Walking around Paris part 1

Having spent a number of hours sitting on a plane (sitting still for a while isnt something i find easy lol) i chose to spend the last couple of days walking.

The studio i am in (in Montmartre) is right behind the Basilique de Sacre-Coeur. A catholic church on top of a hill. Now, for those of you that don’t like steps…you may want to drive to the top. Otherwise you will be walking up a fair number of steps to get to the church and see the view. The view is fantastic, right across Paris. I’d recommend you do it on a clear day so that your view isn’t blocked by smog etc. you can just see the Eiffel tower (and i mean ‘just’ ie only the top of it is visible above a house).

If you walk around to the left of the church and take the lane on the left, you will end up in Montmartre’s artist square. A square which is full of artists ready to draw a portrait of you (a variety of styles are available from a sketch of you, to a cartoon). This square is surrounded by coffee shops, so if you decide against immortalising yourself in a picture, you can watch others doing it 😉 There are also many lanes and alleyways to wander down, so if you aren’t good at getting your bearings (like me) make sure you have your phone with you so that you can use your map app to find your way home. I didn’t have a French SIM yet, so kept a note of which buildings i had to turn at to find my way back to the studio.

Yesterday i bought a Lebara Sim, bought it for 9€ (which gave me 7€ credit) and added 10€ to it so that i could upgrade to the 3G data package. This will give me plenty of data to use maps, internet etc. i also use an app called Line (free phone calls anywhere in the world and free txt). This is a great way to keep in contact with family and loved ones.