Today was the day of my seminar June 10, 2013. I had to talk in front of the class about the city planner under the Second Regime, 'Baron' Haussmann. He is the one who made Paris the way we see it today. So my day started at 8 AM with straightening my hair and getting ready to do the presentation. I think the presentation went fairly well and I got out most of the information that I wanted to. My project partner and I decided to split up our presentation with an unguided walking tour of a fairly Haussmannian avenue.
While we were waiting for the rest of the class to show up at our meeting spot we went to find me orange juice (jus d'orange) because I am getting sick. I have a sore throat and I keep coughing which hurts a lot. After the successful hunt we sat down at a cafe and got cafe au lait et chocolat chaud. We sat out on one of Haussmann's wide tree lined sidewalks and watched the world go by. I had not sat out with a hot drink on a Paris street before; it is difficult to do when you are in a group of really more than two people. The cafes set up there outside seating so that only two are at a table at a time, which works great for small groups that Parisians tend to go in but Americans are used to large groups so doing the classic drink at a Paris cafe outside becomes difficult to achieve.
We then met the group at the Michel Ney statue that Hemingway made famous, and walked to the Luxembourg Gardens to finish up our presentation. Side note, I paid 50 euro cents to go to the bathroom in the Luxembourg Gardens; it's crazy to have paid to pee. After that I went with a group of friends to the boulangerie: Gerard Mulot, which was recommended to me by my Aunt Boots. I must say I want to go back and get something I have never had before but I got the best croissant of my life. I also got pain au chocolat, but I am saving that for breakfast tomorrow. After that we wondered around this classy neighborhood and walked through a passage (that Haussmann made unnecessary. Passages are covered alleyways that are lined with restaurants, cafes and stores.
After our wondering we went to the Sainte-Chapelle Cathédrale. It was built in the 13th century and doesn't look like much from the outside but the inside took my breath away and made my heart race. It is as impressive on the inside at Notre-Dame is on the outside (and if you remember I was all that impressed with the inside of Notre-Dame). The church is spectacular check out this link because I was stupid an didn't charge my camera after Normandy, so it died. I do have pictures put they are on my dumb phone so I will have to wait until I am in the states to up load them. So sorry there will be no pictures with the post.
After the church my group split up and I ended up in my favorite area, the sidewalks along the Seine next to the Norte-Dame with all the little shop boxes filled with wonderful things. I got myself a savory crepe of ham and cheese and ate it on the steps leading down to the Seine. I have good pictures of my dinner view but they will have to wait. The night ended with watching Le Hunchback du Notre-Dame with friends in the TV room down stairs.
Jussqu'à demain,
Bisous Janice
P.S. The pictures will come, I promise.
Here they are!!
The first level of the church
The windows are about four me's stacked
one on top of the next (I'm 5'3" on a good day)
The whole chapel. My favorite church in all of Paris.
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