Bon soir from Paris

Cher amis et famille
That would be actually bonjour from Montmartre,the arty bit of Paris,and the most hilly. We got here yesterday afternoon by train from Amsterdam. That was a great trip and very easy to accomplish. (I am trying to type this on a keyboard that only likes French so everything I type nearly is currently underlined in red, which is a bit unnerving for an English teacher!)

Anyway we found our way here (Hotel de Relais, Rue Constance) with little problem at all as it was only a latter of one change on the Metro and a walk of a few blocks.We are only just around the corner from the Cafe which featured in the movie "Amelie" so you can see that this is a very authentic area. It is also the centre of the girlie shows and sex shops. Evidently this hotel used to be a rent by the hour hotel a few iterations ago. Yesterday we got our bearings around this neighbourhood and walked a good bit before finding a cafe for a simple meal and another for a glass or two of wine!

This morning we walked much further around this area and took ourselves up onto the top of Montmartre where the church of Sacre Coeur gives the best view of Paris.Today it was a bit misty, but there were still plenty of people visiting. The Place du Tertre nearby, traditionally the haunt of artists (Picasso, Dali et al). was practically ring-fenced with artists' easels. Even when you broke through them, it was very hard to get away from those who were wandering around with clipboards, trying to get you to stop still for a portrait (15 euros) It was interesting, while we were in Amsterdam, to see how Van Gogh had painted the windmills of this hill (used to grind flour) when he was here about 1886. The place he stayed in is also just up the street. Now, the whole of this area is very settled indeed and there is only a bit of room left in the Montmartre cemetery, which we also visited today. Anyway,we must go and enjoy Paris a bit more!