Montmartre is a hill (the butte Montmartre) which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district. The other, older, church on the hill is Saint Pierre de Montmartre, which claims to be the location at which the Jesuit order of priests was founded. Many artists had studios or worked around the community of Montmartre such as Salvador Dalí, Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films.
First we went to a pancake restaurant with Christophe, Maxim and Myriam, where the dinners were encouraged to perform - they had a piano which was a bit out of tune. Maxim played nicely before an elegant looking Scottish played and sung beautifully.
I was quite excited when we came across "Le Lapin Agile" when walking with Colleen, it is a charming and historic part of Paris, which you can potter around, away from the traffic, it is packed with beautiful buildings, statues and gardens. It is easy to pass the time around here, either taking a coffee, maybe grab something at a patisserie or "faire la leche vitrine" (lit. "lick the windows" and rather more sensual than the English "window shopping"). Although obviously a bit of a tourist trap, it is an oasis of calm in this hectic city.
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