Liberte, Egalite, Patisserie

Paris is pretty hard to compete with when you have things like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame and the Louvre. (Oh, and the world reknowed flea market on the Rue de la Martyrs near our hotel)

We have not caught everything there is; that would take a lifetime. Our hope was that we could get a feel for the city as we wandered. But there was one area in particular that we wanted to see...the Latin Quarter and/or the Left Bank. I am not certain if there is a dividing line on those two areas or if the former is a part of the latter. 

The Left Bank is named so because it was on a riverman's left side, when he was floating downriver on the Seine. The Latin Quarter is on the Left Bank because the Sorbonne is there. The Students of the Sorbonne spoke Latin until the 17th Century (or some such century). I heard very little Latin spoken around there, mostly French and if you blindfolded me and set me down along any one of the thousand cafes along the streets I would swear I was along a US college campus. (Except for the French language, and the men wearing scarves, and everyone drinking latte and not Miller Lite and eating croissants and not subs and motor scooters, and everyone looking self consciously pretentious....but besides that....the Latin Quarter is any college USA. Never saw anyone near the Sorbonne wearing a Buckeye necklace or Scarlet and Gray either.)

I liked the area. It is quite tourist-friendly and I suppose that anyone who comes to Paris and wanders the Left Bank is captured by it all and goes home and feels like they have touched the pulse of the city. I know I will. But, besides the high-end tourist ammenities and bookshops which, for some reason are mainly in a foreign language, which proves how pretentious the French are, it is great fun to just wander and see how the streets curve and alleys have become restaurant rows and establishments, some of which actually saw the Revolution, are still in existence today.

By late afternoon, something rare happened....the sun came out. It is then that Paris leapted into the guide books and romance movies. Everyone found a spot along the Seine to sit casually and appear as if they were meant to inhabit the river scene. The cafes surrounding the Notre Dame were packed. Some photo shoot was taking place with "fashion models" and camera crew and make up artists and director (everyone wearing the obligatory black ensambles). Sandwiches, drinks and pizza's appeared in everyones hands and the talk was lively as the sun finally hit the streets.

We, very much enjoyed it too and I returned to the Notre Dame plaza to take a few pictures. And then we walked the Ile Saint Louis behind the cathedral and journied back to the Left Bank for dinner.


I wanted one final try at seeing the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Cathedral) near our hotel. Its views of Paris are legendary and by night the place was swarming with Parisians. We took the Metro back to our neighborhood. Walked up the street and wandered. I was surprised at the number of people and the number of restaurants tucked in behind the Sacre-Coeur. And along the front, off to the side a bit, we found a view of the Eiffel Tower, several miles off to the southwest. We stood and waited for the Tower to flash its twinkling lights, which it does for 5 minutes, the first of every hour.

At 8 pm the lights burst forth and Makaila and I smiled and "Ooo'ed and Ahhh'ed" just like the Parisians.

 

Peace, Bob