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I am at map red-square-23, the Butte-Montmartre (Montmartre Hill) by Sacre Coeur
basicila.
Montmartre is one of the main centers
of crime and prostitution in Paris. On my way up the hill, I was greeted by
sequential-rising-street intersections of men running a card variation of the Shell game
- the infamous three-card Monty.
The partially bald man just to the right in front of the boxes is one of the shills.
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The shill
"won" 100 Euro, then the dealer asked me to play. "It's a scam" I told him, which
really pissed him off. As I walked away, we traded insults. Then I thought, "Gee, he does have at
least one buddy here, plus all the other guys on the other intersections ..."
so I quickly lost myself in the crowd.
The three-card Monte game itself is very simple. To play, a dealer places three cards face down on a table - or here on boxes. The dealer shows that one of the cards is the target card, for example, the Queen of Spades, and then rearranges the cards quickly to confuse the player about which card is which. The player is then given an opportunity to select one of the three cards. If the player correctly identifies the Queen of Spades, he wins an amount equal to the stake he bets; otherwise, he loses his stake. YOU CAN'T WIN THIS GAME - the dealer uses slight of hand and misdirection to cheat the
player.
Video of three-card Monty
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Here is a peoplemover you can ride to the top of the hill. I used the stairs.
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It's Sunday afternoon, the nicest afternoon of the time I am spending in Paris.
There is a central square located near the basicila where artists display their paintings
for sale. The prices are way beyond what I could afford, but they are fun to look at.
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Vincent Van Gogh painted this picture, "Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre" in 1887 while
living in Paris and hanging-out with fellow impressionist painters.
Windmills (moulins) have always been associated with Montmartre.
The Moulin Blute-Fin is in the background - this area was considered outside of Paris
proper and a slum.
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I liked the stylized trees and landscape on the left - and the unusual colors.
I am not sure
of what to make of the brilliantly colored painting on the right, "Wine for the Glee Club in Hell"?
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I really like the jangled boats in the painting on the left. It's hard to focus on them.
It reminds me of Van Gogh's electric brush strokes. The picture on the right might be
characterized as a impressionist seascape, which I also liked.
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Wandering around, here is a scene (left) looking away from Montmartre toward (I think) Le Defence.
I probably should have asked about taking pictures of the artwork, but lets face it,
that's what I do ...
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Leaving the art square, Sacre Coeur is on the left (left). Last time I was here, I
snapped a picture of a Paris cab. Here's another one.
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Back down from the hill. I didn't see my three-card Monty buddy on the way back down. I don't hang
out here after dark. I think you would need lots of money to go to the caberets, and I don't
feel it's particularly safe to wander around here at night.
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You have to be very careful in the Metro
and train stations in Paris. Avoid standing on
Metro trains - pickpockets are rife and it's harder for them to get you if you are seated.
Keep passports, cash, credit cards and plane tickets in a money belt worn around
your neck or around your waist.
Don't wear jewelery - gold chains are bad. One of the English guys I was drinking with in
Munich said he was wearing a gold chain in a Paris bar. He stood drinking and talking to
some guy, then all of a sudden the guy ripped the chain off his neck and ran away.
Be wary of any disturbance or nudging in a crowd.
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This is a pretty bad picture taken in the Metro - the Paris subway. I was talking to a man and his wife waiting in line for the Picasso museum. He said
that four of them were going single-file through the Metro turnstyle, when a pickpocket
went for the 3rd person in their single-file group, not realizing he was the fourth.
The
man I was talking to said he just shoved the pickpocket to the ground - the pickpocket
jumped up and ran off. It's best to sit on the Metro rather than stand - that makes it
harder for someone to get into your pockets.
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One encounters these rental bikes every so often. I wanted to remember to take a
picture of them, so here they are.
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