Atlantica - 01.03.2001, Side 30

28 A T L A N T I C A
so instead we head for Ste Chapelle, a
gothic chapel built by Louis IX in 1298.
The stunning interior features exquisite-
ly painted walls, and the monarch’s
upper chapel is ablaze with stained
glass windows.
In a city where hot spots change all
the time, village-like Montmartre is a
reassuringly stable slice of Paris
Bohemia. And this, at the city’s highest
point, is where we end our afternoon.
Hugging the hillside between the sleazy
Pigalle area and the sugary Sacré-Coeur,
Montmartre is home to a laid-back, mul-
ticultural population. We avoid the
touristy Place du Tertre, where third-rate
artists con unsuspecting souls into hav-
ing their portrait painted, and instead do
a round of the buzzing shops and cafés
on the Rue des Abbesses and the lower
half of the rue Lépicare. Delicious smells
waft out of tempting delis, and there are
lots of quirky clothes and gift shops. For
an incredible view of the city, we sweat
our way up the steep stairways towards
the Sacré Coeur. Looking across the
rooftops in the soft afternoon sun I can
only agree with what Louis-Gabriel said.
There definitely is a special feeling
going on in Paris. There always has
been.
Anna Margrét Björnsson is a staff writer
who lived in Paris’s 2éme arondisse-
ment for two blissful years.
[ Icelandair flies between Charles de Gaulle
International Airport and Keflavík
International Airport each week: until
25 March 2001 planes fly 3 times weekly,
26 March–7 April planes fly 4 times weekly,
8 April–28 May planes fly 5 times weekly,
29 May–13 September planes fly daily. ]
COOL CHIC
French kiss under the Eiffel Tower.
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