John Linton ..........to serve enough food in a single day to destroy any semblance of sensible eating habits.
We took ourselves off to spend some time in Montmartre in the morning and then attempted to find something to buy in the 'left bank district" in the early afternoon. I have been to Montmartre several times but still find it very interesting despite its continuing descent into a tourist rip off spot. The artists in the Place du Terte still amaze with their displays of instant rendition of any 'sitter's' image as you watch and the exactness of their depictions are mind blowing - not cartoons but fully rendered head and shoulders or full length portraits in 15 or 20 minutes. I had a particular reason for going there which was to see if I could find a suitable 'sculpture' made from Dali's various paintings and drawings "authorised by the artist". I had seen them on a previous visit but could not afford to buy such things in those days.
There was still the art gallery right on the Terte that I had previously visited and they did indeed have some of the bronze castings that I had admired so many years ago. I was tempted to buy one, a rendition of an elephant but with mosquito like legs with an armed figure perched on its back but, it wasn't quite appealing enough. There were also some great examples of trompe l'oeil which fascinated Annette but in the end we contented ourselves by visiting Sacre Couer and listening to parts of the devotions while admiring its magnificence and wandering round the old village for a while conjuring up images of how the 'old Paris' may have looked. It remains a very pretty place and still has its own charm despite the tourist depredations.
We weren't brave enough to risk the multiple metro exchanges getting from Montmartre to the left bank and as there was a cab rank we took a cab there - less than a 15 minute trip with the skill and daring of our taxi driver. Many of the streets of the left bank now seem to be wall to wall cafes and memento shops but we eventually located the art gallery district (wall to wall art galleries in a small 'square of inter connected streets' and attempted to find something to buy within our budget and close to what we had in mind. Unfortunately we were there in the early afternoon and almost all of the shops were closed for the extended lunch favoured by Parisian small business - especially at this time of year. Then it began to rain so we quickly ducked in to the closest cafe (not very many in this particular area) which was the quintessential long and narrow affair with small wooden tables and chairs that had seen better days featured in movies and TV shows when they are trying to depict something 'typically French'. It was quite full and as we subsequently discovered only patronised by locals many of whom subsequently turned out to be the missing gallery owners. We had a very satisfying light lunch, a quick beer (exceptional) and then resumed our search as the various shops re-opened. Again, we had no luck.
So we 'went home' to our hotel and prepared ourselves for a second visit to the hotel's restaurant having eaten at another two Michelin star restaurant recommended by the concierge the previous night. It too was an amazing experience but although we sensibly took their advice to share a 'starter' and a main course because of their size that didn't compensate for the five canapes and five sizable amuse bouches they also provided before any part of the ordered dishes arrived! The food itself was, again, sensational but the quantities were just monumental. So tonight we will have to seek further advice on how to reduce the amount of food served.
Unlike yesterday, today I did make an attempt to look at things communications - but I couldn't summon up enough interest and stopped after less than ten minutes.
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