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Post by Happygoin on Jan 18, 2008 8:22:56 GMT -5
I just discovered the Marais this past trip. I'd never visited it before. I walked straight through it to get to the Marche Aligre. With the exception of getting maddeningly confused on a rainy morning and backtracking twice to figure out the difference between r. St Antoine and r. FAUBOURG St. Antoine, I loved the Marais. Especially the Carnavalet and the Place des Vosgues. For anyone familiar with Boston, the Place des Vosges reminds me a lot of Louisburg Square. It's just beautiful. And, my gosh, those horse statues are anatomically accurate in such a LARGE way.  |
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Post by Jody on Jan 18, 2008 9:00:36 GMT -5
There is a statue of Louis XIII on horseback in the Pl. de Vosges and if I recall it is anatimically correct! I have a picture somewhere !
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Post by Happygoin on Jan 18, 2008 9:12:53 GMT -5
And, if I remember correctly, one of the "parts" is labeled salt and the other "part" is labeled pepper.
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Post by sistereurope on Jan 18, 2008 9:25:23 GMT -5
happy, I think that the salt and pepper labels were on another horse staute...THINK! Remember, we were almost up close and personal, and the Italians were there?!
Anyway, I do remember the day at the Place des Vosges...it's one of my favorite places in Paris to sit on a bench and just breathe...
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Post by Happygoin on Jan 18, 2008 9:38:29 GMT -5
Well, SE, maybe you're right. I wouldn't argue. And, Gitte, it's not as if I go to Paris to look at the parts...but they're so right THERE when you are admiring a statue. How can you NOT see them??
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Post by Truffaut on Jan 18, 2008 14:58:41 GMT -5
My goodness, what a bunch of little pottymouths you "ladies" are! ;D
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Post by framboiseetrose on Jan 18, 2008 16:13:53 GMT -5
That's what makes women very interesting, Truffaut! It also comes after getting to know and liking each other soooo very much.
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Post by Happygoin on Jan 18, 2008 16:25:24 GMT -5
So true, framboise. I wouldn't want to go to Paris with anyone who wouldn't snicker with me about those larger than life statues ;D
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Post by Jody on Jan 18, 2008 16:56:08 GMT -5
Truffat , please close your eyes and do not read this post from another DOL!
Didn't see the "salt and pepper" , but I do have a photo of one of the Seine bridges , where some wag spray painted the "parts we've been talking about" bright red!!
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Post by phread on Jan 18, 2008 16:57:07 GMT -5
The first paved road in France is in the Marais. There are some lovely gardens. A few old medievil buildings still remain. The antique shops around rue St Paul. The As. Where else on planet earth do such traditional intolerant folks as Chassidim mix with the openly gay world? Thé Mariage Freres. The museums have already been rattled off, but they numerous and spectacular. The Guimard synagogue. The Finkelstein bakeries. Unique non-chain shopping. The art galleries. I could go on and on, but that is enough to keep anyone busy for weeks on end.......
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Post by greyghost1 on Jan 18, 2008 17:44:37 GMT -5
And if its still there, there is anne et valentin with a wonderful selection. I know many of you recommend Traction but anne et valentin has a huge selection. I have bought some from both. And did anyone mention Maison Europeenne de La Photographie. It is a great museum-period!
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Post by andi on Jan 19, 2008 11:08:58 GMT -5
This thread is a real help to us at the moment, I am currently compiling a list of statues to visit so that we can inspect the "Undercarriage" LOL  |
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Post by ladyjicky on Jan 19, 2008 20:19:45 GMT -5
I have stayed in this area and I like it alot. Why? Its central. I have a heart prob and so at the end of the day I need to rest up before heading out again - so the Marais is a good place for someone like me. I can just walk a little way and be in the middle of the action and bistro's etc. I like gay men as they have manners on the whole and are great to talk to - they have personnality and like a chat if not busy . You find out travel tips - places to eat and buy great stuff !
I like the Latin Quarter for the same "in the middle of everything" reasons but its not as Neat as the Marais and the men can be a little "too much" but I am older now so you get left alone more! LOL Old Age has its advantages! LOL
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keylimejet
Full Member
"When good Americans die, they go to Paris." Oscar Wilde
Posts: 140
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Post by keylimejet on Apr 30, 2008 19:57:48 GMT -5
Okay, Gitte, the French name of the Doll Museum just has my daughter and I in hysterics. In French, it's Musée de la Poupée. I don't know if the humor in that translates, but here "poupee" is strikingly similar to potty words. I wouldn't have shared this with just any strangers on a forum I'm new to, but I can tell by the rest of the posts on this thread that you all have "interesting" senses of humor too! ;D
It also turns out that this particular museum is right around the corner from our hotel for June, so one of our new objectives in Paris is to get our picture taken by the sign.
On another note, I am so thrilled to find this forum and quite a few of the folks I had been missing on TA. What a wonderful, friendly, informal setup!
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Post by cigalechanta on Apr 30, 2008 20:17:00 GMT -5
I stayed over two weeks in the Marais had a fabulous time. My report is here somewhere.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Apr 30, 2008 20:48:38 GMT -5
Hey Keylime - glad to see you here!
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Post by Shoesy on Apr 30, 2008 21:51:48 GMT -5
Hurray for you, Keylimejet! The fact that your very first post appeals to our sense of humor ;D means that you definitely fit in with this forum. Welcome aboard and keep posting  ! |
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Post by chicchantal on Jul 19, 2008 11:55:30 GMT -5
I lived in the banlieu for 5 months some time ago and never discovered the Marais as such, although I was pointed to the place des Vosges by someone a few years after that. However on my most recent visit to Paris I spent two half days exploring the area and found it to have all the things that I love about Paris. In fact I did feel that some areas of Paris had lost what I used to find special about them (the 6eme, for example, is not what it was). But the Marais . . . WOW. On the morning I was coming back to London I sat outside the Cafe de Sevigny (I think) and drank a coffee in the sun (it was March btw) and felt that life had absolutely nothing more to offer me. Moments like that are why I go to France.
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Post by kittyhead on Jul 20, 2008 21:06:05 GMT -5
i also love staying in the marais because it's so central. and i love all the small shops. funny thing is on my last trip to paris, i really didn't notice the boys there. until people told me it was a gay community i never would've thought. guess i'm used to it?
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grunblack
Full Member
Can't wait to get back...
Posts: 132
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Post by grunblack on Jul 24, 2008 6:02:37 GMT -5
I loved staying in Le Marais. It felt like things were so close, you could get lost, there were different things to see around every corner and you didn't feel out of place because there were so many different people. I would love to stay there again - ahhhh, to be back in Paris before I'm 40...
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!
hahahha