It's funny how your feet and legs hurt less in Paris...

The quartier of Montmartre is up on a huge hill (it's huge as in it has its own funiculaire huge). But the climb is well worth it. Not only is the beautiful church of Sacré Coeur up there, but the Place du Tertre is where a host of artists, shops and restaurants are all there waiting to take your money and pose for photos. Having conquered my jet lag, I was determined not to let any other physical ailments prohibit me from getting up that hill. My family refused at first as this was later in the afternoon, but I promised we would eat dinner up there and that seemed to be enough of a reward. The view of Paris from the top is spectacular (I will be comparing this view to that from the Eiffel Tower later this week). Putting behind my ankle, knee, foot and calf pain I made it (of course half of the city's locals and tourists passed by me on the way at a much quicker pace!). I even managed not to trip on the cobblestones and uneven pavement. We walked around and had a wonderful dinner. It was not until after when we were leaving that we discovered that our train/metro pass would have allowed us to take the funiculaire for free. Despite my unconvincing argument that this was the way to really experience Montmartre - to work for it - I was not very popular as we descended the hill in a little glass car in silence.