look back on the past few weeks. Paris feels like a distant memory in light of all we have done since then. Yet, I still want to capture our last day.

It was nice to start and end our days in the two bedroom flat (with a pullout couch) we rented in the Montmartre district. It gave us room to relax, eat, and rest with enough beds to sleep the six of us.

On Saturday morning, we picked up a few pastries from the bakery near our flat before walking the streets in Montmartre.

We didn’t get very far before we were drawn to a quaint café. The boys enjoyed playing foosball while we sipped on our drinks. I laughed when I looked at my sugar packet and saw the words “sucre daddy”. Sugar Daddy?! I later learned “Daddy” is a brand of sugar in France.

Topped off, we continued our stroll through the streets of Montmartre and eventually ascended a long set of stairs up to the Sacré-Coeur. My leg muscles had barely recovered from all of our walking the day before. Now I know how the French stay in shape!

The climb was worth it for the incredible view afforded to us when we got to the top! Here’s a short clip of the view…

The Sacré-Coeur is France’s second most visited church after Notre Dame. It was built between 1875 and 1914. The name means “Sacred Heart” in reference to the heart of Jesus. It holds the largest bell in France within the campanile. Since August 1, 1885, men and women have taken turns praying inside the Sacré-Coeur both night and day. They pray for the church, the world and peace. Not an hour goes by without prayer being spoken…beautiful.

When we walked through the church, a service was being held in the middle. Our youngest and I got separated from the others after stopping to light candles. Knowing that we would meet back up since traffic moved in one direction, I took advantage of the moment to receive communion and allow our little guy to get a blessing from the priest.

Afterwards, we boarded the Le Petit Train de Montmartre. This little tourist “train” was parked near the Sacré-Coeur. For a small fee, we enjoyed a thirty minute tour through the surrounding neighborhoods…those of us who stayed awake that is! It was a great way to see a few more local sites without the mileage on our feet.

Time for lunch! We ate at a café where Grace recognized the waiter from two of her previous visits. Though our open seating by the door was chilly, it was a great place to people watch. Artists constantly stopped people in the street, drew their portraits and sold their impressions.

After lunch, we walked right out to the square full of artists and their work. What a lovely place! I bought a small watercolor from an artist that allowed me to take his picture afterwards. He invited E to join him. Grace’s daughter sat to have her portrait drawn and was quite pleased with the result! The air was full of inspiration and beauty.

To help balance out the artsy with the fun (a necessity we are learning with our boys), we walked down to a carousel we saw on our train tour. It was near the base of the Sacré-Coeur. What a beautiful day!

Before we knew it, it was time to be heading back to our flat, packing up our things and catching our train back home to Germany. Sadly, we had a rushed goodbye in the confusion and chaos of the metro station. Thankfully, we took this group picture in our flat before leaving to remember our time together.

While we waited in the train station, a woman came up to me and started talking to us. She introduced herself and reminded me of how we met a few months back when I was house hunting with the boys, looking for permanent housing in one of the many villages we checked out. She lived in the house next door to one of the available homes on our list. I had rang her doorbell to ask her a few questions and we chatted for quite awhile. She has since cut her hair and doesn’t live in the village we settled in so I haven’t seen her since. I honestly didn’t recognize her but she remembered me and the boys and was so sweet. It was pretty wild to meet back up with her in Paris! Shortly after, we boarded our train for home.

Here is the train station in Paris and the boys with hubby pushing my luggage after we arrived back in Germany. The boys are good travelers, a plus since they have been traveling since birth! Now they can carry their own clothes in their backpacks for shorter trips!

When we got home, E & S grabbed the train set and built their own version of the ICE train we had just taken. They even built their own version of Paris at the end.