From Paris, with love. (Part II)

It was early in the morning when the metro left me on the doorstep of the most famous cabaret in the world. 

After walking around for a bit, I found the Café des Deux Moulins (yes! that's where Amélie works!) and after going up on some of Montmartre's famous stairs, I arrived at the Moulin de la Galette.

I walked a bit more and found myself standing right in front of the Chateau d'Eau, surrounded by a little garden which even though is open to tourists, stays unoccupied. 

A little bit further down is the Musée de Montmartre, known for having been home to various artists, including Renoir.

The place is gorgeous and it has some of the best views of Montmartre. 

As I walked around I found Salis the Cat, who (supposedly) inspired Steinlen's poster for Le Chat Noir cabaret owned by Rodolphe Salis and known for its puppet theatre. 

There is a small Café in one of the gardens that serves the best hot chocolate I've tried in a while (it's almost as good as Mexican chocolate, can you believe it?).

From there you can see the Water Tower and a tiny bit of Sacre-Cœur.

Once I was inside the museum I learned all there is to know about the 18ème arrondissement, although my favourite part was Suzanne Valadon's studio. I'm not sure as to what kind of magic it holds, but it made me cry like a baby (the good kind of crying, you know?).

Before I left the museum I visited the last part of the gardens, which are right next to the Clos Montmartre  --Paris' secret vineyard.

If you look closely at the last photo you will be able to find the Lapin Agile (Montmartre's oldest cabaret) previously visited by Picasso & Modigliani. The dry leaves that can be seen on the lower left corner of the picture are part of the secret vineyard I mentioned above.

I moved on, and went to one of my last stops before calling it quits for the day.

I couldn't leave Montmartre without having first gone to Sacre-Cœur, so I joined the rest of the hundreds of tourists and went up every step so that I could explore that place inside and out.

The views of the City make the walk completely worth it.

After sight-seeing, I went back to the Place du Tertre, where I ate everything from brioche to quiche, an infinity of crêpes and for dessert, Tarte Tatin. I had to laugh out loud when this lady told me that the only cuisine is the French cuisine, and everything else in the world is just food. Notoriously, she hasn't been to Mexico.

When I was done, I went to get lost in the streets and find more favourite places to add to the list, along with secret cafés and other nice secluded spots in which to sit and read a good book. 

I don't know, I hear everyone say that Paris is the City of Love and they all fall for the place and make plans to go back. I think differently. Paris has its magic, of course, but it isn't a place I would like to visit with someone else. It isn't a place where I would go shopping, either. And it definitely isn't a place in which I'd like to live.

I like Paris because time kind of stops and the cold goes unnoticed. I like Paris because I can explore it slow, or in a hurry. I like it because I can walk my soul off and I can eat until I explode. I like it because I can read a good novel and think about things that only come to mind once you're sitting on a bench eating macarons and feeling a bit lost. I like Paris because I can buy the used and reused books from the bouquinistes. I like Paris because I can draw the Seine, but above all, I like Paris because I can write about it. Over and over again.

Yup. That's why I like Paris.