Zipper City Blog: France Part 1: From Montmarte

Erin in I arrived in France at Charles de Gaulle Airport and took the train & subway into Paris and ultimately to our Airbnb on Montmarte - the tallest hill in the City of Light. Montmarte was originally a separate village with wineries and windmills and some famous artists as residents. The hill is topped with the church Sacré-Coeur(which can be seen from all over the city) and at the edge of the neighborhood is the red light district of Pigale which is where the legendary Moulin Rouge is. Our room had an amazing view of the Parisian skyline including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame- I stood at the window for a long time when we first arrived(above photo). So this was our home base for the first couple days in France and these are some of the photo I took during that period.

Rooftops - looking right out of our window.

In front of the financial district(if clicking through to a larger size on Flickr) you can see Notre Dame.

We headed out on our first walk for some food - this is looking up at Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

Farther down the hill - again looking up at Sacré-Cœur.

One of the original Art Nouveau entrances to the subway or La Métropolitain or simply Metro.

Our first lunch stop was Buvette - a spot on Erin's list. I was in a bit of a daze from the travel, lack of sleep and overwhelming feeling of actually being in Paris so I don't remember what we ate - but I remember it was good. Also, had my first French craft beer.

We wandered around and then over to a bottle shop we had read about. I had a Belgian craft beer, Erin a French and we picked up a few for the room. We talked to the owner a bit and he said French craft beer was starting to come along(mostly in Paris) and with the help of some French brewers who had visited and learned in the US. We drank a lot of good beer in France because we sought it out - most of the cafes and brasseries still serve lots of wine and a few macro brews. If you think in contrast how now at even the dive-y-est bar in the States there will usually be a craft handle or bottle.

Most of the non-French beer was from Belgium and the UK but we did see some stuff from home too.

I don't think we had a major destination the rest of the afternoon/evening - we just walked and took photos.

We had great light too.

The architecture is exactly what you imagine but the vibe was more NYC than I expected - lots of bustle, crazy city driving, fast walking and noise. Its a big , well, gigantic city - I shouldn't have expected less.

This closed down street was turned into a skate park - there were a few of these around town - a great idea.

We ended up our evening back on top of Montmarte.

Sacré-Cœur - we didn't make it very late as jet lag was getting to us - but we did watch the Eiffel Tower light up from our room before we passed out.

This was out first boulangerie experience - French bakery. If they have boulangerie in the name everything has to be made in house. We didn't go a day without stopping in at least one - and they were all fantastic - I love baked goods. The hardest thing was choosing what to get.

After our morning treats Erin would usually have a more modern-style coffee shop picked out(the espressos at the bakeries just didn't cut it for these two nerds). This was a pretty rad one with a cycling theme.

We also hit a lot of farmer's markets. France already had a lot of local produce available - this is Erin capturing some delicious strawberries.

Room With A View. I loved this seat at our Airbnb.

So here they come - the Eiffel Tower pics. A friend was saying to me how you almost don't want to like it - its so cliche - but it doesn't matter how many photos you have seen it is simply stunning in person. I honestly got emotional when we rounded the corner from the subway station and it came into view. I don't think people who haven't been to Paris realize how massive it is(I didn't) - it is taller than the Chrysler Building and it straddles 3.5 acres.

It wasn't the perfect time of day for photos - but it was one of the nicest days of our trip.

Erin getting photo bombed by a bird.

l'art

Selfie-takers and photographers everywhere. You could tell a lot of people were dressed for their "big moment".

I shot this with my 85mm to try and give a sense of the scale.

I'd say the season in Paris seemed to be about a month ahead of us - so even though all the parks weren't in full bloom there was green and flowers around.

Our Eiffel Selfie

We didn't go up. You pretty much need a reservation(which book months in advance) not to spend all day in line. As all the guide books say - there are better views of Paris elsewhere. We just didn't want to commit to a time or spend our trip in lines. I was mostly just curious about what the inside looks like. There are three different levels and they have shops, bars, exhibits, and restaurants. If we ever go back I would probably do it - but at this point I don't regret my decision.

From the Champs de Mars

Do you think there is an angle of the tower that hasn't been photographed? It is the most visited paid monument in the world.

Roue de Paris - this is a transportable Ferris Wheel. Or as I like to call it - The Paris Ferris.

The Louvre in Light

The Palais Garnier - for the Paris Opera

Another good craft beer spot - The Hoppy Corner.

This is the face I usually get when I make one of my "funny jokes".

"Hoppy"

Breakfast in the sun - this was a little square not far from our spot.

The View

Another great modern coffee shop.

We walked through the tourist spots on Montmarte this day - this was just a shot I liked.

We took a stroll around the Montmarte Cemetery which was very nice and peaceful - had it mostly to ourselves.

It is below street level in a former gypsum mine - it started to be used in the 1800s when Paris banned burials within the city limits and the bodies where being exhumed and moved to the famous catacombs.