sydney voit le monde: marais walk 1

16 octobre, 2012

i think of all the walks i have done so far (and i am speaking after having done a lot), this walk was definitely my favorite. i did this walk all on my own, with no time constraints. i just let myself wander and explore and go where i wanted (while still following the map, of course).

just a little background - the marais is a neighborhood that was built upon reclaimed swampland. it was a very popular place to live until the revolution, when it fell into disrepair. it wasn't until andré malraux, the minister of art under charles de gaulle, saved it from destruction. now the marais is full of life. it contains parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondisements, the jewish quarter, and so much more.

this walk started at the seine. i walked from the seine to the hôtel de sens, which is the one of the oldest buildings in paris. it used to be the home of the archbishop of sens, and then the first wife of henry iv. now it contains la bibliothèque fourney || the fine arts library of paris.

then i turned down rue charlemagne. along this street, there was a part of the wall that philippe auguste built around 1200 to enclose and protect paris. it's just connected to a school. not a big deal, really, to go to school and hang out around this wall that was built 800 years ago.

then i turned down rue des jardins saint-paul, where i turned into a little courtyard called village saint-paul. because i did this walk on a tuesday, most of the shops in the courtyard were closed, but it was so cool. all the little shops were filled with knick-knacks and tchotchkes. i found one shop that had day of the dead skulls and i thought of my aunt maryn. it was really cool.

after wandering through the village, i turned down rue saint-paul. there were so many good antique shops on this street. i want to go back and wander some more, for sure. i stopped in a shop called "ew," which i found especially funny. it turned out to be the best little antique store EVER and i may or may not have picked up a few choice finds from there. so family members...be excited for christmas. :)

from ew, i took myself to l'église saint-paul saint-louis. this is a church that stands opposite the apartment that sasha and her family lived in while they were here in 2006-2007. for some reason, when we were visiting them, i never went into this church, even though it was right across the street. i can't believe i never went it...but i'm so glad i got the opportunity to come back! inside the church was awesome. it was painted and sculpted and wonderful.

after spending a good half hour in saint paul, i got myself a crêpe citron. i think those are my favorite crêpes. don't get me wrong, i love a good nutella crêpe as much as the next person (and sometimes i like it with bananas yum). but the citron...so good. the french take a crêpe, sprinkle some sugar (white, not powdered) on it, and add some lemon juice. it is soooo good.

i took myself and my crêpe citron to place des vosges, which is paris' oldest square. it was built by henry iv, who wanted to create an elegant square in the marais where people could walk around and where members of the royal court could hold public and private celebrations and parades. the houses surrounding the square were sold to nobility, and later to other people.

place number 6 of place des vosges was once the home of victor hugo. i went inside his apartment - now a free museum - and enjoyed my time there. i ran into a couple from salt lake who were on vacation, so we talked for a few minutes and recommended a few cool places to check out. i love americans :)

after visitng victor hugo's home, i went to musée carnavalet. on my way there, i talked to an old man who was selling art on the side of the street. we had an ENTIRE conversation IN FRENCH. it was like 10 minutes long. i ended up buying one of his pieces that he has had since 1985. he told me he wanted it to go to a good home and thought i would be good to it. that made me happy. the painting is kinda weird...but i kinda like weird, so it worked out nicely. i also got gelato at amorino, this really great gelato and waffle shop that is all around paris. i tried the speculoos and the passion fruit. i wandered in and out of a few more shops before entering the musée carnavalet.

the musée carnavalet is on rue de sévigné. it is such an awesome museum! the entire thing is housed in one home - the home of madame de sévigné, who is famous for writing witty letters about paris. now it is a museum that tells the history of paris. i have never been in such a museum. i vaguely remember coming to this museum with the de limur's back in '07, but a combination of jet lag and being a 14 year-old caused me to not pay too much attention the first time i was there. this time, i got myself completely lost. i am talking "couldn't find the exit and no one could help me find my way out because no one spoke english and i don't speak enough french to understand detailed directions" lost. it was a little frustrating to not have any idea how to find my way out...but i made it, eventually. besides getting lost, the museum was amazing. there was so much information it was a little overwhelming. if you go to the musée carnavalet, don't try and do it all in one day. but do it. you won't regret it :)

after visiting the musée carnavalet, i walked around outside a little more. i walked through the jardin georges cain, and saw some interesting sculptures. and i saw some cool hôtels, which aren't hotels in the sense of an american "hotel" where you can stay while on vacation. these hôtels are private residences.

this was such a fun walk. it reminded me so much of my family, probably because of all the antique shops and because the last time i was here 5 years ago, i was with them. it made me miss them. i think that is partly why i loved it so much - it reminded me of how much i love my family and of how excited i am to see them in person in a month! :)