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. 

Place du Commerce 

Square Violet

Another view of the park 

Square Saint-Lambert

Beautiful, isn't it?

Rue Lecourbe with the Square Saint-Lambert
on the left and the Eiffel Tower in the distance 

The 15e arrondissement's monuments
to the French men and women who died during World Wars I and II

Parisians lazily sipping rosé
at a café across the street from the 15e Town Hall 

A Friday Well Spent-Parisian Style

Like any office in the world, Friday is usually the best day of the week: 

the weekend is about to arrive, work is light in the afternoon, and 

you usually end work early to go out to a bar for happy hour or to meet up with friends. 

The slight difference in Paris is that one meets up with friends along the Seine for

wine and cheese, visits the artistic exposition of the moment, or hits up a trendy bar

in the Marais. 

In other words, the scenery is extraordinary. 

Below are photos, showcasing one (of the many) examples of a Friday well spent,

and oh how I'll miss these afternoon rendez-vous this fall. 

The Friday Lunch à la française

Last Friday, Daisy came to join me for lunch as she had a week of vacation and was exploring Paris. So, we met up at my office, and from there, I gave her a tour of the 9e arrondissement during my lunch hour (and 20 minutes). 

We first started up Rue Laffitte, which has an amazing
view of Notre Dame de Lorette and Sacré Coeur. 

From there, we walked around Notre Dame de Lorette and up Rue des Martyrs as I wanted to show Daisy my favorite street of Paris (look out for the blog on this street). While on Rue des Martyrs, we stopped to get gourmet pita and lamb sandwiches from a Greek traitor and superb desserts from Sebastien Gaudard (see below).

Desserts made with only the finest and lightest ingredients. 

 After these purchases, we walked up to Place d'Anvers to eat in a park on this fine, sunny day.

Place d'Anvers on Avenue Trudaine
(Note Sacré Coeur just behind the apartments!)

Daisy enjoying her dessert 

Her dessert up close:
A light meringue with chocolate cream

After we finished, we walked back to Rue des Martyrs and took Rue Victor Massé and then Rue Henry Monnier to arrive at Place Saint George. 

Avenue Trudaine

The entrance to Avenue Frochot
at the intersection of Rue Henry Monnier

Place Saint George

From there, Daisy and I went our separate ways: she went to Musée Gustave Moreau while

I returned to work for one, last time. During the afternoon, my co-workers

threw me a good-bye party: drinks and snacks were served, gifts and kind 

words were exchanged, and bises (the French cheek-to-cheek

kiss) were given as the end of the party as we left the office for the weekend. 

Overall, my internship was a wonderful experience, and I was so grateful

to have had the opportunity to spend 10 weeks at Africa Regional Services. 

Sacré Coeur from above

At 5:00, Daisy and I met up once again the Centre Pompidou to admire

the modern museum's art, architecture, and view of Paris. 

A special exhibition on Picasso's portraits of his late wife

Henry Matisse's "stain glass windows"

The sculpture garden

The Jackson Pollack painting

Art has the ability to touch and admire all ages

A sculpture I found particularly moving:
the mound consists of the shredded, Cypriot pound
(the former currency of Cyprus); it is meant to show
how Cyprus has been negatively affected
by its entrance into the European Union and its adoption
of the Euro.

A painting showing the bombing
and subsequent reconstruction of the Mostar Bridge.
Mostar is a historic town in Bosnia that was heavily bombed during the
Yugoslav wars in the 1990s. I found this painting to be rather personal
as my family and I had visited the bridge and learned about its
significance from a local tour guide. 

These chandeliers were hung during the Paris
Peace Accords, the treaty that put an end to the war
between North Vietnam and the United States. The artist
purposely hung the chandeliers upside down to show not only
how peace was not achieved, but also how Vietnam
plunged into chaos and strife following the war's end.

Following our two hours at the museum, Daisy and I 

grabbed a glass of wine at a boat-bar along the Seine and then

got French-inspired tapas and cocktails at Le Marie Celeste 

in the 3e arrondissement.

The meal: Deviled eggs (the restaurant's specialty),
fresh crab cakes and an English-inspired cocktail served
in a tea cup... très bon!

Not bad, n'est-ce pas?