ParisEncore: Paris Four~ First Days

We arrived at the apartment in the early afternoon. After unpacking a bit and trying to organize our space, we ventured out to the G-20 (supermarche) to stock up on a few necessities....eggs, milk, diet Coke, salami, bread, raspberry (framboise) preserves, Kleenex and laundry soap. Next stop was the boulangerie for the morning's pastries (croissants and pain au chocolat). Then more unpacking.
Dinner plans? Off to La Perla (a favorite Italian restaurant) on rue Montorgueil. I had my favorite four cheese ravioli.

We were pleased that the waiter actually remembered us from last year.

Falling to sleep was definitely not a problem on this night!

The second day was spent traipsing around in search of an adapter. You would think in a city as tourist oriented as Paris that it would be easy...it wasn't. The language barrier was probably the main cause of our lack of immediate success. But we did find it and were friends at the end of the day.

The first real sight-seeing day found us in the Marais (3rd and 4th arr.)

(Map from Google)

We had to buy Metro tickets from the "le machine"(yikes!) but the new machine was so much easier than the one we had to use last time; you can choose your language and it's all touch screen. Today's plans include; finding Village St. Paul, Hotel Sully, Place St. Catherine and Musee Cognacq-Jay.
The guide book says to enter Village St. Paul by one of the small passageways on rue St. Paul, so we did.

This passage led to a 'dead end' at Eglise St. Paul-St. Louis, so we went in.

It was nice to enter this way because the front entrance is completely obscured by scaffolding.

But we were looking for Village St. Paul, so we retraced our steps back to rue St. Paul and took the next passageway.

The end of the 'tunnel' is rue St. Paul.

Village St. Paul

What I had read about this area is that it is a maze of shops, mostly antique, and restaurants and it is, but most were closed. We were practically the only people roaming around.

On one side of Village St. Paul a long section of the Phillipe -Auguste city wall can be seen. Built between 1190 and 1220 as a defensive wall; there are a few sections of the wall that remain and can be seen in the Latin Quarter (5th arr.)

From here, Hotel Sully was just a short walk across rue St, Antoine.

Hotel Sully is a 17th century mansion built in the Renaissance style. The Duc de Sully was Henri IV's chief minister. Today the mansion is an annex to the Jeu de Paume which houses photography exhibits. The courtyard is the main attraction here.

Courtyard of Hotel Sully

The Mole Hill (our title) ~I don't think this sculpture is 17th century.

Leaving the garden, we entered the Place des Vosges. The symmetry of the square make it one of the most beautiful in Paris. 36 houses, 9 on each side, with deep slate roofs and arcades surround the place. Along the arcades are shops, restaurants and cafes; it's a wonderful place to sit and 'people watch'.

Arcade

Entrance from a small street.

These are 2 of the four areas within the Place.

One of the shops. I wasn't going to include the photo because of the reflections but I think it adds a little something.

We did find the Place du Marche-Sainte Catherine. It is really tucked into the web of little alleyways which give the Marais it's character. The square itself is small and quite charming; full of restaurants and cafes.

Our last stop for the day was Musee Cognacq-Jay. This is a small collection of French 18th century art and furniture formed by Ernest Cognacq and his wife Louise Jay, founder of the La Samaritane~Paris's largest department store until it closed in 2005. (The story of La Samaritane will be another post for sure.)