Today, we ventured out of the neighbourhood and headed to the centre of the city, the home of Paris' Gothic gem, Notre-Dame Cathedral.
After grabbing an expresso and croissant, we walked leisurely down the winding, ancient streets of The Marais district towards the Islands. We passed several beautiful delis and restaurants, and could not resist buying some homemade violet-flavoured guimauve (marshmallow) - it was delicious!
We reached the Seine, the main waterway that passes directly through the centre of Paris, cradling the Left Bank. There are 37 bridges connecting the two sides of Paris with the two islands. We crossed one the of bridges and approached the cathedral.
Notre-Dame cathedral, founded in 1160, is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, one of the largest churches in the world, and was one the first buildings to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). It is also known for its sculptural details and spectacular stained glass rose windows (pictured below).
Despite the high tourist traffic, it still offers religious services daily.
After our tour of Notre-Dame, we enjoyed a quick lunch at Le Depart Saint-Michel where I tried my first Parisian quiche - it was divine! We stopped at Shakespeare and Company bookstore (one of the few English bookstores in Paris), and then grabbed a second coffee at another online recommendation: La Caféothèque. They had an extensive selections of beans from around the world, an in-house roaster, and very a comfortable atmosphere. The expresso was short and delicious.
We continued our walking tour of The Marais, passing by the magnificent topiaries and fountains at Paris' Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).
We also passed by an amazing antique store on rue Saint-Paul called Au Petit Bonheur la Chance. If you love antique notions, prints and ephemera, you must not miss this store!
We were pretty wiped by mid-afternoon, so we took the rest of afternoon to rehydrate and recharge. After a nice home-cooked meal at our new apartment, we ventured out to Canal Saint-Martin. We walked north along the waterway, and were shocked – and delighted – to see the number of Parisians outside enjoying the fresh air and imbibing in an evening apéritif. It was delightful to see people talking, laughing, playing music - even fishing. Public consumption of alcohol is non-issue in Paris, so almost everything had a wine or beer in hand. It was pretty awesome.
We walked as far north as our feet could carry us, and then headed back to the apartment to call it a day. A beautiful evening.
