Our second full day in Paris was planned around Montmarte, my moms friend had recently been and highly recommended it. She loved the little blue train to explore the area and she had a bonus adventure, she crashed a wedding party on the train. So we specifically asked for this same train and planned to ride the loop to learn about this area, wander the Montmartre Museum, eat dinner, pop into Sacré-Cœur, then end with a photo shoot at 8 PM.
Before we begin, what is Montmarte? Montmartre is a charming hilltop neighborhood in Paris. Once considered the countryside, it was absorbed into the city in the late 19th century during Haussmann’s renovations. Home to artists like Picasso and Renoir, it still draws painters to Place du Tertre and is famous for the Moulin Rouge cabaret.
I started the morning getting my hair washed and styled—at an amazing salon called, Camille Albane in our St Germain neighborhood, We had a bit of a language barrier but our concierge Valerie made sure they knew I had keratin therefore I had to use certain shampoo – no sulfate. I whipped out my Google translate just to be sure no mistakes were made. They wash your hair and massage your head, neck and scalp, it was so luxurious and relaxing. I can’t remember any of the names but they did a great job considering that major language barrier.
After that, we stopped into the first place we saw open for lunch. It was gorgeous inside—sleek, quiet, and beautifully designed. And surprise—it was Italian. Emporio Armani Caffè in Saint-Germain. Not exactly what we had in mind for a French lunch, but it was delicious and fancy, so no regrets.
Post-lunch, we grabbed an Uber to the Moulin Rouge area of Montmarte to catch the little blue train we had tickets for. Only problem? No one at Moulin Rouge knew where it picked up. One guy sent us to Starbucks. Starbucks had never even heard of it. This was not looking promising.
So we pivoted—again—and Ubered to the Montmartre Museum. Of course, we were dropped off closer, but not dropped off at the top, we had to walk up the hill. So up we went, on foot, we saw this sculpture on the way to the Montmarte Museum.
“Le Passe-Muraille” is a sculpture based on a story by Marcel Aymé about a man who could walk through walls—until one day, his power failed, leaving him stuck. Artist Jean Marais captured that moment, and the sculpture now stands in Montmartre as a quirky tribute to the neighborhood’s literary charm.
We kept waking up the hill and a little train full of kids passed us. Was it ours? No idea. At this point, we were too frustrated to chase it down.
The museum was charming, but the real gem was Renoir’s garden—quiet, peaceful, and straight out of a painting. Literally. This is where Renoir painted La Balançoire and Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette. It was the kind of place that makes you pause, breathe, and feel lucky to be there.
The house had some interesting pieces, though nothing I recognized from art history class. Still, the space had a lot of character. We asked (again) about the train and were told to head toward Sacré-Cœur. Off we went.
We finally spotted a train, ran toward it, showed our tickets—nope. Wrong one. Naturally. But just around the corner… there it was. Our little blue train at last! Our blue train wasn’t blue it was white!
We hopped on and rode it one stop… which turned out to be the original pickup spot we’d been trying to find all along.
Mom didn’t want to wait 30 minutes for the loop to start back up, and honestly, neither did I.
At this point we wanted to call an uber. The area we were in felt a bit sketchy, so I upgraded us to a Comfort Uber. That’s when the fun really started. The driver couldn’t find us. The app said meet your driver, but there was no clear place to do that—and I’m texting him, translating into French, and he still refused to come get us. He ends up canceling our ride, blaming us and charging us. I disputed it and got refunded right away.
We ordered a second Uber and it showed up right away. Smooth ride back. That first driver? Total anomaly.
But now we had another problem: our photographer was planning to meet us back in Montmartre at 8 PM. We just left, and we REALLY didn’t want to head back to Montmarte again, we were supposed to meet at the “I Love you wall,”, but if it’s anything like this morning we were likely to get lost. Poor Naman, our trip coordinator, got lots of texts from us today as we were hitting so many snafus.
Mom and I found out the photographer wanted to meet us by the Louvre—Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. So off we went—again—navigating Paris traffic. We made it just in time, and honestly, I’m so glad we did.
I directly messaged the photographer to see if we could change the location. Thankfully, he said yes. So we rerouted to the Arc de Triomphe and grabbed dinner nearby at Le Drug. Cute spot. Good food.
Photos coming later….
But… wait I am sending messages & selfies so the Photographer can spot us when he realizes we went to the wrong Arc. OH NO! Time for a new uber but we are loaded with traffic because tomorrow is Victory Day plus rush hour! We locate an Uber driver willing to help us find him and avoid the really terrible traffic. But first, I snapped two iconic photos below!
Our uber driver said meet me at Louis Vuitton, on the Champs-Élysées away from the arc. We raced to meet him but first a photo!
The Champs-Élysées is Paris’s most famous avenue, stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde. Lined with trees, luxury shops, cafés, and theaters, it’s a lively and elegant boulevard often called the “most beautiful avenue in the world.” It’s also the site of major events like Victory Day which was tomorrow and the Tour de France finish.
The Uber driver dropped us off at the correct Arc de Triumph du Carrousel at the Louvre. A few texts later, we finally connected with our photographer Jean Sebastian. The photo shoot was magical at dusk and sunset! The light, the setting, the energy—it all came together perfectly. We were freezing by the end, but it was totally worth it.
The Tuileries Gardens, between the Louvre and Concorde, were created in 1564 and redesigned by André Le Nôtre. They’re famous for fountains, sculptures, and peaceful tree-lined paths.
When we were done we walked all the way back to the hotel. At that point, we were officially Ubered out.
I took some cool sunset photos on the way back.
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
A smaller, more decorative arch located near the Louvre, built in 1808 to commemorate Napoleon’s military victories. It’s known for its pink marble columns and the bronze horses on top, modeled after those of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
The Louvre Pyramid, designed by architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989, sparked controversy for its modern glass-and-metal look clashing with the historic museum.
The Seine River runs through Paris for about 8 miles, dividing the city into the Right and Left Banks. It’s famous for its bridges, boat tours, and views of landmarks like Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
We continued to walk for 15 minutes back to our hotel.
Not the day we planned, but definitely one we’ll never forget.
Happiness is Possible 