Montmartre - Hemingway's Paris

So here we are in Paris, sometimes hard to believe, the home of painters, writers, expatriates, and of course Hemingway!

It really becomes a pilgrimage, doesn't it? Just have to get up early (really), have that first cup of strong coffee and all excited with camera slung over shoulder and full of adrenaline, head again to the metro and start our day in "Montmartre".

Just who hasn't lived here? Artists to this day have studios and paint right below the Sacre Coeur Basilica (which was built from 1876 to 1912).

My favorites among a large group, were Picasso, Modigliani, Van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Dali and many others. Writers, most notably Ernest Hemingway, who wrote in "A Movable Feast" about his rented rooms throughout Montrmartre and the Latin Quarter (my favorite place), and his wanderings on both the Right and Left Banks.


 

He associated with Gertrude Stein, Joyce, and Fitzgerald while living here and sat in cafes that are still operating today. It truly is a great section of Paris to spend time.

But, I presume abit of background is necessary. Montmartre is set on a large hill (130 meters high) in the 18th arrondissement on the Right Bank (being the northern side of the river).

On the day we arrived, it was quite early in the morning, and sunny beyond belief,  just perfect. We passed cafes set up for breakfast down narrow little cobblestone streets, and past many tiny shops selling prints of the artists that resided here.

One narrow passage led into another, until we came out of the shadows and directly in front of us, up an incredibly steep stone staircase, was the white basilica of Sacre Coeur.

By the time you reach the top, you have to stop to get a decent breath and rest for a second, but as you look behind you, what a scene of the city you witness while looking down at the Place duTertre.

We spent some time here, but so many interesting little side streets beckoned and off we went.

Close by in the center of the "decadent" entertainment district from the 19th century, is the "Moulin Rouge", which is still open for business.

 
Lautrec used to frequent it, and do pastel drawings of the can-can girls at night (and I sincerely hope, drink his absinthe in between drawings)...

Walking around wherever the urge takes us, we come to the famous stairs of "Rue Foyatier" that Henri Cartier Bresson photographed, along with so many other artists around every corner that lent their words or paint brushes or photographs to preserving their memories.

Continuing along we talked to various people living here, and of course you are made welcome by the early morning "artists" who will do your portrait for a mere pittance (everyone needs breakfast to start their day, right)?

I was happy to take a little time to speak with various people, just the stories they relate about their lives, not to mention their interesting faces, make it so worth while.

Before you realize it, time is just flying by, and there is so much to see.

You really don't have time to think that your feet are starting to hurt, until the next turn on a cobblestone brings to mind that stinging sensation, is calling for a pair of flats. As it so happens, we pass a little shop selling ballet slippers, what could be better to continue the day in?

As we head down more hills and around curves, we come (without realizing it), to the house where Vincent Van Gogh had lived with his brother Theo for a time. Loved the bright blue door, on that over bright day (no wonder Van Gogh painted with the color palette of such bright hues)...

From the Right Bank, I now am eager to go the Left Bank where Montparnasse and the Latin Quarter are, but it would be a shame to rush the day...