Existence of Chris: Summer Holiday Part 10

The plan for our next day in Paris was to start with a visit to the catacombs. We got there at 10 minutes before it opened, only to find that the queue was already 3 hours long- so we didn't see the catacombs. We decided to split up, as the girls wanted to go shopping on the Champ-Elysess and I, as well as not being to keen on spending the day in shoe and handbag shops, wanted to see some other areas of Paris.

I had just been reading Ernest Hemingway's 'A Moveable Feast', an autobiographic style novella about his experiences in Paris and the Parisian lifetyle during the few years he lived here. I thought it would be great to see some of the places he describes in his book, so I found a self-guided tour and wandered through the streets. It was great to see some of the less touristy areas of Paris, starting with the markets along Rue Mouffetard which was chock full of bakeries, fresh fruit and seafood stalls, and the smells of the French, Italian and Greek restaurants preparing for lunch service was incredible.

Markets on Rue Mouffetard

Building decorated with country scenes on Rue Mouffetard

Delicious croissants

Just around the corner from this market street was the house where Hemingway lived in Paris, number 74 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine, and there was a plaque to commemorate his presence.

Plaque at Hemingway's house

After some more walking I ended up in a little cafe on Boulevard Saint-Michel, sheltered from the pouring rain outside. Relaxing as I watched the crowd of umbrellas on the footpath of the bustling street, I made my coffee and croissant last as long as I could, but eventually it was time to get going. Conveniently there was a shop selling umbrellas just next door. As I was preparing to leave the shop with my new umbrella, one of the awnings gave way under the weight of the water which had pooled on it, and a guy who was walking past got absolutely drenched. He looked at me, and we both cracked up laughing, and he kept going, a bit wetter but somehow with a smile on his face.

Coffee on Boulevard Saint-Michel

Despite the rain, I decided to visit the Jardins du Luxembourg, which was also a favourite of Hemingway's. Fortunately the rain let up, and I was able to walk around the beautiful gardens without getting too wet.

Jardins du Luxembourg

On the way back to meet everyone at Chatelet, I walked along the Seine and was able to some great views of the river and the Notre Dam. We all met up at the big fountain at Chatelet, where we were meeting one of Margot's friends who lives in Paris. We had coffee, walked around some shops and visited a large department store where Sam bought some nice tea. When we got home, we built a medieval castle wall out of sugar cubes- it was structurally sound, until Margot knocked it down with a baguette.