Paris: The City of Cities – My Travel Notions

Even an overcast and rainy day shines bright in the “City of Light.” Its old world charm carries with it a distinctive Parisienne flair and I’m happy to basque in its glow once again.

When I got off the airplane this morning, I boarded the Le Bus Direct to the Eiffel Tower and casually walked to my hotel at the end of the Rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement. I did not sleep on the plane and even though I was tired, there was just no way I was going to lay down and rest. Thankfully, I scheduled an afternoon walking tour.

The kind receptionist at my hotel told me where to get a pack of 10 carnets, single metro and bus tickets. And, then where to catch the Bus, #69 to get to the Marais to begin my walking tour. Any Rick Steves aficionado, coming to Paris, knows that the #69 bus gives you the best overview of Paris’ major sites. And, it is also known for it’s pickpockets. But the only thing that ended up happening today was that I enjoyed the views and got to the Marais in time enough to enjoy my walking tour and put sleep at bay for a few hours while enjoying the City of Light.

This six week adventure begins today in Paris, the very first city I ever wanted to see when the thought of international travel was just that, a thought some 13 years ago.

For this adventure, I will be meeting friends in Paris and from here we head to Rabat, Morocco, for a two week tour plus a couple of days in Tetouan, Morocco, before spending 10 days on our own in Spain. From Spain, I board a plane to Skopje, Macedonia, to tour Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Dubrovnik, Croatia before returning home in late May.

For now, here’s a snippet of Paris’ 4th arrondissement, The Marais.

No matter the weather, Paris, France, still shines. The walk from the Le Bus Direct stop at the Eiffel Tower to my hotel by the Rue Cler neighborhood was invigorating. Exactly what I needed to wake up the brain cells and keep jet lag at bay. Me and Paris’ Eiffel Tower. (April 9, 2019)

A side street off the Boulevard Beaumarchais in Paris’ Marais neighborhood. (April 9, 2019)

According to my Discovery Walks guide of the “Trendy Marais Walking Tour,” each of Paris’ 20 arrondissements, including the Marais, has to provide social housing where the rents are controlled. These apartments, mainly for families, are in the same courtyard and just across from where the wealthier tenants live. (April 9, 2019)

These are the wealthier homes within the same square and courtyard of the rent controlled, or social housing units at the Marais in Paris. (April 9, 2019)

A former nobleman’s home along Rue Saint Giles in Le Marais, translated means marsh which it once was, but is now the historic district in Paris. (April 9, 2019)

The beautiful architecture and motorcycles lined street in the Marais, the historic district of Paris. (April 9, 2019)

The Pavillion de la Reine of the Place des Vosges, originally Place Royale, the oldest planned square in the Marais, the historic district of Paris. It was a fashionable and expensive square to live in during the 17th and 18th centuries and that has not changed. (April 9, 2019)

One of four fountains at the Place des Vosges, originally Place Royale, in the Marais, the historic district of Paris. (April 9, 2019)

The manicured trees at the Place des Vosges, originally Place Royale, in the Marais, the historic district of Paris. (April 9, 2019)

The bricked arcade at the Place des Vosges, originally Place Royale, in the Marais, the historic district of Paris. (April 9, 2019)

The Hôtel de Sully’s Gardens, near the Place des Vosges in the Marais, the historic district of Paris. (April 9, 2019)

The Marais, Paris’ historic district. (April 9, 2019)

The Paris-Synagogue Guimard rue Pavee in the Marais. (April 9, 2019)

Paris’ historic district of the Marais. (April 9, 2019)

A small part of The Wall of Philip Augustus, considered the oldest city wall of Paris is part of the Joseph Migneret Garden in the Marais. (April 9, 2019)

The Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais church, built in the 13th century and embellished in the 17th in Paris’ historic district of the Marais. (April 9, 2019)

The ornate and beautiful red door of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais church, built in the 13th century and embellished in the 17th in Paris’ historic district of the Marais. (April 9, 2019)

I’m not even sure I knew what I was doing when I booked a Montmartre morning walking tour and an afternoon “Secrets of Paris,” bike riding tour, but I did both in one day. And, I am unscathed and alive to tell the tales. Both were exhilarating…just not in the same day.

I met my Montmartre walking tour at the Blanche metro station by the famed and touristy Moulin Rouge where we proceeded to walk up to Paris’ highest points the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur and its gorgeous views of Paris. I climbed down, literally 250 stairs to get to the metro in time to make my biking tour “Paris Charms & Secrets” at the very posh Place Vendôme. What an extraordinary day even in cool weather and overcast skies, Paris just gleams.

Check out the Montmartre, Sacré-Coeur and amazing finds during my electric bike tour through Paris.

Me at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre at the highest point in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

Before I made it to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre, I began my Discover Walks tour at the Moulin Rouge, a cabaret in Paris. The original house, burned down in 1915, but was founded in 1889 during rhe Belle Époque period of peace and optimism. The red grain mill windmill is only one of two still standing in Montmartre. (April 10, 2019)

The hilly streets of Paris’ Montmartre district and the second Montmartre windmill, the Moulin de la Galette. (April 10, 2019)

Looking down, after climbing up the steep Montmartre streets in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

These public drinking fountains, small cast-iron sculptures are called Wallace Fountains, can be seen throughout Paris. This one is in Montmartre. They are named after the Englishman Richard Wallace, who financed their construction. (April 10, 2019)

The second windmill in the Montmartre district of Paris is the Moulin de la Galette also known as Blute-fin, was built in 1622. The name Blute-fin comes from the French verb bluter which means sifting flour for the separation from bran. The windmill now marks the entrance to a bistro named Le Moulin de la Galette. (April 10, 2019)

It’s the wealthiest and most expensive street in the Montmartre, Avenue Junot, with rather exquisite Paris homes. (April 10, 2019)

The Avenue Junot, with its expensive homes in the Montmartre also has this park or square called Suzanne-Buisson with a statue of Saint Denis, a member of the French Resistance. A Christian martyr and saint, the legend of Saint Denis claims the decapitated bishop picked up his head and walked several miles while preaching a sermon on repentance. (April 10, 2019)

A close-up of the Saint Denis beheaded statue in a small Montmartre park called Suzanne-Buisson in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

Another gorgeous hilly street in the Montmartre district of Paris with the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in the distance. (April 10, 2019)

The gorgeous hilly street in the Montmartre district of Paris. (April 10, 2019)

A vineyard in the Rue Saint-Vincent of Paris’ Montmartre district. (April 10, 2019)

The stairs of Montmartre in Paris’s 18th arrondissement is primarily known for its artistic history and the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit. (April 10, 2019)

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre at the highest point in Paris. The foundation stone for the basilica was laid June 16, 1875. The site of the basilica has been around since pagan times through the Middle Ages and French Revolution. (April 10, 2019)

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre at the highest point in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

The domes of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris’ Montmartre. (April 10, 2019)

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica portico, with its three arches, is adorned by two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

Inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre at the highest point in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

The views of Paris from the hillside of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre considered Paris’ highest point. (April 10, 2019)

Just another view of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre at the highest point in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

Walking through the posh shopping area to get to the Place Vendôme square for my “Paris Charms & Secrets,” electric bike tour of Paris. (April 10, 2019)

The Vendôme Column in the Place Vendôme square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris was started in 1806 at Napoléon Bonaparte’s direction and completed in 1810 to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz. Bonaparte was a French statesman and military leader. The “Paris Charms & Secrets” bike tour began at the Place Vendôme. (April 10, 2019)

French statesman and military leader, Napoléon Bonaparte’s statue at the top of the Vendôme Column in the Place Vendôme square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. (April 10, 2019)

A close-up of a portion of the Vendôme Column in the Place Vendôme square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris was started in 1806 at Napoléon Bonaparte’s direction and completed in 1810 to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz. Bonaparte was a French statesman and military leader. (April 10, 2019)

Showing off my electric bike at the Louvre Museum in Paris during my “Paris Charms & Secrets” bike riding tour. I found this tour on Airbnb. (April 10, 2019)

Riding along the River Seine towards the Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

Riding up toward the Notre Dame Cathedral to the left and a gorgeous Paris building to the right. (April 10, 2019)

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. (April 10, 2019)

Our “Paris Charms &Secrets” bike tour guide, Kostas, showing us what use to be a Roman theatre, Arènes de Lutèce in a small park tucked behind apartment blocks in the Latin Quarter of Paris’ Left Bank. It was part of the ancient Roman city of Lutetia, the predecessor of present-day Paris. (April 10, 2019)

One of many discoveries along my “Paris Charms & Secrets” bike tour the Cour du Commerce Saint-André an adorable passageway built in 1776 which houses restaurants and small boutiques. (April 10, 2019)

The Cour du Commerce Saint-André is an adorable passageway built in 1776 along the Boulevard St. Germain in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

Saint-Sulpice, a Roman Catholic church in Paris, was erected over a Romanesque church originally constructed during the 13th century. Construction began in 1646 to designs which had been created in 1636. Saint-Sulpice is famous from author Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” book and movie. Another jewel I got to see during my “Paris Charms & Secrets,” bike riding tour. (April 10, 2019)

The inner choir with pilasters and statues inside Saint-Sulpice, a Roman Catholic church in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

The pulpit inside Saint-Sulpice, a Roman Catholic church in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

French artist Eugène Delacroix added murals (1855–1861) to Saint-Sulpice, a Roman Catholic church in Paris, that adorn the walls of the Chapel of the Holy Angels. This is the Heliodorus Driven from the Temple. (April 10, 2019)

The Fontaine Saint-Sulpice across from the Saint-Suplice Catholic Church in Paris. (April 10, 2019)

The Panthéon ion Paris’ Latin Quarter was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. The foundations were laid in 1758, but due to economic problems work proceeded slowly. (April 10, 2019)

Found the Opera Metro station and and behold there’s Paris’ gorgeous house, the Palais Garnier. I will have to save seeing it for my next trip to Paris. Today was just too fully booked. (April 10, 2019)

Art and Paris just go together. And, no matter where you go, there’s art, even at the cemetery. I did a morning walking tour of the Père Lachaise Cemetery or city of the dead with its more than two million deceased crammed throughout more than 100 acres of elaborate tomb monuments and a columbaria for the urns of the cremated deceased.

Still recovering from yesterday’s full out excursions, I took the afternoon off and just enjoyed the Rue Cler, a pedestrian market street around the corner from my hotel in Paris’ 7th arrondissement.

And, in the evening, it was time to meet up with most of my traveling posse, Alice, Tammy and Janet, for dinner. The four of us met on the Rick Steves Turkey tour and have stayed in touch. Plus, I’ve traveled with Alice and Tammy. And, Saturday, the four of us leave for a tour of Morocco, along with Anita, a new acquaintance.

But for now, here’s more about the Père Lachaise Cemetery and the Rue Cler market street in Paris.

Me at the street level entrance to the Alexandre Dumas metro station, the meeting spot for this morning’s “Père Lachaise Gravestone Walking Tour.” These French art nouveau station entrances were constructed in cast iron between 1900 and 1912 using plant symbols. The station is named after French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) of Haitian and African Caribbean descent who wrote historical novels of high adventure including The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. (April 11, 2019)

Our Père Lachaise Cemetery guide, Brad, giving us a bit of history about the cemetery before we enter, which opened on the outskirts of Paris in 1804. (April 11, 2019)

The reunion gate entrance into the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The more than 100 acres Père Lachaise Cemetery is notable for being the first garden cemetery, as well as the first municipal cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

Édith Piaf, a French vocalist, songwriter, cabaret performer and film actress, she is the country’s country’s most widely known international star. Born Édith Giovanna Gassion on Dec. 19, 1915, she died Oct. 10, 1963 and is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

This memorial at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris honors the 13,500 French martyrs murdered b the Nazis at the Neuengamme camp. There are several powerful monuments and memorials to the Jewish people who suffered and died in the Holocaust. The Neuengamme camp became the largest concentration camp in Northwest Germany. (April 11, 2019)

The Dachau Memorial at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris honors those who were imprisoned, died or put to death at this Nazi concentration and extermination camp outside of Munich, Germany. (April 11, 2019)

Our cemetery/gravestone guide, Brad, standing to the right of the plain and un-cared for gravesite of Gertrude Stein at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Stein was an American novelist, poet, playwright and art collector who moved to Paris in 1903 and made France her home for the remainder of her life Feb. 3, 1874 to July 27, 1946. She hosted a Paris salon, where the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Henri Matisse, would meet. (April 11, 2019)

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who is best remembered for his epigrams and plays along with his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” He became one of London’s celebrated playwrights but life circumstances including his criminal conviction for homosexuality and imprisonment led to his early death at age 46. His tomb at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is one of the most visited tombs at the cemetery. (April 11, 2019)

A close-up of Oscar Wilde’s tomb with still a few red lip kisses to the side of his tomb at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. There’s a sign up that the gravestone be respected and not sullied because the cleaning fees are exclusively paid for by the family. Supposedly the red lipstick, which at one time was seen all over the gravestone, was causing it to deteriorate. (April 11, 2019)

This unusual tomb at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is a life-sized bronze statue of Victor Noir (1848-1870). He was tragically murdered at the age of 22 by the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte who was never charged. Noir was a promising French journalist. (April 11, 2019)

A close-up of the life-sized, rather lifelike, bronze sculpture of Victor Noir who was murdered at the age of 22 and buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The columbarium, where the cremated remains are placed, at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (1798- 1863) a painter and muralist was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic with his expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists. This is his monument and resting place at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

Street signs at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The park-like bricked curved walking street inside the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The tomb of American singer, songwriter, poet and lead vocalist of the Doors rock band, James Douglas Morrison’s (Dec. 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) tomb is at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Since his death, his fame has endured as one of popular culture’s most rebellious icons, representing the generation gap and youth counterculture. (April 11, 2019)

The Frédéric Chopin monument at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Chopin (1810-1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for solo piano. His body is buried at the cemetery in Paris, but not his heart. It was taken to Warsaw, as requested by the composer on his deathbed. (April 11, 2019)

The casualness, the smile and the rose in his hand caught my eye. This is Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (1747-1825) monument at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. A French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist, Denon was also the first director of the appointed as the Louvre museum. (April 11, 2019)

Strolling through the park-like Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The mausoleum of Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann (1809-1891) at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. He was chosen by Emperor Napoleon III to carry out a massive urban renewal program of new boulevards, parks and public works that still dominates central Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The main entrance of Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The Rue Cler, the quintessential Parisian traffic free neighborhood street, that offers fine living with fine dining and everything in between including, wine, cheese, meats, fruits, vegetables, chocolate and more in Paris’ 7th arrondissement. (April 11, 2019)

The Rue Cler Street in Paris’ 7th arrondissement. (April 11, 2019)

The Rue Cler considered one of the best market streets in Paris. There’s a little bit of everything, restaurants, specialty food stores, pastry shops, butchers, delicatessens, cheese specialists, fishmongers, greengrocers, chocolate shops and cafés. Most of the street is a pedestrian area and still has its original cobblestones. This authentic market street is where the locals go to buy their favorite foods or sit on one of the many café terraces to watch the world go by. (April 11, 2019)

The Davoli on Rue Cler street in Paris is an Italian delicatessen that sells homemade specialties from Italian sausages and meats to pasta and Italian cheeses. (April 11, 2019)

A close-up of the Davoli Italian delicatessen on Rue Cler in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The busy, cobblestone street of the Rue Cler in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The wine and cheese shops of the Rue Cler in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

Tammy, Alice and Janet walking down the street of the Rue Cler in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

Fresh fruits and vegetables along with apartment living along the cobblestone Rue Cler street in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The people watching cafes on Rue Cler street in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

Tammy, Alice and Janet checking out a restaurant menu along the Rue Cler in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

On our walk down the Rue Cler we passed the Lipault Paris – Saint Dominique store in Paris. We all use the 55/20 Lipault carry-on luggage. (April 11, 2019)

We initially met on a Rick Steves tour of Turkey in May 2015 and now we’re hanging out in Paris and heading to Morocco on Saturday for an Imprint Tour of Morocco. From left, Janet, me, Alice and Tammy. We’re having our first group dinner at Constant Cafe on Rue Saint-Dominique off of Rue Cler. The restaurant is run by Michelin-starred chef Christian Constant. (April 11, 2019)

Oddly enough, we all ordered the very filling, tender and delicious beef stew at the Constant Cafe on Rue Saint-Dominique in Paris. (April 11, 2019)

The beef stew, at the Constant Cafe on Rue Saint-Dominique in Paris, was so hot that it was still boiling when it was served. (April 11, 2019)

A visit to one of Paris’ oldest outdoor neighborhood food markets became a treat for the palate and a lesson in French cuisine under the guidance of a quintessential Parisian foodie. Her name is Natasha and she was a wealth of food knowledge.

Alice, my travel mate, a foodie and gourmet cook herself, had taken Natasha’s tour before and suggested we all take her tour as a small, private group. This led us to spending the early afternoon sampling a variety of sheep, goat and cow cheeses along with pâté, foie gras and salamis. Throw in a delicate sweet confection along with wine…of course…and for a few hours I became a Parisienne foodie.

After the food tour, we walked off the bread, pâté, foie gras, cheeses, wine and other edibles when we made our way to see the stunning Van Gogh Starry Night immersive exhibition at the Atelier des Lumières.

It’s our last day in Paris. Tomorrow, Alice, Tammy, Janet, Anita and I head to Rabat to begin our Imprint Tour of Morocco. Au revoir Paris! Marhabaan Rabat!