I had a great weekend with my Canadian friend Sarah in Paris. We explored
Montmartre and
Sacré Coeur (where
I've been before) and spent all of sunny Sunday afternoon strolling around
Le Marais and
Place des Vosges (the oldest square in Paris and one of the most expensive and charming areas of the city).
I indulged in a little retail therapy and had my much anticipated Starbucks. It was nice getting out of my quiet mountain town for a few days, and I wasn't as overwhelmed at the craziness of being back in Paris as I'd thought. In fact, most of my old habits came back quite easily (navigating the metro system like a boss, avoiding dog poo on the sidewalks, weaving through crowds of tourists, and, unfortunately, paying an arm and a leg for everything), and in some ways, it felt as though I'd never left.
(But I did. And I'm much better off for it.)
So all in all, a very successful weekend in the city of light in good company.
And because I had such a fab time, stay tuned for a
Paris-themed giveaway coming up really soon over here at Crystal Goes to Europe!
I didn't go photo crazy this weekend because I didn't want to stick out as a tourist too much. Here are the highlights:
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| Beautiful Place des Vosges |
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| Victor Hugo lived in Le Marais neighbourhood for 16 years, and you can visit his house which has been turned into a museum. His quote says: to create is to remember. |
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| Arcade (and a typical French style café) surrounding Place des Vosges |
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| You know you are in a swanky part of Paris when the street performers are playing the harp... |
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| Hidden beauty...we stumbled into the courtyard of this hotel by accident (The Sully Hotel, thanks, Google) after going through an unmarked door. It was like walking into the Secret Garden and Paris d'autrefois. |
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| Gorgeous sphinx (!) sculpture in the courtyard of the Sully Hotel |
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| Hotel façade (you can see the twin sphinx sculptures flanking the entrance) |
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| Inverted pyramid, le Carrousel du Louvre (the ritzy underground shopping centre at the famous Louvre museum) |
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| My friend and I stumbled upon an AMAZING pet boutique in the heart of Le Marais. I was in heaven, and when I saw this print hanging on the wall, I knew I had to take a pic to document such awesomeness☺ www.moustaches.fr |
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| Starbucks and some motivational reading material at le Carrousel du Louvre before my train back to Grenoble. |
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| A peek at the inside. I love the colour contrast with the outside of the bag. |
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| From the back...it seems be very durable which is great because I usually go through purses very quickly! |
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Waiting in line outside of what is considered the best fallafel place in Paris (and maybe France?). It even has its own wikipedia page! L'As du Fallafel, rue des Rosiers, Le Marais, Paris
The fallafel were very tasty, and the long line moved along quickly. I paid 5,50€ for a fallafel sandwich stuffed full of shredded red cabbage, cucumber, tomato, delicious fallafel and their signature garlic sauce. |
7 comments:
Great pics! Makes me miss Paris! But I'll be able to go back to visit the city soon enough.
And L'As du Fallafel, I absolutely love that place! It's been my go-to for good falafel for years. It makes me hungry just thinking about it!
Nice to go back to a place and still feel as though you "know" it. Going back home in December, I felt like I was forgetting things about it already. That secret garden looked amazing. I've never seen sphinx like that. It sounds like the trip really rejuvenated you- maybe you should go more often?
I know what you mean about not wanting to feel like a tourist. I have basically no pictures from when I lived in Paris and I could kick myself now.
I used to spend 2-3 hours every day in Place des Vosges with la petite when I baby-sat, so that brings back memories. And L'As du Fallafel! Yes! Mmmmmm. Glad you enjoyed.
Love these photos. Of course it's swaying me towards Paris (it'll be an option in a few years!). That hotel courtyard is divine, I wonder what the rooms are like. And I love the photo of the insane dog with the two cats! Seriously, that is some impressive fur/hair!
It's funny that taking photos makes us feel like tourists when I'm sure the people of Paris also explore and find new places and photograph them.
But man when I do it in Melbourne, I feel like I don't live here.
Michele & Rachel - I was wondering if you knew L'As du Fallafel! It was so tasty, but the next time, I might try one of their competitor's, just for the sake of comparison.
Lovely - I am definitely more of a fan of Paris when I go for short periods of time. Unfortunately it's not a cheap train trip, so I'm not sure I'll go again any time soon. But I'm lucky I had my friend to stay with, and we really enjoyed our weekend together :)
Kate - I can definitely see you in Paris! And as for the funny photo on the wall of the pet boutique, I was so excited to see sphynx cats that I whipped out my phone for a picture (which I never really do in public places).
Deidre - I know there is nothing wrong or weird with looking like a tourist, but I hate being a cliché, I guess! I have no trouble photographing landscapes (like here in the Alps), but in big cities, I feel weird photographing buildings or people or landmarks. Oh well, I'm glad I got a few snapshots because they turned out well :)
Never been to Place des Vosges. Looks lovely. I always enjoyed looking at the pictures of it in my travel book. I think we all need a bit of a Paris break sometimes. It's a crime not to go now and then when we are so close!
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