The Lumière at the End of the Tunnel

Bright and early, we crept from the apartment in Greenwich and took two buses, a train (through the tunnel from London), and a metro to our new home in Paris.  Paris!  A city known for glamour, romance, buttery pastries, cafés, and gorgeous architecture (among other things).  We were staying in a beautiful, airy room in the 18th Arrondissement, a neighborhood that we later learned houses both very wealthy and very poor Parisians.  It is sometimes described as "rough" but our street was quit charming and we loved the convenience to downtown on our nearby metro line.

Since we had most of the day, we decided to walk around.  Even on the short walk to the metro, we got a snapshot of Parisian life.  Men called from market stalls offered a taste of the delicious fruit selection.  Street musicians played the accordion instead of the guitar.  Young Parisians dressed in high fashion showed their edginess with a piercing above the lip like a glinting beauty mark.  They say that in Paris there is no downtown, because each arrondissement is its own little village or community. We certainly got that feel.

Still, drawn by the allure of Parisian history and grandeur, we made our way to Point Zero.  

Identified by a plaque on the ground in front of Notre Dame, this point is a reference from which all distances in Paris are (supposedly) measured.  We decided to go into the cathedral another time due to the blocks-long line, but appreciated the gorgeous facade and used it as a starting point for our Rick Steve's audio guide of historic Paris.  [When I said that my bare shoulders weren't appropriate, Josh also suggested that I tell the church employees that I was "cloaked by the Holy Spirit."]  From the souls in Purgatory leering it from the sides of the cathedral to its pensive gargoyle on the top right corner, detail after detail caught our eyes.

Fun fact: this year, Notre Dame celebrates its 850th birthday

From Notre Dame, we proceeded to the cathedral gardens, the Deportation Memorial (for the 200,000 Jews deported and killed during WWII), the Ile St. Louis, the Left Bank, and various sites relating to medieval Paris.  Then, dipping into what became one of our favorite neighborhoods, we saw the quirky bookshop Shakespeare and Co.  This bookstore was a hotspot for famous writers of the early 20th century, albeit at a different location.  The bookstore today is stuffed from floor to ceiling with a diverse array of volumes.  An adjacent room houses the rare books, some of which are for sale.  Most interesting to me was the continued support of the bookstore for young aspiring writers,  they can apply to have a sort of "writer-in-residence" status at the bookstore, living for free upstairs.  Pretty cool, huh?

After Shakespeare and Co, we wandered down Rue St. Severin to admire cathedrals and small pedestrian streets that bring Paris such charm.  Then we were struck again by the scale of Paris as we encountered the Conciergerie (known for being a former jail and torture chamber, as well as for its old public clock outside), San Chapelle, and the Pont Neuf.  It was a nice sample platter of Parisian offerings, from the grim to the gorgeous, the ancient to the relatively new.  What other city offers a 400-year-old tree with a name, a bridge with thousands of locks proclaiming love (of another or of travel, it seems), and a melting pot (of cheese or people, take your pick) to enrich your experience, all within a few blocks?  Incredible.

We returned to our little Parisian home, tired but satisfied, sunburned but glowing.  Paris has a romance, yes, but it is the romance of discovery.

Spotted: Art.  As Josh commented, he understands why artists flock(ed) to find inspiration and success.