Near Le Vivier sur Mer, the effects of sea tides are readily evident.  With it's almost 2-mile wide tidal flats, amphibious boats are used to gather mussels and work oyster fields.

"The rocky finger of the Pointe du Grouin points out and protects the entrance into the bay of Mont Saint-Michel.  On this headland, a Grande Randonnée footpath runs around hugging the cliff face and there is a circular walk starting out from Cancale.  On their way the walker can enjoy views of the Île des Landes a long barren outcrop (now a bird sanctuary), the lighthouse, the Îles Chausey, Granville on the Normandy coast, and, on a clear day, the outline of Mont Saint-Michel.

"Saint-Malo is a historic French port in Brittany on the Channel coast.  The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Allies heavily bombarded Saint-Malo, mistaking it for a major enemy base. Today it is a popular tourist centre, with a ferry terminal serving Portsmouth, Weymouth, and Poole.

In World War II, during fighting in late August and early September 1944, the historic walled city of Saint-Malo was almost totally destroyed by American shelling and bombing as well as British naval gunfire.  The Allies believed that the Axis powers had thousands of troops and major armaments built up within the city walls – though there proved to be fewer than 100 troops manning just two anti-aircraft installations, with the much larger and heavily armed Axis presence in strongpoints outside the city walls.  The Americans used napalm for the first time.  Saint-Malo was rebuilt over a 12-year period from 1948 to 1960.

Much of the action in Anthony Doerr's 2014 award-winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See, occurs in Saint-Malo. "

Apparently, the reconstruction is so well done, that our untrained eyes could not see evidence of the bombing/shelling.

Birds and boats...

Big and old anchor, seemingly brought back from the depths to live out its existence here.

The two anti-aircraft installations, just kidding....look closely there're three!  Gerri:  LOL.

More tides, and more crepes...

P is for Gerri, uh, purple, uh, actually it's for paying your parking fee.

More Easter treats; and an out-of-place Irish pub, or at least as out-of-place as they are in the USA.

Old ships that hearken back to the glory days of the city.

 
Dinan - our overnight town today - another walled city of old.  And many cats, but no rats.

"Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of nestling on the valley floor, most urban development has been on the hillside, overlooking the river Rance. The area alongside the River Rance is known as the port of Dinan and is connected to the town by the steep streets Rue Jerzual and its continuation outside the walls the Rue de Petit Fort. The medieval town on the hilltop has many fine old buildings, some of which date from the 13th century. The town retains a large section of the city walls, part of which can be walked round.  Major historical attractions include the Jacobins Theatre dating from 1224, the flamboyant Gothic St Malo's Church, the Romanesque St Saviour's Basilica, Duchess Anne's Tower and the Château de Dinan."

Gerri walking past Theatre des Jacobins; Gerri with stone burial vault - like a demo model - the facial likeness of the deceased was separately carved and then inserted onto the head - a family coat of arms could also be placed onto the shield.

"Half-timbered" old, old dwellings and shop buildings.

Below left - I just like the French dog out for his ride.  To the right, Le Nez Rouge, or Red Nose - a husband/wife team runs this place - they establish a bar/pub, run it for a year or two, sell it and then travel - in fact, they were having their last night tonight, with a private affair for the locals.

In the Red Nose - just before the private event was to start.  Other photo, we are going down the street to find the entrance to the city walls walk - we would find it locked up for the night, and so plan to return early in the am.

Onto the city wall walking tour - pretty much had it to ourselves.

St Saviour's Basilica

Prepare to confess, and then you may have local pastries.

Back to the car, on to the next commune.

"Le Mont-Saint-Michel is an island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island is located about one kilometer (0.6 miles) off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares (17 acres) in area.  As of 2015, the island has a population of 50.

The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 8th century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers.

The commune's position—on an island just a few hundred meters from land—made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, but defensible as an incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants. The Mont remained unconquered during the Hundred Years' War; a small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in 1433.  The reverse benefits of its natural defense were not lost on Louis XI, who turned the Mont into a prison. Thereafter the abbey began to be used regularly as a jail during the Ancient Régime.
One of France's most recognizable landmarks, visited by more than 3 million people each year, the Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites."

Unlike the pilgrims, our pilgrimage had us walking a couple miles to a shuttle bus, which put us onto the bridge a short distance to the front doors of the Mont.

These modern day pilgrims, aged around 16-25, experienced the walking on the tidal flats at the foot of the Mont.  This is how the people of old walked out to the commune/abbey, without the high and dryness of a causeway/bridge.

Entry through the imposing front gate way, and into a version of "enter/exit through the gift shop".

Past the French Knight, and going up, up, up.

Bird on a perch, deciding between the refrigerator magnet or the miniature china keepsake.  Gerri relishing the arduous climb to the abbey summit.

The tide returneth, run pilgrims run.

Upward and onward to the dizzying heights.

High vantage points overlooking the modern day causeway/bridge, and outward across the English Channel.

Altar with amazing masonry; tour group in the nave pews - it is a bit chilly in here.

Out into the cloister - awash with deep green color.  A drawing "pilgrim" interprets what she sees onto paper.

This island commune is really hanging out in the middle of a desolate place.  Gerri trying on for size one of the two kitchen fireplaces.

More amazing masonry, and a human gerbil wheel used as a winch to bring up supplies from far below.

The knight's hall.

Arhggg, it's raining again.  Apparently Gerri is okay with that.  Our tour is complete.

Today is our guided tour of locations representing the events of Jun 6, 1944, the Allied invasion of Europe.  Again, the French weather continues cold and rainy, but nonetheless it contributes to the sobering commentary of our very professional tour guide.  We have a small group of three couples for this 8 hour tour.

The guide explained all the details:   pre-, the day itself, post-.  Below we saw the German defenses, including destruction caused by pre-invasion naval strikes.  The turret below right looks intact, by a navy gun shell entered its upper right view port and exploded within the turret.

These defenses are at Utah Beach, one of two beaches where U.S. forces stormed the beaches.  The guide described how the invasion forces came in at low tide to see and avoid obstacles placed by the Germans, but also giving them a long exposed approach to the higher ground.

We continued to the American cemetery on that high ground - the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial  in Colleville-sur-Mer.  9,387 U.S. servicemen are buried here.

Below left, location where a unit flanked behind German gun emplacements to help take pressure off troops still advancing onto the beaches.  To the right, Gerri standing within a crater from the aerial bombardment.

Now on the road to Sainte-Mere-Eglise.  The town played a significant part in the World War II Normandy landings as this village stood in the middle of route N13, at the center of critical road and communication junctions, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha Beaches.  It's at the center of the zone of U.S. Airborne landings - by parachute and by towed glided.  On the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne  Divisions occupied and held the town.

Tim's Dad's brother (Tim's uncle), Robert Mack, was a member of the 101st Airborne and killed in action in this area on 6 June.  His parents chose to have him brought home to Norwalk Ohio, and so he is buried there in the family plot of St. Paul's Catholic Cemetery.

John Steele of the 82nd Airborne landed on a spire of the church during the invasion.  He played dead for two-hours while the German forces still occupied the town, was then taken prisoner, but later escaped.  The town maintains a mannequin hanging from a chute in commemoration of the events.

Just across from the church is the Airborne Museum with many artifacts, including aircraft, and a well presented history.  Our tour package included 90 minutes in the museum.

Recreations shown below with a "Gooney Bird" C-47 that participated in the invasion.

Tim posing with the ensemble gear of a member of the 101st Screaming Eagles.

We then visited a nearby battle site:

And then we visited the other beach head of U.S. forces.

The tide was by this time well out towards sea, exposing mussel/oyster beds.  Gerri faces the major exit from the beach through which most of the forces advanced.

We finished the tour visiting a church in Angoville-au-Plain rich in the history of the 101st Airborne.

The church was used by 2 101st Airborne Medics as an aide station during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. Robert Wright and Ken Moore treated a mix of 80 injured American and German wounded soldiers and a child. Blood stains are still visible on the pews. Stained glass windows commemorate the 101st Airborne Division, the first one is dedicated to the two medics of the 2nd Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division). The second one honors the American parachutists in general.

The medics continued their aid while control of the town changed hands several times.  A German commander was aware of the medics, but also aware of them treating Germans, so he let them be.  They received commendations for their service, but the story stayed low in renown till Robert Wright, while on a Normandy Tour around 1998 became reacquainted with the child, now in his 60s, that he treated, and still living in the village.  The larger story then spread among D-day history buffs.

In the photo below right, our guide pointed out that landing units of the 101st troops faced much resistance in the areas in this direction.  We should've tried to determine beforehand the specific unit of Tim's uncle, as our guide seemed really familiar with where units actually landed during the battle.  This area could have easily been his landing area.

A portion of Robert Wright's ashes are interred in the cemetery of the church.

A rainbow seen on the way back to Bayeaux, our lodging city.

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Our suppertime meal - crepes - savory to start and sweet to end.

The next morning, we finished our Normandy touring in the town shown below.  Wikipedia:  A significant port of offloading men and materiel was established here in the days after the invasion began.  Large concrete boxes, built in England, towed across the channel, and sunk in a ring established a breakwater to defend against large summer storms known for this area.  Each box weighed more than the Eiffel Tower.  By 12 June 1944 more than 300,000 men, 54,000 vehicles, 104,000 tons of supplies had been landed here.  During 100 days of operation of the port 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of materiel were landed.

On the way to Etretat, a cool old train bridge, and puffy white clouds, sun, and blue sky - what we like to see for our arrival in Etretat.  And then here we are - nice deep blue skies.

Étretat is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in Normandy in north-western France. It is a tourist and farming town best known for its chalk cliffs, including three natural arches and a pointed formation called L'Aiguille or the Needle, which rises 70 metres (230 ft) above the sea.  The Etretat Chalk Complex, as it is known, consists of a complex stratigraphy of Turonian and Coniacian chalks.  Some of the cliffs are as high as 90 metres (300 ft).

The old man and the sea....?

"Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre.  It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted many times by artists, including in particular Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind, forming the école de Honfleur (Honfleur school) which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France."

Coming from Etretat, passing le Havre, we cross this huge suspension bridge to enter Honfluer (photo on right taken from Honfluer later in the day).

After checking into our AirBnB, the owner took us on a 15 minute tour to get orientated for the sights and recommended restaurants. 

The clock/bell tower separate from the church - when lightning strikes the bell tower, fire won't burn down the church (both structures are wood).  Gerri and I enjoying the gratis apertif liquor in the AirBnB - it was strong with an apple background.

Dinner is served.  The food was great and very reasonable, with a roaring open hearth fireplace just behind our backs inside.

The next morning, after checking out of our lodging, Gerri had a vigorous hike in mind, as recommended by Rick Steves in the tourbook.  Going up the top of the town, walking, walking, climbing, climbing...

We arrive at Chapelle Notre-Dame de Grâce,  Built during the 17th century, this chapel is richly adorned with paintings and models of ships offered in devotion by sailors.

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Today we next drive to Bayeux, our base exploring WWII's Normandy landings.  We took the scenic route, and not far along found a quiet seafood market in Trouville-sur-Mer.  With it being late March, they were a bit limited in selection, but we tried some scallops and peel-n-eat shrimp, along with a carafe of wine.

After checking into our lodging in Bayeux, we ventured out for some vittles, and decided on just bringing home some groceries.  Bayeux Cathedral is just a couple blocks away, so we managed to get that viewing in before it closed, as tomorrow with the Normandy Invasion tour, time will be limited.  (photo below from Wikipedia)

(not so random note:  one attraction we passed on [this time?], was a viewing of the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, a 20 inch high by 230 foot long embroidery depicting the events up through the Battle of Hastings; we somehow felt we needed to move on without seeing it; perhaps someday we will return for it)

Supper is served with the nighttime view of Bayeux Cathedral outside the window of our lodging:

Our tour book (Rick Steves) had no coverage for Dunkirk, as it doesn't loom as large in French history, culture, or art as other must see parts of France.  As described below, Dunkirk was a pivotal scene for the history of Great Britain during WWII.  And as we had recently seen the movie "Dunkirk", with filming on the same beaches where much of the action happened, the scene especially interested us.  On returning from Belgium, Dunkirk is perfectly on the path for our continued tour of France.

Wiki:
The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week long Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured.  In his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance".

We happened upon a well done museum just adjacent to the beaches presented within an actual old military fortification/headquarters/armory structure.  Many WWII period artifacts were nicely displayed.

Onto the beach...

The tide was well out - and with the gentle sloping terrain, the beach appeared massive.

Dunkirk, a city of almost 100,000, does have other things of interest, but even with 7 weeks, France is too big to dawdle here.

On to Rouen...

Rouen is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries.
Rouen Cathedral, construction began in the 12th century, with its Tour de Beurre (butter tower) financed by the sale of indulgences for the consumption of butter during Lent. The cathedral's gothic façade (completed in the 16th century) was the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet, some of which are exhibited in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

The Church of Saint Joan of Arc is a Catholic church in the city center of Rouen, completed in 1979 in the center of the ancient market square known as the Place du Vieux-Marché.  This is the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy in 1431.  A small garden, Le Bouchet, which is outside and to the north of the church marks the exact spot.  The sweeping curves of the structure are meant to evoke both the flames that consumed Joan of Arc and an overturned longship. Many early Christian churches were designed in the shape of an overturned boat. The market halls simultaneously resemble smaller overturned boats and fish with gaping mouths, which are also rich Christian symbols.

The church was not open at our first encounter, but later we would gain entry.

From the "French Language Blog":
La Couronne was founded in 1345 and is most definitely the oldest inn (auberge) in France. It is located in the Old Market Square (la place du Vieux-Marché) of Rouen, near where Jeanne d’Arc was burnt at the stake in 1431. And while it has necessarily been updated in the seven centuries since it was founded, La Couronne still boasts authentic wooden beams and the traditional Normand country style architecture Rouen is known for.
The food has gotten glowing reviews, too, from no less than Julia Child. In 1948, Child ate at the restaurant and called it “the most exciting meal of my life.” In the movie Julie and Julia, Maryl Streep and Stanley Tucci are shown dining there. The food is traditionally French and the menu features items like sole meunière (Dover sole with butter, parsley, and lemon), canard à la Rouennaise (pressed duck, or duck served in a blood and bone marrow sauce), and fromage blanc avec des fruits du bois (white cheese with berries).

Gerri is off to the see.....the Wizard.....uh....I mean the clock.  The Gros Horloge is an astronomical clock dating back to the 14th century.

To the left below, Easter chocolates...to the right, site of plague victim mass burials...it's what you see while strolling the streets of Rouen.

Return to the church of Saint Joan of Arc:

The stained glass windows come from the 16th century Church of Saint Vincent, whose ruins are located a few metres away. The old church was almost completely destroyed in 1944 during World War II, but the windows had been removed and stored in a safe location during the war. They were then incorporated into the Church of Saint Joan of Arc.

23-24 March 2018

With the chartered sailing trip just over a week from now, and Dunkirk/Normandy and Mont St Michael touring in between, we have to "burn" a few days to make the schedule work out in our forward progress counter-clock wise around France.  What better to do than seek out the beer again.  Gerri discovered a French brewery towards Belgium, and then worked out an overnight stay at St Bernardus brewery, with tour, in Belgium (love those easy border crossings in the European Union).

Here we arrive at Brasserie Au Baron in France.  French sourced beer, at the brewery!

Our timing was right to get lunch, and luckily the brewery had what appeared to be a nicely featured local eatery.  The workers didn't seem to do English (here we are off the typical tourist route after all).  But our restaurant French seemed to be working for us, for the most part.  Our choices were adjacent on the menu - Tim's the 15.90 Euro, and Gerri's the 10.20 Euro item.  Tim scored, Gerri not so much.  The ingredients appeared very local and country spun (good old meat and tators for Tim).  Gerri thought she could do no harm with a fish plate.  If between our limited French and her Iphone translator had worked better, she might have not chosen the cold gelatinous dog fish.  I would say these are probably two well executed versions of local fare.  Tim loved his (possibly his favorite meal in France, for lunch anyways), Gerri was a bit repulsed.  Below you see her attempting to verify that what she got is what she ordered - the waiter politely struggled to satisfy this pleading American - and Gerri decided all was correct and pressed on eating (or nibbling) what she asked for. 

I would have to say that Gerri usually succeeds in working a menu better than I, but this time the tables were turned.  Finally, I should say that this food illustrates that below the surface France is a relatively diverse culture, and given enough time we will see it more and more.  This is the food of agriculture/country France, and probably similar to what you'd find a short distance away amongst the farmers of Belgium.

Continuing onto Belgium - a cool arch, and defensive emplacements from WWII.

We arrive at the former abbey of St. Bernardus, now a world distributing brewer of excellent Belgium beer.  We lodged in the buildings previously used by the monks and relaxed/dined in the cheese works building.

The old and the new brewing works.

The tour, about $8 each, included a 4 bottle pack with two beer glasses, for each of us at the end - wow!

After St. Bernardus, we went back to the world renown St. Sixtus Trappist brewery in Westvlereten, along with the couple from Texas.  This was the same brewery we'd previously visited in our first tour of Europe.  And then also visited another brewery that occupied an old school house and grounds with an incredible selection of tap beers.

We pressed onto to our next lodging at an Air-BnB, still within Belgium.  The picture above with the bottle poured beer sitting on the chrome plate was offered to us at check-in.  The host directed us to a local pub to sample "Picon". 
Wikipedia:  Picon is a caramel-caramel-colored, flavored bitters drunk as an aperitif, which traditionally accompanies beer in the east and north of France.  It is made from a base of fresh oranges which are dried and mixed with a solution of alcohol which is distilled. Picon also contains gentian and quinquina in equal measures. Sugar, syrup and caramel are added last.

Tomorrow we return to France, traveling to the Normandy region, but passing through Dunkirk first.

20-22 March 2018

This is where sparkling wine is produced which can be called "champagne" - anywhere else in the world,  it can only be called "sparkling wine".  We learned to pronounce "Reims" as "raunce" - although we can't say for sure whether there are multiple ways of pronouncing (unless you're French !?).

Below:  (guidebook)  Our Lady of Reims, completed 1275, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Reims, France, built in the High Gothic style. The cathedral replaced an older church, destroyed by fire in 1211, that was built on the site of the basilica where Clovis I was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims in 496. That original structure had itself been erected on the site of some Roman baths.  The seat of the Archdiocese of Reims, the cathedral was where the kings of France were crowned.

Gerri hanging out on a "cork" stool at the Reims' champagne visitor information center.  And then at a champagne production facility, GH Mumm, complete with caves, extensive underground spaces where the champagne ages, sometimes over many years.  The caves seemed to be endless, and although we saw thousands of champagne bottles with our guided tour, there was an incredible expanse down there we could only imagine - several kilometers worth.   This company is the fourth largest producer of champagne.

Neat displays above and below ground.  The tour guide provided an excellent brief tutorial on the history and how's and wow's of champagne.

And then finally the tasting...that's some good champagne.

Following our Rick Steves' tour book, we then drove out into the countryside of the champagne wine region.  Still a bit chilly, but loving the bright sunshine.

At the final resting place of Dom Perignon - Hautvillers is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.  The Abbey of St. Peter which existed here until the French Revolution was the home of the famous Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk whose work in wine-making helped to develop champagne.

At a smaller champagne winery in a small village in the country - I would call this place a "Mom and Pop" kind of place, but still excellent quality.

Back in Reims for the night.  Below left the two of us eating mussels in a chain restaurant, although still with a modicum of character.  After our meal, this Frenchman appeared, maybe the chief manager, joyfully walking something that looked like a trophy amongst his staff - he had us pose for photo with it.  We never obtained an explanation, as his English seemed non-existent, and our French was far too limited.

The other photo below, with the trees, shows the exacting care they perform in trimming these trees - we witnessed this same scene around much of France.

The next day, another champagne tour with the caves - Taittinger.  This tour was especially interesting, as part of the caves incorporated original Roman chalk quarries, as well as underpinnings of the remnants of a very old church.  Wiki:  Taittinger cellars were established in the Abbey of Saint-Nicaise, built in the thirteenth century in Gallo-Roman chalk pits dating from the fourth century.

Taittinger maintains of a stock of between 12 and 13 million bottles of champagne.  Below left shows how they're placed for the process of removing the sediment that develops after bottling and in the early part of aging. Workers gradually twist the bottle and bring it to a higher tip angle, and then freeze the top end, remove the slug of sediment, and re-cork the bottle (minimally disturbing the contents, such that it won't just blow out).

Tim with the big bottles.

See the missing bottle - sometimes, apparently rarely, a bottle breaks for whatever reason.
The taste is awesome - this is not just sparkling wine, it is champagne!

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Reims Epilogue:  We also visited a small WWII museum dedicated to memorializing the initial surrender of Germany to Allied Forces.  The museum preserves elements of the American military headquarters in the original building, including the preserved in place conference room where the surrender was signed.  The surrender document wasn't the final and definitive one, as the Soviet leadership was not happy about the symbolic location, as well as other details (laying down of arms, membership present, etc.).  The document did establish a cease-fire on the Western Front.  The effective surrender was accomplished a few days later in Berlin.

Today Tim has a bad head cold virus thing going on, so Gerri will go out and about by herself  =:-O

The Musée Picasso is an art gallery located in the Hôtel Salé in rue de Thorigny, in the Marais district of Paris, France, dedicated to the work of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973).

Falafel store and chromed Smart Car - Picasso would have approved.

Gerri stumbles into a little festival - craft beer and a German band.

Brewery on the waterfront.

Where does used beer go?

​"The sewers of Paris date back to the year 1370 when the first underground system was constructed under Rue Montmartre. Consecutive French governments enlarged the system to cover the city's population, including expansions under Louis XIV and Napoleon III, and modernization programs in the 1990s under Mayor Jacques Chirac. The system has featured in popular culture through its existence, including  Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, Les Misérables, and H. L. Humes' 1958 novel The Underground City."

Our museum pass included the Paris Sewer Museum.

"The Musée de l'Orangerie is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum is most famous as the permanent home of eight large Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, and also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau, Alfred Sisley, Chaim Soutine, and Maurice Utrillo."

​More falafel the next day.  And then:

"The Musée National d'Art Moderne (National Museum of Modern Art) is the national museum for modern art of France. It is among the most visited art museums in the world and one of the largest for modern and contemporary art."

The Musée d'Orsay is an art museum on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh.  Musée d'Orsay had 3.177 million visitors in 2017.

The Gates of Hell is a monumental sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the Inferno, the first section of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It stands at 6m high, 4m wide and 1m deep (19.7×13.1×3.3 ft) and contains 180 figures. The figures range from 15 centimetres (6 in) high up to more than one metre (3 ft). Several of the figures were also cast independently by Rodin.

"The Musée Rodin is a museum that was opened in 1919 and dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin."   It's raining again - see Tim's hand keeping the camera lens dry.

In addition to our lodging being in the neighborhood of the Eiffel Tower, we are also nearby to the:

Les Invalides containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the Dôme des Invalides, a large church, the tallest in Paris at a height of 107 meters, with the tombs of some of France's war heroes, most notably Napoleon.

Napoleon's tomb below, and one of his horses, apparently taxidermy performed well after its death, with the result being a bit off.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Paris (44 hectares or 110 acres).  With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world.

Tomb of Oscar Wilde - from the 1990's visitors have felt compelled to kiss it leaving red lipstick imprints - cleaning was becoming damaging, so in 2011 it was protected with plexiglass.

The cemetary holds many memorials to "grave" events - below left the Holocaust.
On the right, is the grave of Gilbert Morard - a senior executive/engineer for French train transit - you're supposed to leave a train ticket upon his tomb.

To the left, Chopin (1810-1839):  his music, his status as one of music's earliest superstars, his (indirect) association with political insurrection, his high-profile love-life, and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era.

To the right, kinda eerie, a life-size statue of the deceased: 
Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louvre museum.

Interesting memorials:  to the left, the only lettering that's legible says "Manes"  - In ancient Roman religion, the Manes are deities sometimes thought to represent souls of deceased loved ones;   to the right, "France Remembers", a memorial to lost soldiers apparently.

"Gioachino Antonio Rossini's opera Barber of Seville is one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music, after two hundred years, it remains a popular work."

Gerri plotting course for the subway to take us to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica - and back to the land of the living.

"The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A popular landmark and the second most visited monument in Paris, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871 crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.  Construction began in 1875 and was completed in 1914."

"Near the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the twentieth many artists had studios or worked in or around Montmartre, including Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent van Gogh."

The Moulin de la Galette is a windmill and associated businesses situated near the top of the district of Montmartre. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities. Nineteenth-century owners and millers, the Debray family, made a brown bread, galette, which became popular and thus the name of the windmill and its businesses, which have included a famous guinguette and restaurant. In the 19th century, Le Moulin de la Galette represented diversion for Parisians seeking entertainment, a glass of wine and bread made from flour ground by the windmill. Artists, such as Renoir, van Gogh, and Pissarro have immortalized Le Moulin de la Galette; likely the most notable was Renoir's festive painting, Bal du moulin de la Galette.

A nearby mill (moulin) - this one red.

430 feet back down the hill.

"The Avenue des Champs-Elysée is an avenue 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its theaters, cafés, and luxury shops, for the annual Bastille Day military parade, and as the finish of the Tour de France cycle race.  The name is French for the Elysian Fields, the paradise for dead heroes in Greek mythology. Champs-Elysée is widely regarded to be one of the most recognisable avenues in the world."

"The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, Triumphal Arch of the Star, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile — the étoile or "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues.

The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

Inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy, the Arc de Triomphe has an overall height of 50 metres (164 ft), width of 45 m (148 ft), and depth of 22 m (72 ft). Three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the arch's primary vault, and others did it again in 1981 and 1991."

We walked all the way to the top of the Arch and took photos just before sunset.

We sure are seeing the Eiffel Tower a lot today.  On the way back to our lodging, we're really in the neighborhood of the Tower, we paused to enjoy the nighttime lighting.