This week-end is the wine harvest festival in Montmartre and we've taken full advantage of it. We had festival street food for lunch both yesterday and today. Many of the vendors were selling tartiflette or some variant of it. Tartiflette is sliced potatoes cooked in a huge pan and covered with reblochon cheese which melts into it. Yesterday I had a tartiflette with sausage slices and Bill had one made with a bleu cheese from the Auvergne region. After we had eaten our potatoes we came across a booth where they were roasting hams on a rotisserie and making ham sandwiches. That looked delicious, so we came back for that today. Festival food is fast and relatively inexpensive, but the festival doesn't provide seating, so if you can't find an empty spot on the church steps you end up eating while standing up. That's why I don't have a photo of the ham sandwiches.
Today we watched the parade and it was insane. Shortly before the parade began, there was an elderly man wearing a blue satin jacket who took a seat across the street from us and people clamored to take his picture. After awhile he moved to a seat at a sidewalk table outside the brasserie across the street and sat there with what appeared to be a retinue. To me he looked like an aging rock star gone to seed. We were very curious about who he was, so I went across the street to take his picture, planning to see if I could research it on the Internet. When I got back, Bill had asked some other bystanders about him, and found out that he was
Michou, a famous cabaret performer.
But, back to the parade. It's the most disorganized parade I can imagine. People crowd around the parade marchers to take their pictures and have their own pictures taken. Many of the photos I took aren't very good because the parade participants were looking the other way to see Michou. Some of them even left the parade to go over to the brasserie to see Michou up close. Marching in the parade were people from all over France, many of them wearing regional costumes. I ordinarily hate parades because I'm too short to actually see much. However, I was able to get a spot on the edge of the street and had a pretty good view. A very fun day.
This week-end is the wine harvest festival in Montmartre and we've taken full advantage of it. We had festival street food for lunch both yesterday and today. Many of the vendors were selling tartiflette or some variant of it. Tartiflette is sliced potatoes cooked in a huge pan and covered with reblochon cheese which melts into it. Yesterday I had a tartiflette with sausage slices and Bill had one made with a bleu cheese from the Auvergne region. After we had eaten our potatoes we came across a booth where they were roasting hams on a rotisserie and making ham sandwiches. That looked delicious, so we came back for that today. Festival food is fast and relatively inexpensive, but the festival doesn't provide seating, so if you can't find an empty spot on the church steps you end up eating while standing up. That's why I don't have a photo of the ham sandwiches.
Today we watched the parade and it was insane. Shortly before the parade began, there was an elderly man wearing a blue satin jacket who took a seat across the street from us and people clamored to take his picture. After awhile he moved to a seat at a sidewalk table outside the brasserie across the street and sat there with what appeared to be a retinue. To me he looked like an aging rock star gone to seed. We were very curious about who he was, so I went across the street to take his picture, planning to see if I could research it on the Internet. When I got back, Bill had asked some other bystanders about him, and found out that he was Michou, a famous cabaret performer. 
But, back to the parade. It's the most disorganized parade I can imagine. People crowd around the parade marchers to take their pictures and have their own pictures taken. Many of the photos I took aren't very good because the parade participants were looking the other way to see Michou. Some of them even left the parade to go over to the brasserie to see Michou up close. Marching in the parade were people from all over France, many of them wearing regional costumes. I ordinarily hate parades because I'm too short to actually see much. However, I was able to get a spot on the edge of the street and had a pretty good view. A very fun day.
no selfie with michou?!
ReplyDeletesounds like an awesome day. i need to come in fall some time
The fall is lots of fun. Although, I would like to be here for Paris Plage and the music festival in the summer.
ReplyDeleteThe woman carrying the basket with the flowers? I think I've found my new look!
ReplyDeleteThe woman carrying the basket with the flowers? I think I've found my new look!
ReplyDelete