Paris Day Three

 Today was another late start day which began with a subway ride to the Montmatre section of Paris.   Sacre Coure is a huge Catholic basilica

Sacre Coure, Paris

built on a hilltop in the Montmatre section of the city.  There has been organized prayer there every day for over 100 years.  The outside is alabaster

Stairs to Sacre Coure

white.  Beside being a spectacular church it is also known for its view of Paris from atop the mountain.  Some people will say the church was built on a mountain some would say hill.  As someone who walked up to it from the subway (300 or more steep cement steps) it's a mountain. The area surrounding the church is filled with cafes, bakeries and gift shops.

After leaving the church we walked to Moulin Rouge, known in its hey day as the place where

Eiffel Tower

the risqué can-can was performed.   It's surrounded by restaurants and seedy smut shops.

From there we were able to take a city bus to the Eiffel Tower.  While we had already seen it from a distance at night, it was even more impressive up close.  We did not take the time nor spend the energy to go up into it.  Nearby we found a nice cafe for a meal.

We got back on a city bus and got off at the

Champs de Elysees

Arc de Triumph.  Having already been to the Arch de Triumph, our goal was to stroll down the Champs de Elysees.  The Christmas lights along the famous boulevard were all lighted and twinkling.  We stopped at a cafe for a round of Chocolate Choud (hot chocolate).   It does seem like the wait staff didn't care how long we lingered even with such a small order.   We made it back to our apartment by about 7:30, in time to prepare for our departure tomorrow.