Montmartre
Weekend number two!
What word is used to classify all of spatial, directional, and time awareness? That word? Yeah, I don’t have that. None of it. It freaks me out sometimes because how can someone just have an inkling on which direction to walk in? Or know where their surroundings are at all times? My AirPods were in my ears yesterday and I opened the case to put them back, instantly forgot what I was doing, saw the empty case and teared up because I thought my AirPods were pickpocketed directly from my ears. I was actively listening to music the whole time. Luckily, this is not leading up a pickpocket story. I still have ALL my belongings — currently winning a bet against every single one of you, eh? This is leading up to me being extremely confused at how things can appear so awe strikingly huge, yet also insufferably claustrophobic at the same time. This juxtaposition is how I feel about Paris’ tourist sites, a few more of which I visited this weekend.
First, I went to Montmartre and the Basilica of Sacré Coeur. Montmartre is this a neighbourhood just north of Paris. Moulin Rouge is in this neighbourhood. It would’ve been cool to see lit-up at night, but this did not strike me as the safest place to be once the sun sets. Aha, common sense, I do have that sometimes. Montmartre was cute, and although there were areas that were just as busy as Paris’ core, there were also less crowded areas. This was refreshing. It is literally up on a hill, so the whole town looks over the city of Paris, although most of those lookouts were really just a sea of heads. I wandered around freely for a bit, letting my eyes breathe from their hours locked to a blue dot on a map. It’s a very small neighbourhood, and I had a few places pinned that I wanted to go to so I thought it would be fun to try and find them all without directions. I found most! A cute pink house, a garden (no image — embraced solitude for the brief few seconds I found it here), and the wall of love! I could not find english. Am I arrogant for thinking it should’ve been one of the biggest phrases on the wall? It’s the most spoken language!
Here comes my juxtaposition: the basilica. This was beautiful, so I truly do understand why all 8 billion habitants of the world chose to come here on Saturday. However, I do wish maybe some had stayed home. I try very hard to take photos that do not feature just how many people occupy these spaces, but know that beyond these strategic camera angles are hoards of people. Flocks. Heaps. Masses. A lot. I was in awe at the basilica, as I have been at many sites here, for its intricacy and grandeur. You walk inside and everything is so tall and decorated. I felt a part of this was taken away as you shuffle along like a chained zoo animal being led to its feeding trough. Or Luigi Mangioni being convoyed to his trial. Regardless, it was a sight you don’t see very often, and for that I am grateful and amazed.
On my way home from Montmartre, walking as per usual, map led me through the 9th and 10th districts of Paris. (I feel I should personify map to honour what he does for me). This was the opposite of tourist-y, yet still SO BUSY. This was Paris ghetto, as I came to realize. This was me being in the minority, quite literally at a ratio of all:one. I passed a Sunday market that you could literally hear from a kilometre away because of all the shouting. Peanuts are apparently a very popular thing to sell on the streets here. So popular, in fact, that every peanut vendor must yell “PEEAANUUUTS” over and over to really make sure you know they’re all there. I bought a whole bunch of fruits, super cheap. I haven’t seen cherries in stores for months so I bought a whole bunch. Ate them all thinking “man, french cherries are way more brown and sour than canadian cherries”.. realized they were rotten, and that explains why I haven’t seen them around as they are out of season. Silver lining: this did cure my constipation. TMI for a blog post but I know you’re all wondering.
The weather was stunning, and I’m having a lot of fun exploring new things. Even without awareness, of any kind, I get by. I’m learning a lot — about myself, teaching, kids, history, traveling, french, and so on. Busy streets or not, the experience is valuable and I’m making the most of it!
