Visit to Montmartre

One of my duties is to accompany a professor on an "excursion" with the students so they can check out different parts of Paris, ride the métro, etc. Unfortunately it was raining, the professor did not make any sort of plans and had not been to Montmartre in years, I haven't been up there since 1997, and it was raining!! Up we went, though -- and I had to lead, telling them about the name "Montmartre" (mount of martyrs), the story of St. Denis, the story behind the Cathedral, and thanks for trooping through the rain. I guess it was fine. What you'd expect: the Sacre Coeur, artists wanting to paint your portrait, tourists. The students are sweet: either so-cal brats who aren't used to walking and definitely not used to public transportation, but you can tell they're trying to make it work and might even feel proud to realize their feet can take them so far; or nor-cal nose-pierced nerds -- with whom I feel more in common, although they might look at me like a stranger.