A perfect day
My favourite days in Paris are the ones where we plan a small outing and give ourselves the space to make unplanned detours and discoveries along the way. Today was one of those days.
Tomorrow is the start of the school year and H may (that's another story) also start work at the hospital. We wanted to be home by mid-afternoon so the girls could relax, organize their school supplies and choose their outfits (seriously). We have learned that food markets close by mid-day on Sunday so I went first thing in the morning to get food for dinner. I planned to go to the Monoprix but our local street was so buzzing with activity that I could not resist doing all my shopping outdoors. I went to the fruit & vegetable shop for salad makings and fruit and then picked up a rotisserie chicken from the boucherie who was busy roasting hundreds of chickens and dealing them out to the line of people in front of his shop.
Dinner organized, we headed to the centre of Paris, the ile de la cité, to visit the Sunday flower and bird market. We were not sure what to expect but had heard from many sources that this outing was a hit with kids. When we'd asked the girls in the past if they'd like to go they'd said no so this time we didn't ask. You could hear the birds chirping as we exited the metro. We walked the rows of cages and looked at the colourful specimen ranging from 10€ to 80€ each. Never really having had looked at birds before, it was fascinating. Wandering through the rows of plants we discussed which ones we would take home if we were buying that day. We decided we'd go back another time for some succulents or maybe an orange tree or an orchid. Despite requests, we will not be bringing home a bird.
We had time before needing to go home so we decided to check out some other spots on our list of places we'd like to see that seemed within reasonable walking distance from the market.
The first was the bookstore Shakespeare & Company: an english bookstore in the heart of Paris that has been there since 1951 but is named after an earlier shop that opened in 1919. The building itself was constructed in the 17th century and was originally a monastery. It oozes literary charm with it's packed shelves, cosy corners and ladders reaching to the top shelves. The girls were overjoyed to browse english books and I resisted the urge to buy anything as we don't want to accumulate a lot of books while we are here. Our membership in the American Library in Paris is supposed to keep us supplied. It was still fun to browse, soak up the energy, and witness this institution whose motto is "Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise".
Next stop was La Maison d'Isabelle in the 5th arrondissement. They won the award for the best croissant in Paris for 2018. Why would we resist? AND, the croissants were warm! We ate them on the sidewalk right outside of the shop. Truly heaven with the perfect combination of crunch on the outside and meltingness on the inside. Sorry I did not take a picture of the croissant. I didn't think about it until after they were devoured.
Heading towards our next destination we walked by an Eric Kayser boulangerie. Even though Eric Kayser is everywhere in Paris, we had yet to buy one of their baguettes. It had been pointed out to me earlier in the day that I should have bought a baguette to have with dinner and so I took the opportunity to correct that mistake and visit one of the often mentioned sources for awesome baguettes at the same time.
When in Calgary one of my french teachers, Annie, told me about the Arènes de Lutèce. She described it as a hidden gem in the city because it could be completely missed as you walk by the entrance on the street but if you go inside you will find a peaceful, spacious, urban haven. It had been on our destination list since arriving in Paris and today seemed like to perfect day to go. Sure enough, it is just a small opening, the size of a door off the Rue Monge. The passageway leads you to an amphitheatre that used to seat 15,000 people in the gallo-roman era. The arena was constructed in the 1st century but people didn't know where it was until it was rediscovered in 1860 when they were excavating to build a tramway through the space. Victor Hugo was one of the intellectuals who argued to preserve the site. We were able to sit in the terraces in the shade and enjoy the quiet break from street noise while the girls ran through the open spaces.
All this space is hidden behind a regular looking street in Paris.
I particularly loved the steps leading up the terraces. They are worn down from all the footsteps over the years. We have seen more pronounced versions of this in castles and cathedrals in France but it never fails to move me.
Explorations complete, we took our metro rides home in time for our afternoon of getting ready for school. I love how our days here can be so easily filled with rich experiences and as we see more we just seem to discover more to see. It was the very best way to cap off a summer of explorations. With very little planned this morning when we walked out the door, we ended up finding new treasures in our city and having a perfect Paris day.
