And then, I walked some more.
And so it goes it Paris…
I decided this afternoon to explore the Village Saint Paul in the 3rd Arrondissement, an area of Paris called the Marais. In the past few years, this area has become quite popular with many cafes and antique stores.
After that, I once again stumbled upon an amazing church I had never seen or even heard of before. The Church of St. Paul St. Louis looked very dark and gothic from the outside, but inside it was serene and beautiful. The organist was practicing, so that made the visit even more special and I took some video so you could see and hear what I did.
After some meandering around, I found myself at the Place de la Bastille so I jumped on the Metro and zipped over to the Hotel de Ville where there was supposed to be ice skating for the holidays. The rink is set up, but it wasn’t open - I’m thinking maybe because it isn’t quite cold enough yet.
From the BHV and the Hotel de Ville it’s an easy walk over to Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter – and despite the fact I’ve been over there several times already on this trip, since it’s my favorite area of the city, I can never spend too much time there!
Out of nostalgia, I always go by Les Argonauts when I’m in Paris. And on this trip I sadly discovered that the restaurant is no longer there – it’s now a bar with a name that is distinctly not Greek. Thankfully the Les Argonauts hotel is still there though. How sad this was to see! That restaurant had been there for (at least) 18 years. So many of the places in the Latin Quarter stay the same decade after decade, kept in the family. I can only guess that it was a victim of the global recession. With so many little restaurants in Paris, I’ve often wondered how they all do enough business to stay open. Somehow, they always seemed to though because year after year I’d come and they’d still be there. But now, Les Argonauts is no more. Very, very sad…
Click here to view all of today's photos (12/18/08)
1 comment:
Isn't it amazing to be in there when it's soo empty! It's eerie in a way but also quite enveloping. Just the whole atmosphere of it!
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