Friday, May 18, 2007

First Visit to Monmartre

On Wednesday I rode the metro all by myself (actually very easy) to visit my new friend Will in Monmartre, where she has lived for 35 years. Will lives in a tiny apartment - made me feel very spoiled - and I was amazed at the number of beautiful quilts she has stored there. She kept pulling out boxes of finished quilts as well as tops - it was a wonderful show and tell and we didn't even make it through all of them.

Will is going to start her own blog maybe next month, so you'll be able to see all her lovely quilts there. But here is a preview, a Courthouse Steps in rich browns, maroons, greens with a hint of blue. (Yes, she's a fan of antique quilts and repro fabric.)


Monmartre is built on a hill, so you get great views down to the rest of Paris, which was once again very gray. There were hoardes of tourists, but I managed some pics without them. I have to admit I was feeling a touch superior - there I was with my own marvelous personal tour guide AND I can come back on a beautiful sunny day for better pics.


Why is it I love to take photos very close to buildings looking up? Here is the front of the Sacred Heart Basilica, which I think is located on the highest point in Monmartre.

Vandals have splattered it with red paint, but it doesn't show up too much in this pic:

I was thrilled to find gargoyles:


To clear up a point from a previous post, since my husband works for the State Dept we get U.S. mail delivered here, tho it is much slower. That's why we continue to get Netflix but without the two day turnaround. More like a two week turnaround. I want my next Freaks and Geeks now, not to mention the next discs of Stargate Atlantis and Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. That last is a much see for anyone who enjoyed his Cook's Tour. It's more of the same, only longer and more graphic - it shows the actually killing of a pig for instance. Sometimes I don't want to know where my food comes from - it should just be nicely packaged in styrofoam, thank you.

Another perk to the job is getting to use U.S. military facilities. Yesterday my sweetie and I rented a mini-van with one of my husband's co-workers and drove up to Belgium to use the commissary and PX. It's about a 2 and a half hour drive and I don't think we can count it as actually having visited Belgium (just like airport transits don't count). The drive was lovely when it wasn't raining - green budding fields and haze. Reminded me of England. We bought a LOT of cat food (which costs twice the amount here than it does in the states) and kitty litter as well as some hard-to-get-here food items such as Salsa Verde and pickled jalapenos.

I know, I know, I need to forget about making familiar dishes and learn to cook with just the French ingredients, but that's going to take a bit of time. I'm making Nicoise Salads (without anchovies!) for dinner at least, that's French. And I bought a huge artichoke to make for lunch, mmmm. Since it's already 2pm I better get going on that.

23 comments:

tami said...

Oh what fun. Your friends quilts are lovely and I can't wait to see more when she starts her blog.
I always take pictures of tall buildings looking up too. We lived in NYC for a year and I have so many pictures of interesting buildings like that. I think for me at least it's because I come from a place with very few tall buildings so they intrigue me. :o)

Tazzie said...

Ohhh yes, that Courthouse Steps quilt is my kinda quilt, I'm looking forward to Will starting up her blog. I love seeing the pictures you take, it's like I'm travelling the world with you as my virtual tourguide. Thank you Tonya!
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)

Dianne said...

Great pics, Tonya. I think Paris looks great when it's grey, and even better when it's sunny.

I feel your pain about the cat foot and kitty litter locally. We bought Iams the other day in the large bag, it was $60!!! And of course our little darlings won't eat anything else... So it's lucky you have access to the commisaries.

Isn't Will's Courthouse Steps glowing? I love those rich colors. Need to put another log cabin type quilt on my to-do list!

Joyce said...

Thanks for the virtual tour of Montmartre. Did you see the portrait artists working in the square? The courthouse steps quilt is gorgeous and I will be visiting Will's blog as soon as it is up.

AmysBabies said...

Will's quilt is beautiful! I eagerly await her blog. I love the photos of the historic buildings. Living here in suburban sprawl it is nice to see something a little more artistic.

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh baby! Tell Will that I LOVE her quilt and now I"m dying to see more! She has to start blogging! Your pictures are wonderful as always, I just love going on trips with you!

Unknown said...

Whereabouts did you go over into Belgium Tonya - we lived very close to the border outselves. Oh I can sooooo sympathise with trying to find 'home' ingredients in France - I remember a very long wild goose chase one day hunting for some bicarbonate of soda for an english cake recipe we all love - I eventually located some in the pharmacy - the guy behind the counter was a little surprised when I said I wasn't going to clean my teeth with it - he was even more surprised when I told him in my halting French that I needed it for un gateau anglais! Happy days! 5 years ago at the end of this month since we moved back and we all still feel cheated at the lost opportunities. Even with its quirks - enjoy Paris while you can - there's no place on earth quite like France

Jeanne said...

I absolutely LOVE that little quilt! The pictures around town are wonderful, too. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Just love the quilt - tell Will we're all looking forward to the blog! Glad you're having fun exploring Paris!

atet said...

Oooh...thank you for the virtual tour of Paris. Sacre Coeur (sp?) is beautiful!

Will's quilts are amazing and I can't wait to read the blog when it gets going.

Glad to see you are enjoying discovering your new "base" -- and the metro alone? WOO HOO!

Clare said...

Can't load the paint bespattered Sacre Coeur photo which is probably a good thing. The last time I saw it was at 6.00 am after a huge cafe creme at a cafe near the Gare du Nord. We then drove up to Sacre Coeur. It was just us and the road sweepers and the monks chanting. We watched the sun rise over Paris spread out beneath us. Have you seen the gargoyles at Notre Dame yet? Awesome. They used to do tours up onto the roof there. Don't know if they still do.

BTW visited another QS yesterday. Loads of blues!

@+

YankeeQuilter said...

I love Will's quilts! Log cabin and repro's what a great combo!

My cats will not eat anything but their American cat food which is my excuse for the 60 minute trip up the road. I wish they would just sell it by the case!

Alotta.knittin said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous and gorgeous.

Judy said...

Very lovely!

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

Sounds like the perfect day out (loved the courthouse steps). Impressed you are thinking like a Frenchwoman ansd only thinking about a cooked lunch at a leisurely rate! Tracey

Mama Spark said...

I loved visiting Monmartre when we were in France. I bought some fabulous fabrics and still have not cut them up! A velvet that was to die for and some wonderful silks. Aren't the gargoyles fun? Have you seen any that were the downspouts yet? I was fascinated by those. The water pours out their mouths!!

Finn said...

Hey Ton, I miss your smiling face..*VBS* Been trying to think if I remember French for 'hello' but all I find in my memory banks are words for 'goodbye'. That won't do!
So happy to hear you are acclimating to the new digs and surroundings. Sounds like you are getting much more comfortable moving about, even alone.
Absolutely fantastic quilt of your friends. I look forward to seeing more, hers and yours..*VBS* Hugs for you and the fur babies, Finn

Lily Mulholland said...

Tonya it's good to see you are getting out and about. The Metro is wonderful indeed. When you get a little more game, jump a train down to Versailles and pick up one of the English-speaking tours. It is quite something to behold!

Am sorely tempted to try a courtyard steps quilt too.

Anonymous said...

Here's a website you might be interested in: http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/

As you get to know the city, you can locate some of the Paris photos posted on this site - kind of a treasure hunt.

Enjoying your posts immensely!

-a quilter and Francophile in Minnesota

Rose Marie said...

Oh, your friend's quilt is lovely and her blog is eagerly anticipated! I've enjoyed your posts while you were in Eygpt and now I'll be able to see France through your posts.

Katie said...

So nice to know your life is going great now. I like the upward pics because they cut out the junk below. Yours are great. Gotta feed those kitties. Good excuse to take a ride too.

Susan said...

Personally, I'd rather have salsa verde and enchiladas than anything with snails and wine. =)

Thanks for the great pics of your outing. I love gargoyles, too.

Holly said...

I'm playing catch-up :) Wanted to tell you I saw a traveling special on the OPB channel about Paris and Monmarte. I normally wouldn't have cared except that since you are there I was interested and watched it. Interesting that Paris is divided into sections/districts. You're so lucky, you know?