Sunday, October 17, 2010:

Today we ventured to the area of Paris called Montmartre which is where early monks stomped grapes and used windmills for that purpose. It also was the area populated by Parisian liberals, painters and struggling artist, poets and drunkards (Tom's felt right at home). The nightclub Moulin Rouge and other sexy clubs line the street, but there is also many small winding street full of lovely shops and Marcella found a perfect "cookie" shop. We visited the homes of many artists who lived here during their early years, including Renoir, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and many others.

The district was also the area that US GI's visited during WWII to seek out entertainment and working girls. In fact, the small town of Pigalle became known as "Pig Alley" by the GI's.

We again walked a lot and the weather is cold, but refreshing. We took many photos and enjoyed a coffee at Starbucks, yes that Starbucks.

Tomorrow we are going back to the Eiffel Tower during the day, and book out tour to Versailles. We also intend to ride Bus #69 which our guide book states is the cheapest and best full tour of Paris for the price of a single Metro ticket.

More later.....