chocolate! marais! frogs!

Two days in and we're still trying to catch up on sleep. It's still a work in progress. An insomnia-fueled pre-dawn run aside, for the past two days, we have not managed to get out bed until 11am. (Somewhere my father in-law's atrial fibrillation just kicked into gear.) Despite the late wake-ups, we are feeling more settled, and have enjoyed two days in this beautiful city. It is, plainly speaking, hard not to appreciate a place where all cereals are chocolate based.

On Thursday, we went to the Marais and grabbed a quick lunch before meeting our guide, Flora, who provided a brief history of Paris as we stood in front of the Hotel de Ville, Paris's city hall. We headed northeast, into the Marais, one of Paris's oldest and most historically interesting neighborhoods. Although it is now a diverse and trendy neighborhood, it began serving as the center of Paris's Jewish community from 1791, when the Jews were allowed back into Paris after having been expelled from France in the late 14th Century.

Flora (pictured at right) then walked us through the neighborhood, providing a compelling history, mixing together 250 years of history and personal narrative. Among other things, Flora pointed out that France was, during the Second World War, at the same time resistant to and complicit with the Nazi regime. Flora noted that the Vichy government gathered up hundreds of pre-school age Jewish children and handed them over, even though they had not been asked to do so. At the same time, because of the courage of so many French citizens, France's large Jewish population fared better than most others in Europe, with nearly 75% surviving the war.

Flora showed where her grandparents' restaurant had been. She neglected to mention the restaurant was the sight of the worst attack on French Jews since the War. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenberg_restaurant_attack


We then made our way to Luxembourg Gardens. https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71393/Jardin-du-Luxembourg. Like so much of Paris, these beautiful gardens and majestic strictures have royal roots, having been commissioned by Queen Marie de Medici. The gardens now form a wonderful public space, where Parisians and tourists of all ages soaked up a beautiful June afternoon. On the way back to the flat, we stopped in at a local cafe. As expected, the bread and wine were outstanding while Owen's "hamburger" was . . . European. As I told him, it is a good reminder that the Europeans may have mastered the french fry, but still have no idea what a burger is supposed to taste like.


Following another sleep-addled night and late wakeup, I picked up some breakfast goodies -- a croissant por moi, deux pain au chocolat for Lauren and Owen, and nothing for their gluten free mother. Lauren and I devoured ours while Owen took a small bite of his, said he preferred Starbucks' version and proceeded to eat two Frosted Flake bars. To say I was disappointed in the boy I used to call a son would be a gross understatement. (Pictured right, Owen is displaying his go-to look when he is asked to pose for a photo, this one in a Metro station near our flat.)

On to the Ile de la Cite to see the Sainte Chappele, http://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en/, a 13th Century church with the most amazing stained glass windows you have ever seen -- 15 windows, each one nearly 50 feet tall and depicting scenes from the Jewish and Christian bibles, with the characters dressed in contemporary garb. (To the left is the second plague -- frogs! -- put on the Egyptians in the Passover story from Exodus.)

At the Pompadou Center, we took a semi-secret entrance to avoid the lines and get to the top of the building for a panoramic view of the city. Wanting to see things a bit closer up, we then caught a Seine river cruise at Pont Neuf, going in a loop to the Eiffel Tower and back to where the Bastille stood before it was burned to the ground in the Revolution. The cruise provided some pretty good views of the recently-damaged Notre Dame cathedral.


For dinner this evening, I was told to find an Italian restaurant with gluten-free options. As I am quite TripAdvisor challenged, I made us a reservation at Invictus, a restaurant that is in no way Italian. https://www.invictusrestaurant.fr/en/ Fortunately, it makes up for its lack of Italian by a bounty of delicious food, Keri and Lauren getting the Hake in Thai broth, me a steak and Owen his standard pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. Lauren and I split the french toast, apple and caramel ice cream. And, yes, it was as good as it sounds.

Two really lovely days here, with the weather (cool and rainy) providing an appreciated break to the Phoenix summer. Tonight, we all hope for better sleep and a morning filled with pain au chocolat.