Sightseeing in Paris

That first day of our trip was spent mostly traveling from RAF Lakenheath to Paris. Once we arrived in Paris, that first day, we toured around the northern part of the city, not leaving the bus. We all checked in at our hotel, got a good nights’ sleep and started off early the next morning for a day full of sightseeing.

Our first stop was in the northern part of the city, called Montmartre. Montmartre is a hill which is 130 meters high, giving its name to the surrounding district, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre got its name from the "Mount of the Martyrs’. It’s the highest point in Paris and is associated with many hopeful, budding artists. It is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit. Its white dome is a highly visible landmark in the city. Toward the lower end of the hill, you’d be able to see where the Moulin Rouge was located. Moulin Rouge is a cabaret built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. It’s close to Montmartre in the Paris’ red-light district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy. It is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Today the Moulin Rouge is a tourist destination, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. Much of the romance of turn-of-the-century France is still present in the club's decor.

In completing these pages, I wanted to give that "turn-of-the-century feel to the pages. I was also showcasing three different attractions, all on a two page spread. So, I decided to give these pages a feel of climbing, 'cause that is what we did that day. So I chose another sketch from Page Maps and gave the pages, the "Leanne touch" to make the pages my own.

The papers I used were from K and Company's "Life's Journey." I tore and distressed all the edges using CTMH's Desert Sand ink. I cut some green delicate flourishes for either side of the pages with my Wishblade. I used the same technique from Dawn McVey's blog to make her "puffy flowers". But before I layered the flowers together, I distressed the edges. Once I put the flowers together I spritz them with my homemade Glimmer Mist. I clustered all the flowers together on top of a couple of flourishes. Both titles Montmartre and Sacre Coeur were cut several times on my Wishblade and stacked to give the look of chipboard. I did the same thing with the birds surrounding the titles.

To make the Glimmer Mist, a sister consultant, Susan Burmood, shared how she was able to take some reinkers, water and CTMH's Create-A-Shade paint, combined them together in a spray bottle and spray as you would regular store bought glimmer mist. I changed it a bit, and used liquid hair spray instead of water. That will help keep your flowers for going flat. As you all know, and I use to say it at all my gatherings, "I am a lumpy bumpy kind of girl."

One last thing about the layouts, I wasn't sure how I was going to journal about all these attractions we saw. I wanted to share what each place was and a bit of history of them. So, I took CTMH's new flip flap, trimmed them down to fit my pictures and used the underneath part to do my journaling.

That first day in Paris, we started off so early. It was a good things since there was so much to see and do. Its been too long to remember (17 years) exactly how long we spent at Montmartre. But I do remember climbing aboard the bus, and headed to Versailles.

That my friends, is a whole another story and more to share. Tomorrow! Thanks for walking down Memory Lane with me and thank you for letting me share my pages. As I complete these pages of our trip to Paris, I am falling in love with Paris all over again.

Until tomorrow,

Happy Scrappin'

Leanne