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Subway Paris France 
Rosie has come to the conclusion it only rains in the afternoon in Paris.  So saying Rosie and The Operator were out early and headed for the subway at 0830 to take us out to the Sacre Coeur.  Les Gobelins is our subway station about 500 meters from the hotel.  We bought a Mobilis ticket from the vending machine at the station which allows to use the metro and RER networks anywhere within the city for 1 day =  E6.40.  The metro is easy to use, it is well colour coded and numbered, all you need to know is the terminus of the line you are on to get the right direction.
Subway Paris France 
The metro here is a well oiled machine, trains every three minutes, clean stations and carriages and what seemed to be an abundance of police everywhere keeping an eye on things.  I was holding my mobile phone and a lovely Frenchman warned me to be careful as people snatch things and run off….so maybe I wont list safe as being a plus of the subway….
Montmarte Paris France 
It took two train changes and 40 mins to get to Montmarte.  Rosie and the Operator emerged from the underground labyrinth of the subway and popped up into the tourist labyrinth of this suburb. School kids on trips and tourists were already arriving en masse and by the coach load.  The shop keepers here know where their bread is buttered and most already had their wears out and open for business.  Rosie loves her postcards and she could see The Operator inwardly groan.
Sacre Coeur Paris France 
We walked up the lane of souvenir shops and headed for the base of the Sacre Coeur.  There she stands in all her glory, looking over the city from her hilltop perch.
Rosie walked up the steps of the lower reaches to take some pics, we were headed for the funicular to ascend the rest of the way up to the church when we were accosted by 4 black men wanting to sell us bracelets….they wouldn’t take no for an answer and were trying to put them on our arms…me thinks the gist was as soon as they were on they were bought…our no thank yous got abit more forceful and all of a sudden The Operator was toe toe with two of the guys.  Normally not one to miss out on a rumble Rosie pulled The Operator away and we carried on our way.
Sacre Coeur Paris France 
The funicular was free for us to ride with our subway passes.  It is a little carriage that gets winched up the hillside and lets you avoid a couple of hundred steps getting up to the church.  Rosie was all for that today! When we arrived in front of the church the visitors at the steps of the basilica were pretty thick…. we couldnt remember if we had ever been inside the Sacre Coeur….the line was pretty long and we decided to flag it this time.   Plenty of cathedrals on this holiday to come!
Sacre Coeur Paris France 
Over 10,000,000 people visit this site every year…OK, thats 27,500 per day…no wonder Rosie didn’t feel alone.
The cathedral is made of travertine stone that leaches calcite when it is damp or wet, hence it is self cleaning and always looks beautiful and white.
Construction began in 1875 and the church was finished in 1914 and consecrated after the war in 1919.
Sacre Coeur Paris France 
The view from the terrace outside the cathedral, they say you can see every landmark in Paris from this panorama.
Montmarte Paris France 
We wandered around the cobbled  streets of the wee suburb and were hounded again by hordes of artists wanting to sketch us and paper artists wanting just 20 seconds of our time to demonstrate their art.
Montmarte Paris France 
Rosie and The Operator do not remember it being like this, the magic of the area had turned abit desperate and sad…we left Montmarte and headed for home on the subway chased by the rain.  Maybe it was just the gloominess of the day that meant no one was smiling, making it flat and soul less.  Below is my picture of the day though, a view from within a view.  Look up the alley ways and you will be surprised by what you see.
Montmarte Paris France 
Right by our home subway is the Cafe Gobelin, we headed there for a late lunch and had a wonderful Beef Bourgegoine from the blackboard menu.  It was hearty, rich and full of veges, perfect to chase away the damp chill.
Cafe Gobelin Paris France

We were just about to head out again and visit the catacombs when Rosie asked The Operator to look up the opening times…lucky, it would have been a long subway ride to go there and find them shut on Mondays…scuppered.  By then it was pouring with rain, a trip to the supermarket and the post office was all that was on offer.

The Banque du Poste was an experience on its own, it was mayhem in there….only one counter was working and three men were manning it, all slow, each contradicting the other, to be fair doing the work that one woman would be able to do easily.  I had a package to go to Australia and a couple of postcards and it was Faulty Towers to the max.  The keen guy serving was hilarious and spoke the best English we had encountered to date, he was telling everyone in the que where we were from and how one day they would beat us again in the rugby…just not anytime soon as they have only three good players at the moment…’now you must take your cards outside and put in the postbox, I take you’ he said.  Then he pulls out a cigarette and declares how he needs a break cause he is so busy….’put your cards in this slot, Etranger – it means aliens, you know, you are not from France….summed it up well, the whole french attitude they do so well me thinks.

Ham and Cheese sandwiches were the order of the day for dinner followed by chocolate eclairs for pudding and the obligatory bottle of champagne to wash it down.  It was a bit of a quiet day today, all rested up though for a big one tomorrow.