Today we took a field trip to Montmartre (moant-mar-truh, pronunciation for Jade who requested it) with my class since we have been learning all about the 18th arrondisement in class. It was cool to see this part of the city in a new light. We started by walking up all the stairs to the highest point in Paris which was quite the hike. Once we got to the top it was all worth it because it's so amazing to be able to see the entire city laid out in front of you.
We saw the Sacre Coeur (sahc-ra coor) and it was cool to see it after learning about how Montmartre used to be a little country village on the outskirts of Paris and how the Sacre Coeur was made for religious reasons but was equally political. How this country village which used to be just outside of Paris attracted Parisian artists who loved the natural light and beautiful scenery.
We went to all of the places that the famous Parisian artists like Picasso, Renoir, Toulouse Latrec, and numerous others frequented. We saw the only winery left in Paris in a quiet part of the city. We saw Au Lapin (lap-en) Agile (adj-eel) where these famous artists would go to drink and be social. We saw the Moulin de la Galettes which is the subject of a very famous Renoir painting which I did my Montmartre presentation on. It used to just be a moulin (windmill) in the countryside where people would come to drink milk and eat the galette (a type of bread) that the family living there made. As tensions grew in Paris during the French-Prussian war and subsequent French loss, people flocked to the Moulin de la Galette as a meeting place in the beautiful French countryside. Eventually it became a sort of cabaret and balls were thrown and paintings painted.
Our tour ended at le bateau (bat-oh) lavoir (la-vwar) where so many outstanding artists have done some of their best work. Picasso painted some of his best paintings here. My french teacher can also be seen in the last picture at le bateau lavoir sharing some pearls of wisdom.
Today was awesome because I got to walk the streets and see the places that these famous painters frequented. It was very Midnight in Paris-y.
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