Outfit: Jeggings and a Dayglo-orange t-shirt
Meals Eaten: Two
Something I learned: Street performances seem to be much
more varied and impressive in Paris than in New York
Somehow
I feel as if I’m not starting my tour of Paris in the way that most people
would. Day three was also filled with exploring the city on foot. And it
started out with breakfast at Starbucks. Yes, I have somehow managed to find an
American chain that I still love going to even though it isn’t authentically
French. It’s just off of Rue Danton on Boulevard Saint-Germain. Two stories
with cinnamon rolls and pain au chocolat and great people-watching (as almost
everyone who goes there is actually French). I found a quiet little nook with a
chair with a view of great architecture from across the street.
What’s
better for after-breakfast entertainment than a trip to Notre Dame? Not much. I
finally went in and was greeted by breathtaking vaulted ceilings and weighty
atmosphere…great photo opportunities to say the least (not to mention the fact
that I was taking in a historic and religious landmark as well as the setting
of one of my favorite Disney movies).
Inside Notre Dame
Notre Dame from the side
Post-Notre
Dame, I went on an on-foot
adventure toward le Marais. What I originally thought might be what I was
looking for turned out to be Ile Saint-Louis, a small island (similar in size
to Ile de la Cité where Notre Dame is located) located in the middle of Paris.
Things were hip and happenin’ there to say the last, and who knew that people
in Paris were so obsessed with gelato?? Similar to how you can find multiple
Starbucks locations on the same block in New York City, there were sometimes
three or four gelato shops per block on Ile Saint-Louis. It looked delicious,
but I didn’t partake. The lines for each were huge and some wound around street
corners.
Aside
from gelato, Ile Saint-Louis is filled with a variety of quirky shops, many
cafés and restaurants, and thin streets without much car traffic. I spent most
of my time there looking in windows and taking pictures. One of my favorite
finds was a shop with a picture of Marilyn Monroe and Arther Miller eating
dinner on Ile Saint-Louis in its windows. It felt like fate that I should be
there with one of my obsessions (acting) intersecting with one of my new
favorite places. Paris never ceases to feel magical.
Rue Saint-Louis En L'Ile - Ile Saint-Louis
If
you cross yet another bridge, off of Ile Saint-Louis and into the 4th
arrondisement, you will find yourself in le Marais. I would characterize it as
Paris’s SoHo. It is full of boutiques (some French-based along with high-end
stores you would find in the U.S. or in London) and has a kind of Bohemian
atmosphere. While walking, I came across people ballroom dancing in a gymnasium
and a street band called Texas CousCous, which played everything from the Star
Wars theme to songs I had never heard before. Somehow I refrained from buying
anything this time around.
Dinner
occurred back on Ile Saint-Louis at Café Saint-Regis. It had the
perfect Parisian look: small, black and white tiled floor, wine bottles and
mirrors on the wall, low-lighting, and a spectacular view. Dinner was yet again
Croque Madame and dessert was Crème Brulee, which is way better here than it is
in the states.
Café St. Regis
On
my way back to my room, I came across more incredible street performers. The
first performance consisted of a couple performing the tango on a bridge. While
they had a hat out for people to put money in, they seemed more invested in
each other than how much money they were making. Song after song, they kept
going without breaking their intense concentration on the movement and each
other’s eyes and bodies.
Next
came yet another accordion player followed by a guy who was dancing with fire
torches and sparklers in front of Notre Dame. On my way home, the sweet sounds of Zombie by The Cranberries being sung
by a man on the banks of The Seine. Tres magnifique! What another amazing day and evening.
Street Performer In Front of Notre Dame
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