I got into Paris at 6AM and had 9 hours to wander the streets until the boys arrived from London and checked into the hotel. Luckily I met a nice New Yorker on the plane over, who has been living in Paris for the past year. I met up with him for lunch and he showed me around le Marais. A good shopping street in this neighborhood is rue des Francs-Bourgeois and a wonderful food market, Marché des Enfants Rouges is on 39 rue de Bretagne. It is the oldest food market in Paris, built in 1615 under the rule of King Louis XIII. The name means “ Market of the Red Children” and comes from a nearby 17th century orphanage where the children wore red uniforms. I loved that you could drink champagne and eat oysters right on the street, if one were so inclined. I wanted to buy an old viewfinder with these beautiful old slides of France, but I didn't.
There are quite a few interesting and free museums in Paris. We stopped into Musee Carnavalet near Place des Vosges, a museum dedicated to the history of the city of Paris. It is literally hundreds of rooms, bursting at the seams with a random collection of the most amazing paintings and objects, old signage and miniatures and even the bedroom of Proust. Thank you to kind strangers!
Also in the 3rd arrondissement was a dining experience unlike any I have ever had. Upon a friend's recommendation, I went to Derriere on 69 rue des Gravilliers. Being a Thursday night without a reservation, they were only able to seat us in one of the intimate upstairs rooms, which was fine with me. This restaurant is in an apartment so there are tables in the courtyard, on the main floor and then upstairs in the bedrooms, where I sat on the bed. One thing they don't tell you is that if you walk to the end of the hallway, open the wardrobe and press on the back, it opens into a secret smoking lounge filled with old books and taxidermy birds. What better reason to smoke is there?
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