Life After Work: Montmartre and Sacre Coeur

Saturday was our last full day on our cruise. It's been a great week and we think we'll definitely do another river cruise. We've met some great people and have totally enjoyed the life on board the ship and the side trips.
This morning we were off to the Montmartre district to see the Sacre Coeur cathedral. We went by bus to the bottom of the mountain area and then took a goofy little train up to the top. I was somewhat mortified to be traveling through Paris in what looked like a toy train. I imagined people looking at us and shaking their heads as I would do if I saw this sort of transportation! In the end, it got us to the top easily. And it was a major crowd scene at the cathedral. We moved through the church with all the others after being warned not to talk or take pictures. Of course, there were numerous people taking pictures with phones and cameras. It was an odd experience really. It seemed that most people there didn't really appreciate Sacre Coeur for what it was. We got the impression that most people were just there because it was a place to tick off on your list of places to visit. Cynical? Maybe, but that's the way it seems to be. It is a beautiful place with an amazing history and we were happy to have experienced it.
This was the train we had to take to go up the hill. I think I'd walk next time!

Sacre Coeur is also a major site for the scam artists. We saw the guys selling junk Eiffel Towers picking up their stuff as police approached. Then we saw the police catch about 8 of the scammers and make them tear up and toss the "surveys" that they use to try to get money from people. I was amazed to see people falling for the scams too.

Here you can get an idea of how crowded it was at Sacre Coeur.

We had some time to wander through the area around Sacre Coeur as well. There was an artist section where people were working on paintings, sketches and portraits. Again, it was extremely crowded.

Our last dinner on the River Baroness was not spectacular but it was good. They served entrecote or rib steak as one of the entrees. We were sitting with our friends from Calgary and Midland who were as aware as we were of what made a good steak. We had all had various forms of steak in Paris and knew that this could be a toss of the dice. At the end of the meal we all agreed that the French don't really know what good steak is. They also don't know how to make coffee but that's another story. The steaks tend to be too thin and are often not overly tender. Tonight's were on the thin side and fairly tender. Would I put these steaks on my Weber? No! But, the flavour was good and I did help Marilyn finish hers so that has to say something positive! As a side note, we talked this morning to people who paid 189 euros last night to go to the Moulin Rouge. It was a set menu including steak that was, by all accounts, not edible. But, the show was good...
Bouchee a la Reine - creamy chicken and mushrooms in puff pastry