Montmartre is a beautiful neighborhood, and the weather has been more agreeable than most days. Couple that with it being a weekend, and it seems as though the whole of France was in our neighborhood. Checking google maps, it seemed as though most sites in the neighborhood were busier than usual.

Wanting to be able to keep our distance a bit better than we were able to last night, we called today a “park day”. A day we could spend outside, enjoying the fresh air and scenery.

The first park we stopped at was the park leading up to Sácre-Cœur: Square Louise Michel. This park is recognizable from the film “Amélie”, as is much of Montmartre. We passed some time enjoying the excellent people watching, including some scammers at work, as well as wannabe social media influencers and their long suffering partners.

Afterwards, we went inside of Sácre-Cœur. It’s a beautiful basilica, inside and out. But my favorite feature (other than the pig gargoyle) is the park behind it. I was there once in 2010 during the summer time, which obviously will look a little nicer than the middle of winter. It did not disappoint! It was very quiet, with only a handful of other groups there, and lots of seating. It’s so refreshing to be out in public spaces without having to be shoulder to shoulder with strangers in a pandemic.

After spending the rest of the afternoon reading and napping, we ventured off to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Service was slow to the point of non-existent after getting our mulled wine and hot cocoa. I think they weren’t expecting outside diners, but were very happy to take our order once I went inside and told them we were eating. The food was fine… not amazing. I got a steak and salad, Jessie got duck confit and french onion soup. But the price was right, and it was hardly crowded.

After dinner, we walked home, past the Sácre-Cœur, down the hill, and over to our apartment. Tomorrow being a monday, hopefully everybody’s back at work, and we won’t have to be so crowded!

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