The time I stayed at Montmartre,Paris and made new friends!

You know the feeling of strongly wanting to explore a place you’ve only read about? Or the sense of familiarity with somewhere you’ve never been to? Well, Montmartre in Paris was one such area for me. After reading numerous stories about the artists and writers who spent time there, the liveliness, the iconic sights and the historical aspect , I had made up my mind to spend a part of my trip to Paris there itself. Did you know that Van Gogh spent a long time staying in the area, although without much money or recognition?

I wanted to walk by the Moulin Rouge, the quaint streets and cafes, climb up the steps to Sacre Couer and explore that part of the city. I was thrilled to be booked into a room at the newly renovated Terras Hotel in Montmartre, but was so much more excited when I got there and realized I was just a short walk away from Moulin Rouge,Sacre Couer and the Montmartre Cemetry! Also, being close to two metro stations: Blanche and Place de Clichy as well as some bus stops made it super convenient to visit other parts of the city too.

The rooms were well-equipped and comfortable, staff at the reception was extremely friendly as well as helpful and the decor of the hotel was great! I loved spending time in the common area, going through books at the mini-library, admiring the wall art, and oh! they also had a video gaming machine.

Plus, the terrace at the Terras has a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower! That was something I was looking forward to also- starting off the day with a sumptuous breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Eiffel. And what a fabulous spread of breakfast buffet it was!

So, it was on one of the evenings, while getting back from Trocadero, that I decided to get off at Pigalle and walk to Moulin Rouge.If you’ve never visited this part of the city, let me tell you that it’s not all full of historical and iconic sights. It has a raw feel too, with a lot of sex stores, plentiful tourists, adult shows, restaurants: big and small, cafes and museums.You can keep walking straight ahead and the red windmill of Moulin Rouge will be visible from a distance.

Paula from the Contented Traveller makes an interesting remark about Montmartre in one of her posts.

“Montmartre was once outside of the physical city limits of Paris. For the elite – read wealthy – good and proper behavior was expected “in” Paris, so when they felt the need to let loose, they headed for Montmartre.

If they saw a fellow well heeled Parisian in Montmartre, then nothing could be said, because they were both after one or two things – sex and booze. So, what went on in Montmartre, stayed in Montmartre.”

Interesting.Isn’t it? Anyway, so the Moulin Rouge is said to have the most spectacular cabaret shows. You need to book tickets in advance though,  and only arrive in formal wear. I would definitely want to see the “Féerie” on my next visit to Paris. It is a troupe of 80 artists, including the popular Dorris Girls, who perform on original music scores, and complement their performance with bejewelled costumes and beautiful sets. We didn’t go in there this time, but after the long day of walking around, definitely wanted to sit down somewhere and satiate our hunger.

Walking further down the road, we spotted an Indian restaurant and decided to give it a try. The prices seemed too good to be true, the ambience was pleasant and there were quite a few people in there.After a while, I casually struck a conversation with the waiter who looked very much from South-East Asia,and asked him if he had been there in Paris for long. Little did I know that the one question would lead us to a long and deep conversation, intermittently through the evening. He happened to come from Pakistan and had joined this restaurant as a waiter only a month ago. A couple of our friends come from the same city as him, and we started chatting about how he got here and how he feels about living so far away from home. He wasn’t so comfortable with English, though his French was great. Luckily for us, we had common ground as he spoke Urdu and we, Hindi. He was actually so happy because apparently, none of the other diners had ever spoken to him about anything apart from the menu, since he had started working there. Before we left, he also showed us pictures of his wedding, which had just taken place recently in France. On asking him what he would like to do in the future, he said he would try to start a restaurant of his own as soon as possible!

You know what I’ve realized in the last few years? That when you are so far away from home, meeting somebody who understands your mother tongue actually feels good. That people are happy if you, even for once, greet them with a smile and ask how they are. You never know what someone might be going through, and maybe a light conversation is what they need to brighten their day! And also, when you travel and meet people, you realize how all those stereotypes, unnecessary sensationalization of news in the media and pre-conceived notions should be just done away with!

As we walked back to our hotel, past cafes and revelry, the soulful conversation so fresh in our minds, we decided upon visiting the Terras terrace and spending some time there before retiring for the day. I looked at the Eiffel and remembered how magical it had felt when I had seen the illuminations on the night I had arrived. I was unaware of the timings of the illuminations, and it came to me as such as a fantastic surprise!

And just then someone next to us said, “It looks beautiful. Isn’t it?” “Absolutely”, I replied , and THAT was how another eventful conversation started that night. He was a Frenchman, and was just visiting the Terras terrace bar with two of his friends.He invited us to their table and we found out that one of the girls, who was Canadian, could also speak Hindi. Also, the gentleman had visited a part of India, a few years ago, and had loved the Bullet motorbike so much that he took all the pain to import it to France. Even though it took a year or so to do it! We talked about a lot of things; perception of people from different countries, culture,food, Paris,French people, etc. “Do people get bored of seeing the tower and the illuminations daily?”, one of us asked. “Well, we don’t really see it everyday.”, the Spanish girl said. “It is visible from all over the city, but not necessarily from all houses.”  They were in fact curious to know what we worked on, and also how we even found out about this hotel, as it hadn’t been functional owing to the renovation work. All three of them lived nearby, and had just decided to come over to the Terras and check out the new look, now that it was open again.

So, there we were,strangers becoming friends on the Terras terrace, admiring the beauty of the illuminations again as the hour struck.

” What do you think of the French people?”, he had asked us in the beginning. “Well, the people I met were quite friendly..I think they are…” “And romantic!”, he cut in,” France is the country of love, you know. Of love!Love!”

 

Thanks to the Hotel Terras for hosting me.All opinions, as usual, are my own.Big thanks also to the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau for helping me explore Paris.You can visit their office at 25, rue des Pyramides 75001 Paris, for all info, tickets and planning help!

 

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