Paris: Montmartre Chapter 38

August 03, 2015 Montmartre was one of my ‘must go-to-places’ during my short stay in Paris, largely

due to the street artists and its historic relevance in the art world. Montmartre signifies the ‘mountain of martyr’ aptly named after the decapitation of Saint Denis around 250 AD who at that time was the Bishop of Paris.

I started my journey to Montmartre at the Paris Gare de l'Est and managed quite easily to make my way to Montmartre via the train and got off at the Barbès - Rochechouart station. And then it’s about a 1 km walk towards the base of the hill leading to Sacré-Cœur Basilica, my first stop of the morning. The narrow streets were filled with many, many tourists window shopping as they progressed up the street peering into the art and souvenirs shops/boutiques. There was also a few street ‘performers’ who were playing some game with the tourists mostly … basically a shell game using 3 cups and an object. Photos were forbidden!

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It was most pleasant to walk with some of the streets having little to no car traffic. After arriving at the base of the hill leading up to the Basilica there is this lovely carousel reminding me of the ones made back in my hometown of Buffalo, NY by the Wurlitzer Co. The foreground to the Basilica is now known as Square Louis Michel, though, it is still known by its original name. Willette. Louise Michel

(1830-1905) was a grade school teacher and a heroine of the Commune of Paris. Given my background I couldn’t help but notice the Gingko, Magnolias, Figs, Osage Orange trees in the Square which serves as the main entrance leading up to the Basilica. After milling about for a while, I proceeded to climb the 300 steps leading up to the Basilica.

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The construction of the Basilica dates back to 1875 shortly after France was defeated by Prussia. Interesting that the construction time took 7 architects to see it through until its completion in

1919. At the mid-way point of the ascent to the Basilica are these fountains.

Further up there was this gentlemen playing beautifully on a harp … for me a rare occurrence & helped to make the day that

much more memorable. The remaining steps to the Basilica … such a gorgeous building in the Gothic style cloaked in hard, fine-grained white travertine stone.

The interior was no less beautiful …

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The feel & ambiance was indeed inspiring & even the scale model on display was well done giving one a nice perspective of the entire building.

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After leaving the Basilica I made my way down onto the city streets & rested here at the Au Rendez-Vous for some lunch. Watching the people passing by, interacting & looking exhausted was strangely entertaining to me. The food was also good & I so wanted to kick back with a glass of wine (after all I am in France) and had a very small glass, after all I still had a lot of exploring ahead of me. When finished, I packed up my gear and headed out to walk the streets and explore. I kept a map in my pocket (just in case) and tried to lose myself in the steep and cobbled streets of one of the most historic and interesting neighborhoods in Paris. As I started my meandering, I came across a ‘street artist’ who approached me to do a rendering & started to draw & chat even though I hadn’t agreed … but he was engaging & obviously well rehearsed for plying his trade & making some money. After about 15 minutes it

turned out to be a delightful interchange & I gave him what I could afford but not what he was asking. The drawing I felt didn’t look anything like me but who knows … it was fun nonetheless.

There were many interesting buildings I saw but this one in particular caught my eye … it’s the first water tower built in Montmartre around 1840 to help out with the feeble water supply at the time. Apparently this is all that’s left according to some sources suggesting there was more to the building at one time in its history.

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After this I came upon the Musee de Montmartre located at 12 rue Cortot. This building (being the oldest in , 17th century) served as the residence of many artists such as Emile Bernard, Auguste Renoir, Raoul Dufy, etc. Aside from the wonderful collection of paintings there is also the Renoir gardens in memory of Renoir’s residence here from 1985-77. I enjoyed walking the gardens & imagining myself in his time & place … it was relaxing visit for sure.

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I thought it a bit unusual to see a vineyard as part of an art museum but how delightful to ‘discover’ it beyond the actual garden area.

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A truly delightful ‘backyard’ for relaxing on what was a salubrious afternoon … The following photo describes best the time period when this area was in its “hey day”

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Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre was the last place I stopped by on the way back to my hotel room. What drew me inside was the sound of melodic organ music being played at the time. So I stepped inside & took a seat to relax some more. Photos inside were discouraged but the interior was beautifully simple in comparison to other churches I have visited. This because the architect believed that buildings should be "truthful" in displaying their structure. Decoration was acceptable only where it complemented the structure rather

than concealing it. I later found that this church was designed by Anatole de Baudot in 1894-1904 and is known for his use of reinforced concrete, a relatively new concept in construction, attributed to Paul

Cottancin who designed the structural system for Anatole. This insight brought back my days of designing concrete pavements & use of reinforcing, inevitable cracks, etc.

All in all, the day was a glorious day which I thoroughly enjoyed so much. I left that evening to head back to Thailand thinking I would like to return again someday. Unfortunately, in the weeks & months that followed, the terrorist attacks in Paris left wondering if my thoughts of returning would ever materialize.

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