Day 2: The Marais

My next day in Paris started off late, as both me and my mom slept until the late morning. For whatever reason I found the time difference between NYC and Paris to be way harder to deal with than the one between NYC and New Delhi!

Breakfast was had at a local Montmartre cafe, where neither my mother or I had any idea of what we were ordering. My mom wound up with some god-awful squid salad. Luckily, my dish was a much tamer and less sea-food laden pasta.

The day's goal was a walk around the Marais Quarter. Once an area of marshland and swamp, the Marais grew in importance from the fourteenth century onward because of it's location near the Louvre, which used to be a fort. It became quite popular and fashionable with the wealthy in the seventeenth century, and plenty of beautiful and majestic old houses still stand along the Marais's cobblestone streets.

First stop was the imposing Hotel de Ville, home to Paris's city council. Our trip had unintentionally coincided with a celebration of the liberation of Paris during WWII, and a huge celebration was being readied in front of the building. It had been fenced off, seats had been set out, burly guards were standing everywhere, and a huge flat screen monitor and tv had been placed to project images of the mayor, who would later be speaking there.

Anyway, I didn't get a very up-close look at the building, but what I did see was impressive. The building was so large I couldn't fit all of it into a single shot with my camera. Taut french flags snapped in the wind, and the sky was a beautiful shade of bright blue. Perfect!

An aimless stroll through the Marais followed, with me marveling at the little botique shops, winding streets and all the little pots of flowers people had placed out everwhere. Expensive cafes promoted their steaming cups of coffee and pastries, which proved very hard to resist.

We passed the Musee Carnavalet along the way, although didn't stop to check out the contents of the museum.

Our next stop was a lengthy one at the incomparable Place des Vosges. Magnificent! I loved it here so much I ended up taking a nap in the bright green grass that fills the place.

The Place des Vosges is like stepping back into time. A perfectly formed square surrounded by 36 houses (9 on each side), it is considered one of the most beautiful spots in Paris and one of the most lovely squares in the world. The houses are beautiful, linked up arm in arm and standing tall around the fountain laden park at the center of the Place des Vosges. The entire area is over 400 years old, including the houses.

I can't stress how much I loved this place. It was like being transported to a magical little spot back in time. The fountains were charming, the grass was soft and welcoming, and well coiffed trees (there's no other way to describe them) ringed the perimeter of the park. A look upwards revealed perfectly blue sky; a look to any side showcased a straight row of historical houses that stood tall and proud.

I loved watching all the people who gathered here. There were families and their babies, couples strolling hand in hand, friends eating picnic lunches, teenagers meeting up for an afternoon get together, and old folks who sat quietly under the shade of the trees. There were also plenty of tourists milling about with their cameras and maps of Paris, but most were European, so it didn't feel as intrusive to see them for some reason.

After my nap I listened to a local string orchestra play in the square. They were a musical, well trained group who played classical favorites with flair and style. Needless to say, I was impressed.

My mother and I then poked around until we found the Maison de Victor Hugo, the old residence of the great writer. We didn't go inside (I'm not that huge a fan of the author), but it was fun to touch the plaque that carried Hugo's name on it. Hugo had lived here in the years 1832 - 1848. What a nice place to live!

It was already quite late in the day at this point, and after stopping for some delicious homemade chocolate, I decided to try one of those free automatic toilets that the Paris guidebooks are always boasting about. They are basically self cleaning glorified porta-potties that are hunkered down on the sidewalks of Paris.

It took some figuring out and mashing of buttons, but I finally was able to get into one, only to be greeted with the smell of bleach and the damp interiors of a freshly sprayed toilet and sink. The experience was utterly revolting. It didn't help that I'd heard someone had died in one, and I was so paranoid about flushing the toilet that I made sure to time it to the moment I was about the step outside of the bleach smelling hell. I was NOT going to die an unglorious death in a toilet!

Before sunset I took a Batobus ride down the Seine, getting off at Notre Dame just as the sun was setting and the church's bells were tolling. It was a perfect end to a day filled with exploration and new sights. Ah, Paris!