After watching several movies, I had developed some excitement about seeing the Moulin Rouge in-person on my last trip to Paris. Of course, I knew that this Parisian icon was not going to look like its “movie-self”, however I wasn’t prepared for today’s version.

First of all, it sort of snuck up on me. I was on a double-decker tour bus and had I not been paying attention, I would have missed it! I remember yelling out to my friend, “There it is. We have to get off the bus!” But in getting off the bus, after a few photos, we realized that we were on a very busy commercial street with not much in the way of Parisian charm. Discount stores, phone shops, and takeout places filled the street – it could have been anywhere in any country. Outside of the red windmill, this place had very little romance, and so we grabbed a cold drink and the next bus back to the romance of the Latin Quarter where we were staying.

I’ve spoken with others about this seeming misplacement of an historical icon stuck in the middle of a modern urban street. Many have expressed the same surprise and some were very disappointed, especially those who loved the 2001 movie. But in researching the Moulin Rouge, I learned that this neighbourhood has always been a bustling commercial area, and that’s why this business has thrived here over the centuries – lots of people are always coming and going!

Our imaginations are fascinating things! Because even though I know the modern-day reality of the Moulin Rouge, I stubbornly have chosen the paint the romance of it in this 3″x3″ miniature. As they sing in the movie:

Oh, come what may, come what may
I will love you, oh I will love you
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

-“Come What May” from the soundtrack to “Moulin Rouge”

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