Le Marais

Wednesday was a pretty blah day. I didn’t have class until 1:30 so I slept in a little that morning and then changed my sheets and tidied my room up. I read some more of my book and ate a leisurely lunch of bread, cheese and hummus. After class I returned home because I had an essay to write for my French class as well as a test the next day that I wanted to review for. During dinner my host mother started talking about Thanksgiving and we decided that I would make Thanksgiving dinner for her since she wanted me to make authentic American food and I was not making hamburgers!

Today was much more interesting. I turned in my paper and took my test and then did a little bit of research/ reading in my guidebooks before setting off for the Marais section of Paris. Marais is one of the oldest quarters in France and is now a mixture of trendy boutiques, the Jewish quarter, and old architecture - could it get any better for Devon? I decided to do both walks #5 and #6, which looking back I probably should have done separately and taken more time to enjoy them, but I will definitely be going back to the quarter again soon! So anyway I started out at the Hotel de Ville of Paris (this is where the mayor work – and may or may not live, I’m not sure how it work here). From the Hotel de Ville I had an amazing view of Notre Dame’s size on one hand and on the other I could see the extremely modern and colorful Georges Pompidou Center (I will be going there soon and you’ll get more explanation then). From there I walked past an amazingly large department store called BHV – shopping trip anyone? (BHV had an annex store a block down that was dedicated solely to items for dogs, well at least pets – ‘Rents: tell Whisky he’ll be getting a present). I meandered around a couple of streets, walked by St. Gervais (well technically I sat down and ate gelato in front of it) and then continued on to the Holocaust Memorial. I didn’t go in today, but there was a wall with plaques full of names along it called the Wall of the Righteous and it lists the names of people who helped Jews while the Nazi’s were in France. From there I continued on down a road that ran parallel to the Seine and past the Hotel de Sens which according to my guidebook is one of the few remaining examples of gothic architecture in Paris. Across the street was a section of the wall that used to surround Paris in the 12th century and now guards a playground for an elementary school. I then continued on my walk through a series of courtyards that were once a part of Hotel St.Pol and then past the church of St. Paul. From there I started my next walk.

My first main stop on this walk was the Place des Vosges. It was build as a country retreat for Henry IV. In the center is a park, which is contained on all four sides by “town homes.” My guide book says that each side is 9 homes… I definitely want to own one of them one day! Next I headed to the Carnavalet Museum, which can be found in two connected mansions. One the homes originally belonged to a Mme. de Sévigné who was part of Louis XIV’s court. The museum consists for the most part of salvaged rooms from historic homes that were torn down in Paris and some amazing artwork. By this time I was more then ready for lunch and headed to the main street of the Jewish quarter to get some falafel, it was sooo delicious!!!! The pita tasted fresh and it was filled not only with falafel and tahini, but shredded cucumbers, cabbage and grilled eggplant. If it was so out of the way I would be eating there all the time, but I expected to go back a fair amount nonetheless. After thoroughly enjoying my falafel, I went into one of approximately four Jewish bakeries on the street and bought a small Challah and a huge baklavah. Challah in France tastes different from its American counter-part, but I enjoyed the bit of both I ate and now have the rest awaiting me tomorrow. I then continued on past the Museum of French History and skipped the stop at the Picasso Museum (I want to save that for a day when I have energy to fully appreciate it) and headed towards the Temple Square. The Temple Square was once the site of castle of the holy Knights of the Templar Order and was where Marie Antoinette and her son were held prisoner, but it was destroyed during the revolution. By this time I was thoroughly exhausted and my shoulder was killing me from carrying my school bag all-day so I headed for the metro and went home.

I basically spent the rest of the evening curled up on my bed reading at watching The Family Stone dubbed in French. Tomorrow IES is having a Welcome Lunch – a little late I feel – on the Eiffel Tower and I haven’t decided what I’m going to do afterwards. I still have to figure out my weekend plans too. All my classes start on Monday and I won’t have the free time during the week like I do now.

Click the title of the entry for the photos!!