France day 2-3/17, Madeleine and Montmartre

Later in our second day, after arriving in France from the overnight flight, we went on a prearranged, guided walking tour near our hotel, with Rafael of "Urban Adventures". The hotel is in the Madeleine district, not far from the Louvre. This photo of Gary and Susan was taken outside the Louvre.

On our third day, we started with another walking tour by "Urban Adventures", this time with Ellen. (Visit Ellen's personal web site at https://www.pembroke-music.com/https://www.pembroke-music.com/, this is her band.) In the photo is Gary's first official sit-down with an espresso at a real Parisian café, in the Montmartre neighborhood. In the background is a boulanger/patissier (bakery and pastry shop). In Paris, you might see a boulanger who bakes only bread/croissants and not sweetened goods, whereas an American "bakery" would almost always serve anything that comes out of an oven, sweet or otherwise.

By the way, our hotel serves American-style coffee, not fantastically flavorful but OK to get our morning started. In Montmartre, I did not discuss the menu with the staff person (he seemed to be the owner or manager). The espresso was great. I will look for a chance to have a coffee discussion later when I have a little more time and can maybe try a couple products.

In Montmartre, we zigged and zagged until we reached the top of the hill where stands the Basilica of Sacré Coeur. I am still sorting through photos, maybe later.

I have been joking about my limited ability to speak French with the person who has been at our hotel's front desk the last couple days, so I told her upon returning from Montmartre, "Nous parlons avec Picasso, il n'est pas mort."

Look it up.