ANOTHER WALK THROUGH MONTMARTRE

So I keep posting pictures from walks through Montmartre, but this time some friends and I took a walking tour (through Paris Walks) about Montmartre during the Belle Epoque, and the artists who were living and working there at the time.  Beautiful weather, and great tour guide.  Sorry if the pictures look a lot like what you've already seen, but couldn't miss the photo op.

Here's the real Moulin de la Galette, a working windmill that became a dancehall nights. (this one)

Where Picasso had his studio, in which he painted his portrait of Gertrude Stein, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (hello cubism), and others.  

Your typical old frenchman: smoking and playing the accordion outside a café.  

A weirdly overcast moment on our tour, but shows the windy streets as you go up the Butte.  

Some cool street art.

A statue of Saint Denis, who (after climbing up my street- Rue des Martyrs!) was beheaded by the Romans.  According to legend, though, it didn't stop there.  He picked up his head and ran off down the hill until collapsing at the place he wanted to be laid to rest (a little over 6km away).  That place is now the Cathedral de Saint Denis, where all the french kings were buried.  Alternately, some say that to save time he rolled his head down the hill and ran after it.   Either way, quite an athlete.  

Dalida, another famous resident of Montmartre, who's having a really good hair day. Apparently very popular in the '70s, and a gay icon.  Tourists come to touch her boobs and take pictures (hence the shininess).  

FRÖHE (belated) ST. NIKOLAUS TAG

Hopefully everyone woke up to stuffed shoes yesterday morning, and if not, got themselves a clementine and some chocolate.

St. Nikolaus Day on Rue des Martyrs:

(St. Nikolaus plans ahead)

For only (ha) fifty-four euros you can eat a big St. Nikolaus and his horse made of all kinds of chocolate.  Bright side: the guy weighs 7500 grams, so you'll be set for a while.  Or the day, at least.

Or, if you'd like to go a different route in your St. Nikolaus-eating: iced, orange-infused St. Nikolaus spice bread.  

And finally, a St. Nikolaus mold for something (really big cookie?), and St. Nikolaus's black tea.  

LA COMÉDIE FRANÇAISE

Last night I went to the Comédie Française and saw a ('70s edition) of Hamlet.  In french.  It was a bit bizarre, having never read the book, or seen the play, to hear the most famous lines spoken in french by people wearing jumpsuits set to the music of a jukebox.  But not to say it wasn't amazing.  The actor who played Hamlet, especially, was amazing.  Also, after spending three hours a week learning about Moliere and watching the Comédie Française perform his plays, last semester, it was pretty great to sit there where they were first put on.   

The seats are super comfy.  If you're coming off a big exam, and the play goes until midnight, you're going to have trouble staying awake.  Trust me on that one.  

BEST SANDWICH YOU EVER DID HAVE

This post doesn't have too much to do with Paris, but I've made this sandwich twice now, and it's a game changer.  Figs are big in Paris, and for a while this fall they were quite cheap, so I tried them and was a fan.  Sadly, now they're as crazy expensive as the tiny box of dutch strawberries.  But I found, and bought, a fig jam.  Problem is, what do you do with fig jam?  So I picked up this super multigrain bread from my favorite boulangerie that leaves a trail of seeds behind as you eat it.  Very Hansel and Gretl.  Then I read something about a sandwich with cream cheese and arugula and beets and smoked salmon, but I wasn't feeling the beets or cream cheese so subbed those out for the fig jam!  It was all very If You Give a Mouse a Cookie... but it's a magical sandwich!  And I'm counting on those Omega 3s to kick in for my final exams the next few weeks.  

So to recap:

* fig jam

* multigrain bread

* smoked salmon

* arugula

Having Dr. Pepper with a sandwich always reminds me of Sundays in Germany, so that's a good thing, too.  

HAPPY THURSDAY

It's been a crazy busy week, so nothing fun to take photos of.  However, I found this series, The Card Players, from Ruth Orkin (taken in New York City in 1947) and thought it was all kinds of great.

A PRETTY GREAT FRIDAY IN PARIS

Waking up at 6:30 this morning with six hours of class ahead of me things weren't looking so good.  But I had a new scarf and some still-pretty-new shoes, so I put those on and that put me in a new-clothes good mood.  Got through my morning classes, and met three friends for lunch at The Sunken Chip, for my first (and not last) fish and chips.  Now normally I don't really like fish or chips, but these were delicious.  I will be back.  Then we ate along the Canal Saint Martin, after which I headed back for an afternoon class.  Note: fish and chips best served with lots of lemon and vinegar squeezed on top. 

 As I came out of the metro, and was walking by Café de Flore, I walked right past Tilda Swinton!  Real life elbow rubbing.  The White Queen of Narnia/the child-services lady from Moonrise Kingdom right there a block down from my (second of the day) Development Economics lecture!

Got out of lecture, and enjoyed the Christmas lights while waiting for Clara...

 at which point we went to Deyrolle, the prettiest taxidermy/zoology/gardening store you ever did see.  Creepy in theory, but really really amazing!

Even got to see one of the guys getting a beetle all set up to go in a new case, and mounting a pretty blue butterfly to send home with one lucky lady.  Some of the teeny tiny blue ones were only 15 euros, so I'm thinking either unique souvenir for myself, or Christmas present for an unsuspecting family member.  Or both.

The first two photos aren't mine.  I was too busy eating, and playing it cool, respectively.
Sunken Chip photo
Tilda Swinton photo

PARIS BY BIKE

I'm sorry to report that Paris in November is mostly rain.  Then again, every once in a while, the rain's over by 10 in the morning, and you have a whole umbrella-less day!  I finally bought my Vélib pass this week, which means unlimited 45-minute bike rides!  So I took an hour and a half and braved the crazy Paris traffic this afternoon.  Well worth it.  

You can't quite see it, but Christmas window decorations are starting to pop up!