April 4th
Today is Easter Sunday but I awoke to no basket of chocolate candy or colored eggs. It’s nothing new though, I’ve worked at a restaurant the last ten Easters of my life. Today was a different kind of day. I awoke to the still quiet of our courtyard in Paris, with only the faint sounds of birds chirping in the background. Our neighbors have all been extremely quiet considering most of them are offices, some are offices of famous French shoe designers! I made myself my morning café, mostly decaf and listened to the quiet. He was still sleeping and I enjoyed a moment of solitude with my warm drink. When he awoke, finally feeling better (after being sick since the night before we left for France), we decided a jog in the brisk morning air sounded nice.
We bundled up in layers and went out into the quiet morning air along the river Seine towards the Notre Dame. All the French must’ve been hiding in their warm beds at this hour on Easter Sunday because the streets were quiet, only a handful of tourists were scattered about along the river. The Ile de la cite’ was almost deserted as well. Across from the police department was a man setting up shop in what looked to be an outdoor market full of birds in cages and amphibians in petite aquariums. Once at the Notre Dame, we looked at the service times, 930am was the next. Good, plenty of time to return home and freshen up for Sunday mass.
And 45 minutes later, two non-Catholics made their way to Easter mass at the Notre Dame. The wind was strong and chilly beating against my face as we walked across the bridge of the river; I didn’t put nearly enough layers on. Luckily, once inside the cathedral the excess body heat warmed me up. The mass lasted two hours long but the experience will last a lifetime; the stained glass with religious figures of men above me, the smell of the incense being tossed about in a small metal container by the Priest, the words being spoken in a language I could barely understand and the beautiful hymns being sang by women and men in blue cloaks. C’est incroyable!
After the long exit out of the cathedral, we quickly made our way through the streets to the nearest brasserie. My stomach had been yelling at me through the second half of the sermon for not eating enough breakfast. The server was extremely efficient and cordial and the food was hot and tasty. My croque monsieur was the best in Paris thus far, (A croque monsieur is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, with extra cheese on top in classic French style. It must be eaten with fork and knife because if done right, the cheese is far too messy to be consumed with your hands!) After lunch the weather was so cold we basically ran home.
We warmed up in our small apartment on Rue de Jean Jacques Rousseau for an hour, and were soon ready to face the elements again. Three layers on top, two on bottom, a scarf and gloves, je suis prêt! The Marais is our destination this afternoon. The Marais is comprised of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements in Paris. It’s a colorful area that is home to quaint small streets and the Place des Vosges. We wandered towards the northern part of the Marais to the Arts and Metiers museum. Museums are free the first Sunday of the every month so we took advantage of that and walked right in. The museum had everything from old scales from the 1800s to the first cameras to textile machines.
We walked outside and the weather had once again taken a turn. Light drops began to fall and before we knew it, it was hailing. I had learned quickly that living in Paris required me to carry an umbrella wherever I went, so we were saved from the hailstorm. The wind had picked up around this point so we decided to huddle together behind a building for a few moments. Two American girls were fighting the wind and hail with their umbrella bent backwards, laughing and trying to take photos of the storm as they walked down the street. And there we were, on an unknown street corner in Paris singing my Cherie amour, in a hailstorm.
The hail, rain and wind subsided rather quickly and we began on foot again. We wandered around the border of the 3rd and 11th arrondissements on an industrial street leading off the Place de la Bastille, we headed right towards the Place des Vosges. The Place des Vosges is considered the center of the Marais. It’s a beautiful square outlined with brick buildings and a green park in its center. We sat down on a park bench for 20 minutes and enjoyed the passing sunshine. A child laughing and riding a bike by, another child chasing the small birds out of a triangle shaped hedge and people of all languages taking photographs of the park and enjoying their Easter Sunday.
We continued on our way through the small streets of the Marais, smelling the pain au chocolat from every boulangerie we passed. We stopped by a thrift store and checked out the clothes briefly, nothing we had to have. So we continued towards home, savoring each moment of sunshine until our Easter Sunday ended.
Bon Chance Fellow Travelers
-Lindsay
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