Today we are doing the historic Paris with a modern twist.
We've learned our lessons about French breakfast. We got pain au chocolates and other bread from Paul, the chain bakery, for breakfast. We also got our lunch sandwiches as well. This particular Paul was tucked in the St. Germaine des Pres area. It was early in the morning, so streets were very quiet and peaceful. Everywhere we looked were photo opportunities. The light and the sky from this day make the whole city sparkle, difficult to describe. We came out the left bank and walked on to Pont de Arts. one of the popular pedestrian only bridge. The view looking up and down river was amazing. We finished our breakfast on the bridge and well caffeinated. Walking alongside the bank, we crossed the river at pont neuf and got onto ile de la cite. There was a nice residential area on the west of the island, with virtually no one around. All the shops were still closed. The buildings basking in the morning light was simply stunning. Who is so lucky to be living in those apartments over looking the river? We circled around the conciergerie, the infamous prison during the revolution. Peeking inside the door, it looked dark and damp.
We decided to stick with the sun, and headed toward Notre Dame. People everywhere as soon as we reached the front square. It was a magnificent structures with all the carvings and stained glass windows. The flying buttresses along the side were all heavily decorated. We could even see the gargoyles from the ground. We took a quick tour inside the church. Looking up toward the ceiling, I marveled at the sheer engineering of it. How did they build it? To get all the carving up on the pillar? We exited the church and walked toward the back. There was nice garden with small water fountain. Everyone was hungry already, so we ate in the park, admiring the back of Notre Dame with river Seine in our back. What we really wanted to do was climbed up the bell tower to see the gargoyles, but the line was just too long to wait.
We moved on to Pompidou. Along the way, we passed very busy Parisian neighborhood north of Notre Dame, The beautiful Hotel de Ville on our right. Pompidou was bigger than we thought, with a huge collection. Ranging from paintings to sculptures of all kinds of materials, manipulating spaces with odd and surprising arrangements.. It has an excellent collection of paintings by kadinsky and chagall. Also several Matisse collages. But I think the best part of Pompidou was the terrace on the top floor. It has a great view of the city looking north. On the terrace, there was also a permanent water/statue exhibit with the sound of water swirling. A very nice place to get a break. And of course we have to visit the shop. The stuff it had was quite unique, with modern art in mind. Laurie and Megan both got little phone bijoux. We left Pompidou and got gelato for snack. There were several street performers, one guy has this clear ball that he can almost look like it's suspending in air, quite a visual tricks with his arms and hands. As we left Pompidou to go to the Marais neighborhood, it's like we were stepping back in time.
We already knew where we want to eat today. The restaurant was recommended by our friend. Au petit a fer Cheval was tiny,even in Paris standard; we almost missed it. But everything in this neighborhood was small. I like the way the buildings were cramped together, and how narrow and tight the streets are. Lot of interesting shops dotted the streets.
My destination was Place des Vosege. Marais was where the nobility used to live during the king Henry IV's reign, congregating around this huge square that's the heart of the district. Now the square was very pleasant public park. We entered the square through a narrow gate that was for the carriages. It has fountains, with mature trees shading the afternoon sun. people just hanging around. The palace buildings are still in use for office, restaurants and shops. Some of the very old looking doors, appeared to still have the original door knobs. We lingered in the square to soak up the history and slowly returned to modern day. There were many mansions and buildings that had a historic mark on the wall explaining its significance. We took our time walking the narrow streets, window shopping and admiring the area. I really enjoyed this afternoon. We got to our restaurant to find it packed with people on the outside bar. Surprisingly there was space for sit down dinner in the back of the room. I liked this dinner the most despite its very smoky air. The staff was very helpful, and everything was good. Even more interesting was it's restroom. It's all stainless, very different from the nostalgic atmosphere that's in the dinning area. We retraced our way back to Notre Dame after dinner. Crossing the bridge, Notre Dame was full of light as light of setting sun shone on it's towers. And the conciergerie didn't look as harsh as during mid day. Today was a picture perfect day.
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