A Few Hours in the Marais

Bonjour mes amis.  I have been home from Paris almost a week, and already it seems like a distant dream.  The harder parts of Real Life have descended like an ugly, dark cloud since I have returned, and I am so glad to have photos and memories of a lovely week in Paris with my precious daughter and devoted husband.

One afternoon we decided to spend time in one of our favorite neighborhoods in Paris- the Marais.  The rain was on and off, and the temperature dropped while we were out, but neither detracted from the charm of that delightfully historic district.

The Marais is one of the few remaining examples of what medieval Paris looked like before Napoleon and Haussmann razed and modernized most other parts of the city.  The narrow, winding streets beg to be explored and offer abundant  rewards to the curious.

The Jewish district of Paris is contained within the Marais.  When I walk around the neighborhood I am completely charmed by the synagogues, Jewish bakeries, delis, and Eastern European Jewish restaurants.

The only place we ever eat in the Marais is L’As du Falafel, a very popular spot where people line up at the take-out window and eat the delicious but messy pita sandwiches with veggies, falafel, and special sauce.  Because of the rain, Martha and I opted to eat inside the smallish restaurant, and we were there late enough in the afternoon that we got seats right away.

the tables remind you of where you are- as if you could forget

yum

Even though we were so full of falafel, we couldn’t resist our favorite gelato from Amarino.  If you order a cone, they wedge the slices of gelato into the cone so that the result is a flower.  We can’t be trusted with cones, so we stuck with cups.

It was a lovely rainy afternoon in Paris.  I am so happy to have spent it with my fille, and to be able to share it here with you.

Life isn’t always sweetness and light and Paris.  But sometimes it is.  And that’s what makes the other times bearable, n’est-ce pas?