Paris - July 10, 2016

This morning we went back to the Saint Germaine area to check out the Luxembourg Gardens and Palace and the Saint Sulpice church, where my stepmom was going to go to mass.  Our exploration of the church and its restored paintings was regularly disrupted by the incessant squeaking of my shoes on the polished stone floor!  No one else seemed to have this issue, so I had to resort to tip toeing all around to lessen the noise.  We stayed for the 15 minute organ recital prior to the start of mass and then Margo, dad, and I left to go look at the Gardens.  This is supposed to be one of Paris’ most treasured parks, and judging by the number of people there jogging, walking, and sailing toy boats in the fountain, it’s not hard to see why.  Dad wanted to go back to the church after mass to listen to more organ recital music, but Margo and I wanted to explore some more so we made plans to meet up later on in the afternoon.  One of the places we wanted to see was the Opera Garnier, which is supposed to be beautifully restored inside.  There was supposed to be a guided tour offered at 2:30, but they were closed for the day to set up for a concert that evening.  Our next option was to go see the Montmartre area, home of the Moulin Rouge.  As we exited the metro station, we immediately saw the Moulin Rouge club and its iconic red windmill.  For something like 140 euros, you can have dinner there and see the can-can show.  Instead of that, we hopped Le Petit Train de Montmartre, a tram that takes you all around the neighborhood, including to Sacre Coeur.  We hopped off at the top of the butte to take a closer look at the basilica on the top of the hill – the view was quite spectacular.  We also browsed through the artsy neighborhood nearby that is home to a Salvador Dali exhibition.  The next train that showed up was off duty, and another wasn’t coming for another 20 minutes, so we took the funiculaire ride down the hill (think Pittsburgh incline) and headed back to the flat early to type up this blog.  Wouldn’t you know it, we got off the 13 train and as we were headed for the exit, we realized that dad and Ellen were right in front of us, headed home at exactly the same time!  They had made their way to the Montparnasse tower, a modern skyscraper with a view from the 56^th floor to rival that of Sacre Coeur.  Tomorrow we plan to tackle the Louvre, with Versailles scheduled for Tuesday! 

Also, tonight is the Euro Cup championships in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris.  France is playing Portugal for the title and man is it a BIG deal!  Everywhere we look there are both Portugal and France fans wearing their flags, faces painted.  It's standing room only at all of the cafes and bistros with TVs showing the game.  We're going to watch as soon as we get in, but we won't have to in order to know when there's a score - we'll be able to hear it all around us!