Paris.. a quieter day, then Moulin Rouge

A quieter start to the day as we woke up to light rain outside. The rain had cleared up by the time we'd finished our breakfast - toasted cheese sandwich and pod coffee at the apartment - breakfast of champions 🏆

We decided to explore the local area this morning with a walk up the hill to visit Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. The views of Paris were quite spectacular, and we arrived before the crowds got too intense. While we walked up the rather steep hill, many others arrived by bus tour, furnicular or the garrish tourist road train.

We wandered through the inside of the basilica, which contained an ornately painted ceiling and much stained glass. We then wandered around the nearby cobblestone streets, which were pretty but very touristy. We wandered around for some time before winding back down the hill near Moulin Rouge - it was a popular stop off point for tour groups.

It was now midday, and we were ready for lunch. We walked back towards our apartment and down Rue du Martyrs, where there are lots of cafes and restaurants. We settled on Cafe Marguerite, where I had a croque monsieur, and Gayle got a pasta dish. We washed it down with a 0.5l chenin blanc.

We wound our way through the local streets afterwards to help digest our lunch before heading back to the apartment to relax, i.e., arvo nap. We have an 11.30pm show at Moulin Rouge, so we really need the nanna nap to get through. It's probably also jet lag making us a bit sleepy 😴

We walked up to Moulin Rouge for the 11.30 pm show, arriving early enough to settle in for some champagne. I had booked the prestige package, and it did not disappoint! We were escorted to a private area before the show to relax with a 🍸 Our seats were on the balcony directly in front of the stage! More champagne (a bottle) at the table, plus show gifts and macaroons, and the show was really awesome! A late night for us old folk 😄, walked back to the apartment through the somewhat seedy red light district!Read more