Impromptu walking tour (sans photos)
October 17th, 2008 by PaulIt’s been such a nice day out I decided to go on a quick walk around town. It’s been our third day in Paris and I haven’t even seen the Eiffel Tower yet, so I figure I should leave the residential confines of the 11th arrondissement and see some of the more touristed streets.
I set out walking down rue du Faubourg St. Antoine, a large street populated mostly by discount clothing stores. From there I crossed Place de la Bastille. As you might guess, Place de la Bastille is the former site of the infamous prison, where angry mobs made their way up the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine and stormed the place, eventually bringing down the French monarchy. Now it’s little more than a huge traffic circle and home to the Opéra Bastille.
From there I went along the cramped, tourist-lined streets of Le Marais. It’s named after the swamp that was drained to make the neighborhood, and now home to the city’s hot nightlife and gay culture. Oh, and also Orthodox Jews on the rue des Rosiers.
I wandered into the Place des Vosges, the oldest public park in Paris. In my opinion, it’s one of the prettiest places in this city, particularly on a nice autumn day like today. I decided I’d like to take a picture to show everyone.
Here’s where this post became sans photos. My phone’s camera decided to stop working. This is the second time it’s happened, so perhaps I’ll start looking for a new phone with a properly working camera. In any case, feel free to look at the Wikipedia page photos, and imagine the park full of Parisians and tourists enjoying the park and the weather. Or, if you prefer, imagine Ernest Hemingway shooting pigeons for food, which is something he liked to do when he lived here.
Next came the Rue de Rivoli, a quick jaunt past the Hôtel de Ville, and finally the banks of the Seine. At that point I decided the number of people were getting the better of me, and I headed into the Metro and back to home.
I never did see the Eiffel Tower.