Josy à Paris II: Le Marais

Premier matin à Paris

The day started off with some grocery-shopping with Pleuve which included, on the way home, a stop at a bakery for a fresh baguette and pastries. I couldn't help but crack the baguette as soon as we exited the bakery to have a bite of my first one in France. It was divine. Pleuve made us a breakfast spread before she headed off to her 11:00am class.

The breakfast of (Parisian) champions

While she was at school, I marvelled at the long-missed glories of high-speed wireless internet. Living in Italy has definitely made me appreciate the technologies of back home (and even Paris by comparison). After a bit of blog-drafting, I started doing some research in Pleuve's edition of Lonely Planet's Encounter: Paris and found some sights to add to my list.

Quotable graffiti, my favourite kind!

Upon her return, we headed out for some shopping at Le Marais. I had never been before and I was excited to see firsthand what cute boutiques this neighbourhood had to offer. And it definitely did not disappoint my eyes, but for my budget it was quite another story. If I still had income I would be a bit more liberal with my credit card, but knowing that I still have four more months in Europe to go makes me very weary of new purchases. That being said, Pleuve took me to shop called Héroines with very many cute dresses. While trying a couple of them on, the sales associate said something very quickly to me in French through the curtain and I just replied "okay" since I didn't know what else to reply. She repeated herself another couple of times before speaking in English--she was telling me to show her once I had tried the dresses on--and I realized how my French comprehension had deteriorated. When I came out with the second one on, Pleuve and the sales associate remarked how much they liked the dress on me, and before I knew it, I changed and paid for it without fully comprehending the cost until I stepped out of the shop. I kept thinking to myself, "It's okay, it's a unique dress and you bought it in Paris! Don't overthink the price!" But then the other side of me said, "You're here on your first full day in Paris and you've already used more than 1/5th of your planned budget for this trip. Shame on you!"

Yes, I have a very critical mind. I took a picture of a very cute dog in Le Marais to distract me from myself.

Too adorable to be real, huh? He was sitting in a shopfront.

By around 4:00pm we decided to have a late lunch at Pleuve's favourite crêpe place, Breizh Café. We each ordered a Breizh cola and galette (buckwheat crêpe)--I got the Provençal--and then we shared their strawberry and caramel crêpe for dessert. I was stuffed.

Breizh Cola: the cola of the west lighthouse 

Galette au provençal: ham, anchovies (ick), tomatoes, cheese, and a sunny-side up egg

Strawberry and caramel crêpe with vanilla ice cream

Shortly after, I had a scary experience in one of Paris' free automated public washrooms. I walked in and noticed there was no "lock" button, so I was in a constant state of paranoia that someone would open the mechanical sliding door from the outside and reveal me to a corner of Le Marais in a compromising position. Within a few seconds, I heard a loud pounding and a kid yelled something in French that I could not understand, but it sounded menacing. Then, when I tried to flush, an automated female voice thanked me for choosing the low-flush option and then I didn't understand the rest of her sentence. All I knew was that the toilet was not flushing. I kept pressing the low-flush and high-flush options only to hear the same automated voice over and over again. I washed my hands and gave up on the flushing with a panic-stricken face as I exited. French: 2. Josy: 0. Never again will I try to use a foreign automated washroom. Unless I am absolutely desperate and have someone guarding the periphery of the washroom.

On our way to see Hôtel-de-Ville (City Hall--pictured below), we stopped by Bata, an affordable European shoe store chain. Pleuve picked out two pairs of sandals for me and luckily they had my size. No more black Converse everyday in Paris (because those were the only shoes I had brought here)!

Hôtel-de-Ville

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris was a short walk later--much closer than I had anticipated. It is located on Île de la Cité, a small island in the Seine that is considered the oldest part of Paris. It was here that the small Gallic tribe known as the Parisii (from which the city gets its name) settled approximately 250 BC.

I'll have more information on the Notre-Dame when I return in a few days for a visit inside and to the top of the cathedral.

Nearby in the Latin Quarter is the famous bookstore Shakespeare & Company. I first heard about it from Nicky and RaeRae when they visited Pleuve last spring and was very interested in taking a look around. Unfortunately there was a book reading at the time so I could only admire it from the outside; I will definitely return though and let you know what the fuss is about.

Locks fill one flank of a bridge

Next, Pleuve led me to Île Saint-Louis, which she described as a very affluent and desirable area to live in among Parisians. We were here for two reasons: to see the cute boutiques and to have the best ice cream in Paris at Berthillon. It was late in the day and they didn't have Pleuve's favourite flavour caramel au beurre salé (salted butter caramel) so we left empty stomached. It was all the better for me as I was starting to feel nauseous as the day was going on, much to my chagrin.

Cute balcony in Île Saint-Louis

When we got home I didn't fare much better--though it was summer weather and warm, I had goosebumps and felt cold. I cannot be sick again!