Sunday, March 03, 2013

Inside Saint Pierre de Montmartre


As I was saying yesterday, I spent my whole Saturday afternoon in Montmartre, listening to a former colleague of mine who, now that he is/has(!) retired, organizes tours of Paris for his friends and friends of friends (he as a very interesting website too, but only in French). It was fascinating, for even though I've been living in Paris for many years and have been many times to Montmartre, I never really took the time to learn more about its history. During the tour, we went to Saint Pierre de Montmartre, the little church located behind the big Basilica that miraculously survived the French revolution!. It was my first time there and I did not regret it (and I strongly recommend you go there if you come to Paris).

11 comments:

  1. At last! A place I've visited in Paris. Although I didn't take any pictures from this angle.

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  2. Et il arrive souvent que lors de votre séjour avec des amis finis par être un touriste dans votre propre ville ^O^)/. La page de votre ami est superb!!!. Il faut la voire en détail. Bon nuit et bon dimanche!! ^_^

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  3. This is such a beautiful, warm and serene picture. The lit candles just draw you right in.

    Eric, it sounds like you had a wonderful visit with your friend and learned more information about this Church. I cannot wait to come visit your delightful City again, hopefully in May!

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  4. Juste pour signaler une petite faute d'inattention: he as au lieu de he has.
    Sinon le site de votre ami est très intéressant: je vais m'y perdre à plaisir. Merci.

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  5. Enfin plutôt l'inverse: he has au lieu de he as (je devrais relire mes commentaires avant de les publier :))

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  6. Hate to admit I've never been inside this little church—but am putting it on the list for next time. You make it look very warm and inviting. And I love your friend's website. What a fun thing to do when you're retired!

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  7. I love the beauty and peacefulness of this photo. I can almost hear soft music in the background....

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  8. A lovely photo! I visited Paris last autumn and stayed in an apartment very close to this church. Although I do not understand much French and don't usually attend church, I went to a Sunday service at St Pierre. It was a very nice experience! Thank you for your enjoyable blog and all the times I get to relive my time in your wonderful city.

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  9. Hello Eric - a grammar issue!

    "He has retired" - 'retired' is a participe passé/past participle, this is a perfect tense, and is correct, and appropriate in the context. Your friend has retired.

    "He is retired" - 'retired' is an adjective, describing your friend (as someone who has retired), and is correct and appropriate in the context. Your friend is retired.

    No need to correct what you wrote in the first place, just a question of how you want to express it.

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  10. @Petrea " Although I didn't take any pictures " Does not matter. You have to come back!

    @Raquel "La page de votre ami est superbe!" Oui effectivement, il a beaucoup travaillé je dois dire ! Il y a tellement de chose à apprendre sur Paris...

    @Alexa. I agree, I want to retire too!

    @Ms M. "I can almost hear soft music in the background..." And though there is no music in this church. It's too old to have an organ.

    @Carine and VF "Juste pour signaler une petite faute d'inattention: he is au lieu de he has." and "He is retired" - 'retired' is an adjective, describing your friend (as someone who has retired), and is correct and appropriate in the context. Your friend is retired."

    Thank you both. In fact I hesitated, because you hear both. And now I understand; it's because it does not have the same meaning.

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  11. Hello again Eric. The meaning is almost identical, and as a native speaker I would use them almost interchangeably. Perhaps "he has retired" suggests that his retiral happened not that long ago, while "he is retired" just describes his status.

    Your English is amazing - je serais tellement contente si je pouvais parler/écrire le francais comme toi tu écris l'anglais!

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