Day 13

Walking tour of Montmartre. Intermittent sun, so I only took my red pashmina and umbrella (just in case). 

I love the Abbesses metro exit. It's one of two glass and iron covered metro stations left in Paris. However, I do not love the stairs. There are lots of them. More than the catacombs. Apparently only the tourists take the stairs. I wondered where all the other people were, who had exited the metro with me. Yup, they were on the elevators. 

The day was lovely. I sometimes draped my shawl around my shoulders, but often had to put it away because the sun was out. Amazing! Yes, Virginia, the sun *does* shine in Paris! Also, there were stairs. Lots of them. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere.

My tour took me past the Bateau Lavoir (home to Picasso, Modigliani, and a passle of others during the early 1900's); the Moulins Galette, Radet, and Blue-Fin (frequented by Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec,  and Van Gough); the Clos Montmartre vineyard; the Au Lapin Agile (frequented by Picasso and Renoir); the Jardin Sauvage St. Vincent (which was closed, so I only peeped through the gates); passed by the Montmartre Museum (which I visited the last time I was in Paris); and of course Sacre Coeur. I stayed in SC for a while, just enjoying the quiet. Walked around to see the mosaics, and sat for a while contemplating the large painting at the front. I like almost everything about it, except Jesus' face. Hmmmm. 

Nuns in white habits, with black headdresses started passing out parcels of paper, so I decided to stay a bit longer. A bishop (I'm guessing here) came out, as well as about 8-10 nuns. For the next twenty or so minutes, there was a singing service. The bishop spoke only occasionally, and just for a few lines. It was the nuns who ran this portion. Some solos, but mostly they sang as a group. And in some parts, the congregation stood up and joined in the singing. The voices weren't the best I've ever heard, but the service was lovely. This reminded me of my favorite church service. One Sunday in December, Margot Martin had a singing service. No speakers, just singing Christmas carols from the hymnal. So wonderful. I wish that all services had more singing, and less talking.

When I got up to leave, it was cold outside, and loads of people were crowded under the porticoes. Why? Because it was raining cats and dogs. I went back in the church and sat for a while longer. There was an imposing usher who found people taking pictures inside the church, and escorted them out. Sometimes he was a little rough. Understandable, since there are sign everywhere about not taking photos inside the church.

Well, I finally got tired of sitting, and just went outside. And started walking. Soon enough, the rain will stop, right? Well, it did. Eventually. But not until after I got back to my apartment. C'est la vie! The one nice thing about the rain is that there were no tourists cluttering up my photos of SC, from the bottom of the park. There's always a ray of sunshine, even when it rains.