It had been 8 years or so since we’d last been in Paris – it remains one of our favorite cities – eminently walkable, amazing architecture, grand food, art – pretty much all the joie de vivre. And it seemed only fitting that we should celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in Paris.
During the planning of this European adventure, we discovered Le Marais – situated in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements on the Right Bank of the Seine. According to one travel site, “Le Marais is the closest you will get to the feel of medieval Paris and has more pre-revolutionary buildings and streets left intact than any other area in Paris.” We’d found a cute one-bedroom with a terrace – interestingly, just a few doors from the oldest house in Paris – built at the beginning of the 15th century by Nicolas Flamel
We’d scheduled a bike tour near Chambord, originating in Blois – 1.5hrs by train each way. After our nearly month away, and the many Castles and Palaces, our hearts weren’t really into it, so we canceled. Besides that, we hadn’t planned much for Paris – other than to revisit some sites we’d seen in the past, such as Montmarte, the recently re-opened Notre Dame, and our favorite picnic site – the Pont des Arts.
It had been 5 years since the shocking Notre Dame fire which had devastated the cathedral. And while work was still on-going, the cathedral itself had reopened for visitors and masses only recently. It being the weekend, we thought it would be fitting to attend a mass. While we couldn’t understand much of what was said, it was still moving to share in the experience.
While Notre Dame’s interior was open to the public, along with the eucharistic celebrations, the exterior and the higher superstructure, bell tower, etc remain closed.
As we were exploring other parts of Paris, we stumbled on a WWII memorial. As we came to learn, Paris – one might say, the city of museums, has over 20 WWII memorials! And while we’d seen others on this trip – in Prague, Vienna, and in Budapest, this memorial – the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation – is dedicated to the 200,000+ Parisians deported to concentration camps during the occupation. Especially moving, with the many original documents and photographs from the period.
Following that sobering moment, we made our way to the Botanical garden – the Jardin des Plantes. It was a beautiful morning/day – the temperatures were moderating, in the low 70s, so what better than to stroll through the perfectly-coiffed sycamore trees. Very reminiscent of the Jardin des Tuileries.
On another walk about “town” on our way toward the Eiffel Tower, we sought street markets – always fun to explore local offerings and support local farmers and artisans. We marked out two – Marché St. Germain and Marché Raspail. While St. Germain was bigger and more established, Marché Raspail was much more our speed – we picked up some soaps and a bit of walking around food (salami and cheese).
We wandered a lot – enjoying the days and the weather – being out and about. Stopping for ice cream and sitting by the fountain in the Jardin des Tuileries. One surprise was Les Deux Plateaux – art in a courtyard – in part to cover up ventilation shafts from the lower levels!
As part of our last Paris visit in 2009, we’d stumbled on a food market highlighting products fro mthe Acuitaine region (south-west France) along the Seine. Then, we’d picked up a bottle of wine, along with some cheese and meet and picniced on the Pont des Arts.
It being our 10th anniversary, the Pont des Arts held a special place in our memories, though we discovered that the Locks of Love had been removed from the bridge since our last visit – the weight of the locks causing structural damage to the bridge itself!
Undaunted, we grabbed some wine and food, and made our way to the bank of the river Seine. Just sittin’ watching the world (and boats) go by.
And with that, our anniversary and our “unstructured” time in Paris it was time for us to end our trip and head home. We said our goodbyes to Paris and closed this final chapter in our epic European adventure.
We packed, headed down the six flights of stairs for the last time, and set off to the RER and Charles de Gaulle airport – closing the book on our epic European adventure!
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