Margaret's Paris Blog

J'adore l'histoire.

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Fell in love with this spot (the Square St-Médard) in a heartbeat! There are so many cute shops and cafés around it!

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I saw this painting in Saint Etienne-du-Mont and had to take a picture. It's a little hard to see I know, but basically the king is kneeling in the church while the glorified figure of Christ looks down about the gathering. I just thought this was such an interesting representation of the concept of the divine right of the King!

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Bonjour! Today we did nothing…nothing but roam Paris on a rainy day for our May term final. Truly terrible…except not at all.

For our final we had a scavenger hunt around Paris. We made use of the wonderful metro and were able to visit sights and streets we hadn’t visited before.

First, we saw the fancy graves at the cemetery of Montmatre–beautiful houses filled with dead bodies. We then stared at faces–or bodies depending on our height–on the metro, because lunch rush hour in Paris is real. We ended up at Musee Guimet, a beautiful museum of Asian arts.

The middle picture shows the Grand Palais and Petite Palais, which were indeed as grand and very little petite in their majestic presence as their names imply. We then visited the golden statue of Joan of Arc near the Louvre.

After that we decided we were starving from walking and so we ate at the Carousel cafe near the statue. After butchering escargot and the French language we decided to walk towards Pont des Arts. From that picture you can see how much it’s been raining since the Seine has literally risen to the benches where we’ve eaten one too many baguettes.

We then went to St-Étienne-du-Mont to see where St. Genevieve’s tomb is housed. The church itself is stunningly beautiful and we stood there mesmerized by both its beauty and good ol’ Beethoven* playing the organ.

We saw the Romanesque church of St. Germain des Pres and landed among the high end retail stores and cafés where all the beautiful Parisians hang out.

This was our final. Roaming through the streets of Paris getting a glimpse of the history this beautiful city holds. It was awful.

*Beethoven wasn’t actually playing the organ…but he could have been 😉

@monet-be-cray @allysonwonderland12 @paintingtheworldyellow

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Made it out the Montmartre this afternoon! I loved how the top of the Eiffel Tower was hidden in the clouds. I also got to go by the Hope Café in its bright orange and blue!

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Swung by Gare Montparnasse and found the hideous yellow check-in booth things(?). They are quite ugly aren't they?

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Made it to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées! The rain was annoying but at least it was keeping the hordes of tourists away.

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Made it out to La Défense! It's so cool! Although I'm not 100% sure what I think of the Grande Arche. It feels way to industrial to me. However, I found a Parisian take on the Gherkin (my favorite building in London)!

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I think I've decided that the Place des Vosges is one of my favorite places in Paris. I'm even willing to visit it in the rain! ☔️☔️

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Nothing can quite top the amazing macarons at Pierre Hermé! Found this branch in the Marais!

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I spent the morning in the Shakespeare and Company Cafe finishing a book (All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr) about World War II. It’s amazing how different a place can look when you are reminded of the tragedies that occurred there. There’s a line toward the end of the book, where one of the German characters is walking through Paris in 1974, that goes: “It’s the absence of bodies, she thinks, that allows us to forget. It’s that the sod seals them over.” I found that to be such a sobering reminder of how important it is to not just reflect on all of the history of the places we visit or see but to engage with it. It’s a reminder that empathy can arise not just from present experiences but also from working to understand the lives of those that came before us. We walk on the same ground that they fought on--and for--and yet so often we fail to see past the busyness of our own lives today.

As I left the cafe, I found myself envisioning what the area must have looked like during WWII. I pictured patched clothes covering the thin bodies of Parisians as they scurried along the streets trying not to draw the attention of any German occupation soldiers. I saw the fear in their eyes and heard their whispered words of resistance. Yet even as starvation and death filled my mind, it began blending with the tourists, shopkeepers, and church-goers standing around Notre Dame in the rainy, Sunday morning weather. The heaviness I felt from the mental pictures received a soothing balm from the happy complacency of the crowds around me. The meshing images ultimately reminded me that every life is important--both in goods times and in bad.

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Finally made it to the Place de la Concorde. This view was just as I had remembered it!

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Randomly stumbled on the Jardin du Palais Royal. So pretty! I really loved the mix of traditional gardens and modern sculptures. The striped partial columns were all different heights. I felt like I was in Wonderland!

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A day spent at Disneyland Paris is a day well spent! It's definitely smaller than both of the parks in the US but still completely Disney. It was so fun getting to experience the rides in French too! And the Haunted Mansion (or as they call it the Phantom Manor) was quite a bit creepier. Three down, three to go! Now I just have to make it to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai...

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I can officially check reading in a French café off my bucket list! What's more, the cafe was Les Deux Magots, where famous literary and intellectual personalities met during the 1920s and 30s. Such a cool connection to the past!

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Hands down the best savory crepe I’ve ever had (I had the Morbihannaise)! I would honestly have eaten the crepe plain it was that good. The dessert crepe was delicious too (homemade caramel, vanilla ice cream, and almonds)!

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Have to post the stereotypical Eiffel Tower picture! It's such an amazing structure. Also, I love that the names of famous French scientists, mathematicians, and engineers are engraved on it. Some of my personal favorites are Lagrange, Ampere, Becquerel, Coulomb, Foucault, and Fourier.

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Ice cream and Notre Dame at sunset, what could be better? Oh yeah, sitting by the Seine with friends while eating it!