Yesterday, after returning to the apartment from my day in Monmarte and Sacre'-Coeur, I took a brief nap and headed to Pigalle (neighboring Montmarte, and bordering Henry Miller's "Clichy.")
I had read that if one is looking for something to eat late at night, this is the neighborhood where restaurants and eateries stay open later (1:00 am +) than most of the other areas of the city. Coming up from underground (the metro="subway" in NYC lingo - difference is that the metro is more advanced, with soft rubber wheels !sans squeaking!, spotlessly clean terminals and cars, and digital countdown clock that displays the minutes until the arrival of the next train.) I was instantly struck by the "particular energy" of Pigalle. It immediately brought me back to Times Square circa the late 70'- early 80's when I first started visiting Manhattan. Kung-Fu movies being show all night long on a double bill with Porno; advertised with sun-faded, crudely designed, cardboard window-cards, and tons of neon strobes. Drug dealers and con men above ground, cheap arcades and photo booths below ground. Hookers, the "street walking" kind are still seen here (I counted 3...which is more than I've counted all year in Manhattan, owing their disappearance to the Internet and online...*ahem*... "dating.")
Pigalle, who's main drag is the blvd de Clichy, and host to the Moulin Rouge, didn't have any drug dealers or cheap arcades on display, but it sure did have plenty of Porn (minus the Karate). Appropriately named PIGalle (or, "Pig Alley") the photos below sort of speak for themselves.
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