Paris Day 2

We woke up a  little bleary eyed and in need of our coffee and bread at our hotel...

The prospect of a full day if walking around Paris a little daunting with no food in our tummies.  After breakfast we met out in the square, it wasn't the 24 degrees of the day before and T was improvising with some extra layers.

 

First stop was the iconic Moulin Rouge, where 20 years ago SJ used to be a dancer.We got there just after 10am, when everything was empty, SJ asked the lady at the desk if she could just look into the theatre as she had worked there so long ago, to which she was just told 'non'.  A now quite familiar refrain in Paris.

W popped around the corner to the Moulin Rouge shop, which had some pretty stylish bits and pieces

Laden up with our Moulin Rouge bags we headed up the hill towards the stunning Sacre Coeur

From the ridiculous to the sublime, the Sacre Coeur is awe inspiring, with thousands if twinkling candles inside and total silence despite the hundreds of people walking through it, it was very moving.

We wandered around Montmartre like extras from day of the dead, popped into a cafe (and got chased down the street for using the loo..literally) And decided to seek solace in Bon Marche and wine, Bon Marche is one of those 'safe places' like in Breakfast at Tiffany's 'Where nothing bad can happen'.  It is like the Harvey Nicholls of Paris on the left bank.

L Made me laugh when she said that every time she walks past Bon Marche in Balham she wonders what Parisians think of the British name sake.
Paris? Balham? can you spot the difference...

Donatella Versace was shopping with her daughter, they seemed very interested in the Burberry concession and spent ages going through all of the pieces.  The food was good, I think someone may have taken pics so they might get posted later.

The group split, the more cultured ventured to the Musee D'Orsay, the less so stalked Donatella (who really looked very nice compared to all the pics you see on the Daily Mail website), hunted out presents in the Bon Marche food hall....

and then went for hot chocolate so thick that your spoon stands up in it at Les Deux Magots...