Paris: The Latin Quarter & Le Marais

***Thank you everyone for your kind words and concern over last week’s post. We are doing well and feeling grateful for family and friends, as well as well-designed modern cars!***

Finally I have whittled down our pictures from Paris to a more reasonable number to share! In this post I will focus on our first half (The Latin Quarter) and our last half (Le Marais) portions of our trip, and tomorrow I will share pictures from our trip to Fontainebleau, a division outside of the center of Paris.

Instead of taking pictures of the traditional landmarks and tourist sites, I decided to focus on what interested me visually, what little parts of the city I found charming and beautiful. For instance, the doors! Everything in this city was beautiful, but what struck me were the elaborately carved wood and iron doors around every corner. Also, huge, fragrant roses seemed to bloom on every surface, from every window box and garden. I finally understood what all the fuss was about. 

The view from our window in Le Marais, our favorite Parisian neighborhood

Andrew and I arrived in Paris completely jet-lagged and wanting nothing more than to crash for a few hours before exploring the city. Unfortunately, as what happens so often when traveling abroad, we had to wait until noon to check into our room (we chose Airbnb for our accommodations), so we we hung out at a cafe before walking aimlessly (but happily, and amazed, nonetheless) until check-in. We walked to the Louvre, and decided not to go inside. The lines were insanely long, but more than anything, we were enjoying the architecture and fountains and people-watching so much, we didn’t feel obligated to go inside. Next time, maybe!

After a short nap, we ventured out to visit Notre Dame Cathedral, then shared an ice cream cone in the gardens in the back.

The roses!

And though we enjoyed the Latin Quarter, I think we would have enjoyed it even more 7 years ago, when we were up for a bit more… drunken shenanigans? But the cafes were abundant, the food was amazing, and the streets were crowded with fun, international youth who had a glint of adventure in their eyes.

But Le Marais, oh how perfect! It was quieter, full of art galleries, beautiful tucked-away garden nooks, cobblestone streets, amazing shops (including tons of vintage stores that Andrew and I spent hours perusing), and amazing restaurants. Plus, the apartment we rented was perfection; full of floor-to-ceiling windows, a skylight, and a huge bathtub for two right inside the bedroom. It was quite romantic.

While staying in Le Marais, we walked miles up the Seine River and enjoyed a nighttime boat tour (thank you to all who suggested it, we really did enjoy it!) where we huddled together on a chilly night on the top open level of the river boat with a bottle of champagne. We went right by the Eiffel Tower as it was lit up from within and by the full supermoon– an awesome experience I will never forget.

We didn’t venture into any museums this time around, but instead just enjoyed walking around and seeing where our feet took us. The few things we did plan were right up our alley. The one and only long line we decided to wait in was for admittance to the Catacombs, an underground ossuary holding the remains of six million people filling what were originally stone mines of Paris. Though morbid, it was completely fascinating (and slightly terrifying and a bit claustrophobic) and we chose a rainy cold day to go. In fact, it was pretty chilly for the whole trip, and rained at least once a day, but frankly I prefer that to extremely hot and humid weather any day!

Truly, the sheer numbers of human remains was hard to comprehend, but beautiful and moving. 

Inside the front door of the Marais apartment

So, my take on the Parisians themselves? I honestly didn’t get the impression that they were rude or hated Americans or even resistant to speaking English. We always tried to speak French, though, rather than just assuming everyone spoke English and starting with that. I actually really appreciated the lack of small-talk that many Americans feel they must engage in with strangers while waiting in line, riding on planes, buses, trains, etc. It was nice to have a bit of privacy with Andrew in such a big beautiful romantic city. So yes, I would recommend Paris (of course!!!) and in particular, Le Marais.

Tomorrow: Fontainebleau!