paris walk no. 2: marais

July 13th, 2010

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flagsSick of Paris yet?! But I have so many more images!! Maybe I’ll do a Bonn/Brussels post next to shake it up a little. I haven’t even come close to editing all of them, AND I just realized I never finished writing about this last Vermont trip. LIFE. YOU ARE GOING TOO FAST. Did I mention that whole 3 months until the wedding, oh, and my job is crazy?

I’m getting jealous of career bloggers who can sit and write and have the space to think about what they want to say! I’m just sneaking in bits and pieces here and there, convoluted little posts! Whew. I need a vacation from my work-vacation. We’ve been working on the invites (with help from the amazing Laurel) and need to really get going on assembling them. Next weekend? I need a life intern!

So! The Marais! Remember that whole TOTAL MELTDOWN thing? Well, I decided it would make sense to splurge on a hotel for myself for 2 days to unwind from working, and found a good deal at the Hotel Gabriel, in the 11th on the edge of the Marais. It turned out to be a super great location – a quick trek up the canal to Mathyld’s, lots of shops in the 11th, and a quick walk to the 3rd. And it kept me from LOSING MY MIND. I have to keep telling myself that as I look at the credit card bill. It really was a perfect moment of calm in a hectic trip.

hotelIt also manages to suit my whole “hotels should be white and clean and like floating in space nothingness” philosophy of escape. Anyway, in my pretend future life I can afford more than 2 nights at a hotel in Paris and I have a dreamy escape time.

breakfastHotel Gabriel Marais Paris
25 Rue Grand Prieuré

dupainetdesideesDu Pain et des Idées
34 rue Yves Toudic

It’s also a quick walk to this darling artisan bakery.

marais2If you go to Paris, do this walk! (Click it for full map.) I am not even effing around! It takes you past the very pretty square on rue du Temple, Nicolas Flamel’s house (the oldest house in Paris), a couple of timber houses, loads of amazing shops, falafel land, Kusmi tea, the Musee Carnavalet, and the Place de Vosges. For starters. I zigzagged all around the center, as well.

timber2timberboulevardbeaumarchaisdooryardrepubliquepharmacyIt’s old old old and there are a million little parks and courtyards to duck into.

maraisShop
Le Petit Atelier de Paris
31 rue de Montmorency

boxesKusmi Tea
on the corner of rue des Rosiers

Mariage Freres
35 rue du Bourg Tibourg

Odetta
76 rue Des Tournelles
Astounding designer vintage/gently used recent designer clothing. Wished I had endless money. I wished this a lot in Paris.

L’Air de Rien
33 Ter, rue Des Tournelles
I got a present for S. here, it’s a dream of a shop for housewares/design.

bonheur2petitbonheurAu Petit Bonheur La Chance
13 rue Saint-Paul

Les Petits Blablas
7 rue de Crussol

carnevalet2

window2The Musée Carnavalet. This museum is free and on my last day, Mathyld talked the guard into sneaking us back into the closed-for-the-moment Mucha-designed jewelery shop, rebuilt in the museum. I started crying it was so beautiful and somehow familiar – I’ve had teary museum moments before but this was intense, I wish I could have spent hours there. muchamucha3mucha4

See
Musée Carnavalet
23 Rue de Sévigné

carnevalet_scissorscarnevalet_fenetre

Nicolas Flamel’s house
51 rue de Montmorency

Eat
L’as du Falafel
34 Rue des Rosiers

Mi-va-Mi
rue des Rosiers
So the line at L’as du Falafel was too long and the man at Mi-via-mi saw me eyeing it and beckoned me over. I don’t wait in line, for anything, it’s a personal policy. Anyway. Mi-va-mi hooked me up, over-loading up my falafel despite my protests (”haha, the chubby little American will eat anything!”) & I ended up with the best falafel I’ve ever eaten for like 5 Euro. Ok. Awesome.

sorbetNearby is a gelato chain where all the servers are magically trained to scoop ice cream into the shape of roses. Roses. (&the pretty wrist tattoo belongs to my Saturday guide, Poppy, who was in Paris and took time out to cheer me up! Yay!)

carousel_republiquefountainflags2grisettebainsSo yes, the Marais warmed my cold little heart up to Paris, though was still SWARMING with shoppers pushing you into the street. It just finally felt old, historical, magic in a glimmer of the way I expected all of Paris to instantly be….

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