The next day, Sunday, we headed to Place de la Bastille, and later to Le Marais (the marsh), which are in/near the 3ème and 4ème. There was a hugeeeeee market selling everything from seafood to scarves to toys to Lebanese food to... everything. We spent a few hours there, got lunch, and enjoyed a jazz band that was playing. There's a lot more music in the streets in Paris than there is in Rennes, and I rarely give money. I did this time though, because they were just awesome. Mostly brass instruments, some people singing, dancing around... I really enjoyed exploring Le Marais. This area has a huge Jewish/Gay/Chinese population (no, not gay Chinese Jewish people) and is a really cool funky area. We did a lot of shopping, then headed back to the hotel because I was craving a run.
I left from our hotel, so like the Eiffel Tower area, crossed a bridge, ran along the bank, passed the Louvre, and headed back to Le Marais. Why go all the way back there? Well. While I had been there that afternoon, I had seen the first bagel I had ever seen in all of France. So obviously, obviously it was worth going back for. It was amazing. Wish I took a photo.
However... on my way back to the hotel, I had a bit of a problem. I wanted to take a more direct route to get back, and I thought I knew where I was going, cutting through the left bank and everything... but clearly, I did not, because I got back to the hotel over an hour later than I had planned. It was so frustrating though! SO CONFUSING. I just kept going in circles. Mom wasn't happy... but then we got Chinese food and it was all good!
Monday, our last day in Paris, was directed by Rick Steves. Rick Steves is a travel writer who I had never heard of, but apparently is a big deal, because my Mom is pretty much in love with him. Anyway, on Monday we followed his walking tout of the Left Bank. I had never been in that area before (except for the previous day where I ran circles through it, but besides that...) and it was pretty cool! We got galettes for lunch, did some shopping, and walked around Luxembourg gardens.
Locks on the Pont des Arts
We then headed over to Le Bon Marché. "Bon marché" means inexpensive, but that couldn't be any further from the truth with this store. It's one of the most famous department stores in Paris, and is "sometimes regarded as the first department store in the world." Thanks Wikipedia. Anyway, it is huge and really expensive. Ton and tons of top designers and things that I don't think I'l everrrrr be able to afford. It was fun to look around though.They also have a grocery store, where everything is pretty much just as expensive. That was pretty interesting too, especially checking out their imported foods section. A jar of peanut butter for 7€? Canned pumpkin for 9€? Craziness. My favorite was a bottle of water for like... 80€, I think it was. The bottle had Swarovski (took me like 5 minutes to figre out how to spell that) crystals glued onto it. Classy.
Later that night we headed out to the Latin Quarter and got a gyro and an ENORMOUS gelato.
My diet starts... tomorrow. (They weren't both mine)
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