As my weeks in Paris are coming to an end I am doing my best to make sure I visit any last little places I made notes on in my journal. (I only have 2.5 more before I leave to the south of France with my dad for a little vacation.) My Uncle Kim was extremely helpful in providing me with tips on places to visit, monuments to see and cafés to sample. There are also some items that I added from places I found online or that have been recommended by the people I work with. I am pleased to say that I have checked off almost everything on my list. Today was my visit to the Place de la Bastille, a monument standing in place of where the Bastille Prison once stood. The prison was completely destroyed during the French Revolution but the July Column stands as a monument in its place. The name refers to the day July 14th, 1789 that the French Revolution began here with the Storming of the Bastille. Their independence day, or Bastille Day, is celebrated on July 14th.
After this I walked a short ways to the Place des Vosges where you can find the Square Louis XIII and the house of Victor Hugo. Its a really neat square garden complete with fountains and a statue of Louis XIII with a small street running around it and a square of old buildings containing all of this. It's like a quiet reprieve within the city, with the entrances being small arched streets (first photo).
On the southeast corner of the square is the house/apartment of Victor Hugo, or what remains of it. (As a reminder, some of his works include Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.) He was very outspoken against the reign of Napoleon and therefore went into exile on the isle of Guernsey, where he did a lot of writing and painting. A lot of his furniture and works were brought from there to the house in Paris, either by him at the time of his return in 1870, or after his death, by family members. The house is now a mini-museum of the life and family of Victor Hugo. Many of his descendants were artists or photographers so there is also a space dedicated to their works. The apartment where he lived sits on the third of the building and the windows open up onto the Square Louis XIII.
After this I just wandered down the streets, heading south-ish toward the Seine. I just love all the tiny, twisting roads so I would just choose the street that looked the coolest. I was just thinking to myself how nice it was that I could do this (just walking at random with no worries or itinerary, no one forcing me to keep to a certain schedule) when I see a little chair sitting there with old tins stacked on it. Now this caught my attention because it is something that I had read about on a blog about non-tourist spots to hit in Paris. It is called Village St. Paul and this chair marks the entrance to the "secret" back courtyard where they have cafés, antiques, galleries and designers. It's not a flea market like Les Puces, but a little bit fancier. I was just happy to stumble upon it by accident. Another item checked off the list.
It was actually sunny and hot today (probably 80s), and rather muggy, so after all this walking I decided to call it a day and head home. Tomorrow after the kids are out of school, my cousin and I are taking them to the town of Saint Germain-en-laye, a little further outside of Paris from where we are now. They have cute little tea shops and fun shopping so we will go there for a bit. Not sure of my plan between work and then, since school isn't out till 4:30pm. Maybe I'll check out the Arc de Triomphe since it's on the way home. Thanks for reading!
After this I walked a short ways to the Place des Vosges where you can find the Square Louis XIII and the house of Victor Hugo. Its a really neat square garden complete with fountains and a statue of Louis XIII with a small street running around it and a square of old buildings containing all of this. It's like a quiet reprieve within the city, with the entrances being small arched streets (first photo).
On the southeast corner of the square is the house/apartment of Victor Hugo, or what remains of it. (As a reminder, some of his works include Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.) He was very outspoken against the reign of Napoleon and therefore went into exile on the isle of Guernsey, where he did a lot of writing and painting. A lot of his furniture and works were brought from there to the house in Paris, either by him at the time of his return in 1870, or after his death, by family members. The house is now a mini-museum of the life and family of Victor Hugo. Many of his descendants were artists or photographers so there is also a space dedicated to their works. The apartment where he lived sits on the third of the building and the windows open up onto the Square Louis XIII.
After this I just wandered down the streets, heading south-ish toward the Seine. I just love all the tiny, twisting roads so I would just choose the street that looked the coolest. I was just thinking to myself how nice it was that I could do this (just walking at random with no worries or itinerary, no one forcing me to keep to a certain schedule) when I see a little chair sitting there with old tins stacked on it. Now this caught my attention because it is something that I had read about on a blog about non-tourist spots to hit in Paris. It is called Village St. Paul and this chair marks the entrance to the "secret" back courtyard where they have cafés, antiques, galleries and designers. It's not a flea market like Les Puces, but a little bit fancier. I was just happy to stumble upon it by accident. Another item checked off the list.
It was actually sunny and hot today (probably 80s), and rather muggy, so after all this walking I decided to call it a day and head home. Tomorrow after the kids are out of school, my cousin and I are taking them to the town of Saint Germain-en-laye, a little further outside of Paris from where we are now. They have cute little tea shops and fun shopping so we will go there for a bit. Not sure of my plan between work and then, since school isn't out till 4:30pm. Maybe I'll check out the Arc de Triomphe since it's on the way home. Thanks for reading!
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