Blonde and Abroad: The Tales of a SoCal Girl Living la Vie Parisienne: Left Bank Gems

When writing the blog, "Paris Wanderings in late July/early August,"

I realized that I have spent most of my time

on the Right Bank. (For those of you who are not familiar with

Paris, the city is separated into two halves: the Right Bank of the Seine

River and the Left Bank of the Seine).

True, my work is situated in the 9e arrondissement and

many of the neighborhoods that I like to visit, such as the

Marais, Montmartre, and the Canal Saint Martin, are located on the Right Bank,

but those are not valid reasons to exclude visiting the Left Bank.

The Left Bank is home to equally wonderful sites such as

the Latin Quarter, the neighborhood in which many

of Paris' prestigious universities are located, the Luxembourg Gardens,

the Musée d'Orsay, and of course, the Eiffel Tower. In addition, the Left Bank

also boasts populous neighborhoods, small parks, and a great deal

of cafés and small galleries.

Thus, I dedicated one weekend to exploring only the

Left Bank and below is what I discovered!

Saturday (5e and 6e arrondissements)

Les Arènes de Lutèce (or the Lutèce Arena) is a site of a former
Gallo-Roman amphitheater. Given that it is tucked away in the
5e arrondissement, one is amazed to stumble across this large amphitheater
in the midst of Haussmann apartments and imagine that it was here that
gladiators fought one another!
(Fun fact: Lutèce was the Gallo-Roman name for Paris at the time)

Before visiting the Grand Mosque of Paris,
I stopped at the Mosque's adjunct café for
some mint tea and a sweet. The outdoor garden and café are delightful, and
I highly recommend this café for those looking for a cheap bite
and to taste delicious North African food.

From there, I walked along Rue Linné to visit the
Grand Mosque of Paris.

Founded in 1926, this mosque was created to commemorate
the 100,000 Muslim soldiers who fought on France's behalf
against Germany during World War I. It is one of France's
largest mosques and arguably echoed the style found at Granada's Alhambra.

Rue de Quatrefages, 5e

Place Benjamin Fondane, 5e

Place de la Contrescarpe

A café along Rue Mouffetard

Rue Saint Etienne du Mont, 5e

An outdoor café in a tucked away corner in the 5e

From left to right:
Saint Etienne du Mont, Lycée Henry IV, and the Pantheon

The Luxembourg Gardens

At the time, I was suffering from a bad cold, and
as I was sitting here at the Gardens with this view, a man
in French asked me if I was okay. He had thought that I was crying
when in fact, I was sniffling. I laughed and replied that I was alright,
but he ended up giving me his Kleenex tissues, and we chatted
for a bit. 10 minutes into the conversation, he asked if I wanted to
grab a café (coffee) with him, but I smiled and said I had other plans
(which was true).
Oh how French men are so kind, yet so forward!

From the Luxembourg Gardens, I went to the Cluny
Museum to learn more about Paris' medieval history.
Pictured above is the museum's most prized piece:
the Lady and the Unicorns tapestries.

The museum's exterior

(Later that day, I went to hang out with the marines

and other interns at a BBQ that lasted all evening long.)

Sunday (15e arrondissement)

If Paris during the weekday is calm in August, Paris on Sunday is silent. Since the remaining few stores close on Sundays and Parisians flee to the sea on the weekends, Paris is like a ghost town. Thus, I visit the parks of Paris (as they are open every day), but decided to concentrate on the parks located in the 15e arrondissement as it is not far from my house and an area with which I

am not familiar. The 15e is one of Paris' largest and most populous neighborhoods, so if I wanted to come in contact with Parisians at the park, I knew that this would be the neighborhood to visit.