More Paris!

 Picking up where I left off- our B & B was just a few blocks from the Pompidou Center, where there were sculptures representing Stravinsky pieces. Keith was anxious to go there! This museum was very unique in structure, with the escalators outside the buildings in tubes. You can imagine how well that worked for the person with a fear of heights!

We had lunch at another outdoor cafe, but this was right in the area of the Pompidou- next to the sculptures! It was easily the best food we had in Paris, called the Dame Tartine. We were entertained by a dog and his owner playing frisbie.

Our waiter was nice enough to take a picture for us! He also was pretty cute- coming to take our order          ( speaking French) I must have had the 'deer in the headlights' look, as he laughed and then asked, "menu in Spanish or English?" It gave us a good giggle.
We lucked out also, as this was our anniversary, and we just happened by a poster of a Vivaldi concert that night! We waited in line for almost an hour to see if there was anything available, and amazingly enough- we got in. This was at the Saint Chapell Cathedral, noted for its stain glass windows, and a place we had wanted to tour, but the lines were SO long- and security was really tight  and kind of frightening, military people with machine guns,( we'd find out why a little later), we gave up on it earlier in the day, only to find ourselves INSIDE at a concert that evening. The concert was lovely, and as an even more special surprise, a piece not listed on the concert was played, and it was Pachelbel's Canon, the piece that Kathy walked in to at her wedding!!  Yes, this Mom teared up.

We also toured the West Bank that day, and visited the Shakespeare Bookstore-

We became very fond of our double door entrance to the Bed and Breakfast- here are a couple of shots I took there.

It was a very comfortable place, and we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves.
The next day, Day 6 if you're counting- we had fresh raspberries and cream for breakfast, and took a baguette and cheese along on our trek to Montmartre. We rode the Metro for the first time that day-

This is part of Keith (!) on the Metro. We were really pleased to have navigated our way there, getting the tickets, and finding the right line to take us where we were going, and not without difficulty, as the first train we got on stopped at the next location, had an announcement (in French) and everyone got off! We followed with NO idea what was going on, but happily, figured out to wait for the next one which came through just a few minutes later. The line ran underground as well as above, so part of the time we could see the city whizzing by. It was a pretty neat experience. Similar to the NYC subways, but somehow more friendly and less frantic.

We went to La Basilique du Sacré Coeur, 

It again involved many steps, and this time- in the rain! Visitors were able to enter even during Mass, which I felt a bit uneasy about, but we did it anyway! It was beautiful, and the service was breathtaking- even though I didn't understand a word! Some things don't need language. Leaving there, we met 3 college age folks who heard us talking, and were SO excited to find English speaking people. It was really cute. They stopped for Keith to take my picture, and when I said "thank you!" the guys about fell over they were so happy to hear someone from America!

We found the Dali Museum that Keith really wanted to see, and Keith got an "old" ticket! It was a funny moment with the girl selling tickets.

Here is Keith studying some of the information- you can see a huge Dali photo in the background.

We left the Dali Museum and promptly got lost in Montmartre. It was pretty cool and rainy, so wandering lost wasn't very pleasant! Happily, I found a warm spot for our lunch, taking a cue from homeless in New York- we parked above a Metro grate!

Keith thought it was hilarious- I thought it to be pretty smart!

Eventually, we found the Montmartre Museum where Renoir, Utillo, LaTrec and Soutine had lived. We also met a Chat Noir- for real!

                                  and this poster was on display in the museum!
 We found our way back down the hill to the Metro, and found it to be much more crowded than the morning trip. We went back to our new favorite place, the Dame Tartine for our last meal in Paris, and then returned to the B&B to pack for the next leg of our journey-Montenegro. Our taxi was coming at 5 a.m., and our lovely hostess actually got up and had coffee ready for us at 4:30!!! We also found out that the new President's inauguration was the day before-that was why there was so much security and military with machine guns everywhere! Leaving Paris-  Next stop- Podgorica, Montenegro!