Day Four: The Louvre and The Marais

This was probably our best day in Paris. We started it by sleeping in. Which kind of wasn't planned but ... whatever.

It was the first Sunday of the month which means entry to The Louvre is free. We meant to get there early because apparently the lines to get in can be a couple hours long, but early is relative when you have no kids. So we arrived late morning through the Carousel Du Louvre entrance, which also happened to be the entrance to some sort of Lindsay Lohan fashion show for Paris Fashion Week. Apparently she's not dead yet.

We were pleasantly surprised to see there was basically no line and we got in right away. It was even more pleasant to see there's a Starbucks in The Louvre. Paris coffee is fantastic, but sometimes you just need a grande black Pike Place. Guilty? A bit. Satisfied? Yes.

I've always been completely unimpressed by the pyramid at the front of The Louvre, but it's pretty cool. It's actually the entrance to the museum. So it works like this:

I don't think it's possible to fully experience this museum unless you dedicate several days to it. It's really, really, really big. We knew we didn't set aside a lot of time for it, so we didn't stress about what we did or didn't see inside. But we did see the Mona Lisa, and at the risk of sounding uncultured, it was underwhelming. There's an entire room essentially dedicated to it (and BTW, the piece is really small). It's behind glass and then roped off, so you can't get closer than about 10 feet. Plus, the room is packed and everyone is shoving forward to get a self portrait with Mona, which is an awesome shot: giant head with tiny painting in the background.

So we saw most of what we wanted to see at The Louvre without spending too much time wandering. Got lost a couple of times. But made it out with some time to spend in the front courtyard.





And that was that. We took the Metro over to Le Marais, AKA The Gay District, AKA The Jewish Quarter, AKA The Coolest and Most Culturally Vibrant Neighborhood I've Ever Seen.

It's packed with restaurants, cafes, pubs, bakeries, shops and really cool people. And cool people in Paris are different from cool people anywhere else. There's something about the attitude of Parisians that makes them seem so relaxed and carefree. Leisure time is important, and I think being generally laid back is an essential part of the lifestyle. No one seems to be in a hurry, people can take hours to get through a coffee and conversations are long. This makes socializing a priority and it's happening all the time. We were in The Marais on a Sunday evening and it was packed. So if you mix all that with one of the most historical neighborhoods in the city you get the best date ever.



I loved these huge doors all over the city, and in this area they had a certain character to them:




Found an old bookstore. Had a delightful conversation with an employee there:

Him: "*Something in French*."
Me: "Bonjour."
Him: "I said we're closed."
Me: "Oh."


Best pasta dinner I've ever had:


Spent a while in a little cafe where an old bartender was wearing flannel pajama pants with his white serving shirt.



We walked around a bit more and figured we'd find the nearest Metro station to head back to Montmartre. On the way, we came around a corner and realized we were across the street from The Seine. The neighborhood looked awfully familiar. And then it hit us, the Notre Dame was just down the street. What a thing to stumble upon. We crossed a bridge and strolled around Ile St. Louis again, meandering our way to the front of the cathedral. It was so good to come here at night. Our first visit there the previous day was a bit tainted; the place was packed with tourists and it was hard to really take it in, as stunning as it is. At night, it was quiet and serene.

There were a lot of things about this night that I'll remember as defining of my Paris experience. These kinds of things are why we want to travel and experience other cultures. It's hard to tell all the little stories and experiences through a blog, and I don't think I really want to anyway, but it's something we won't forget.

All this and we still hadn't even been to Belgium or Amsterdam yet ...