Day 8: Montmartre, Au Revoir Paris!

It was hard to get up this morning, what with the hangover (thanks to the evil Danes) and the lack of sleep (thanks to J and pals for the fun late night and our washing machine for being noisy). Still, we got our butts out of bed in time to check out of the apartment, have a final breakfast with J, and say our goodbyes to her. We checked our bags at the train station in anticipation of our train out and hauled our butts over to Montmartre.



Montmartre is a neighborhood full of cultural history in Paris. Erik Satie, a composer I like a lot, lived here for a while:



These days, however, it's become a full-on tourist trap. Senegalese hawkers tried to get S to buy their wares. Stalls sold cheap goods at outrageous prices. Meals were either too expensive or not very tasty (S's tiramisu was a notable exception). More than one shop was playing the soundtrack to Amelie. The main landmark is a big church called Sacre Coeur, with big white domes that can be seen from most high points in Paris. We climbed the dome. More stairs again!



The view from the top was terrific!




There were terrific details carved into almost every surface. This gargoyle is about to puke:



After climbing the dome, we walked around to shop and get some lunch. Here's a sign for the Street of Sorrows (my first French pun!)



After Montmartre, we headed back to the rail station to travel overnight to Munich. From there, we'll take a commuter train to GaPa to start the next leg of the trip! Paris was a delight. We saw many beautiful sights, met friends old and new, and ate quite well. S and I have already started talking about what to do on our next trip to France!

From somewhere east of Paris, hurtling through the countryside as the sun begins to set...

(time passes, the train rolls through the night)

...and here we are in Munich! I slept well-ish on the train. There were a few bumps in the night, but not much. S fared worse, and now that we're in Munich on a brief layover before our commuter line train down to GaPa, she's nodding off.

We got into Munich on time, had breakfast, checked on train times to Prague, and now we're waiting for our train to GaPa. After all the starchy breakfasts we had in Paris (croissant again! Well, if you insist...), we both got a bowl of fruit with granola and yogurt. Mmmmmm.

(time passes, another train ride)

We're in GaPa! Checking in before heading out for a hike!