Saturday - March 9, 2002

Today I didn't take many pictures, but had a wonderful, relaxing day. After sleeping in, Heidi and I met to pick up some souvenirs in a neighborhood recommended by a local who said it was "where the Parisians shop." It was a very charming neighborhood with cool shops, and we ended up buying more gifts for ourselves than for family. For lunch, we found a creperie on a small market street and sat at an outdoor table watching the Parisians walk by.

Back at the hotel, I arranged my now-overflowing luggage since I would be moving back to Hotel de la Tulipe in the morning. Then we went out to the Marais neighborhood, which looks much as it did pre-Revolutionary times. It is home to Place de la Bastille, the square where the famous prison once stood but is long gone. Marais is also home to Paris' Jewish quarter and its gay neighborhood. There was a charming seediness to the area, reminiscent of Soho or Greenwich Village. We ended up at the Pompidou Center, the offbeat 20-century art museum. Out front, a whimsical fountain had moving artwork, like lips that spit water.

We walked to the Latin Quarter, but by then it was after 10pm, not leaving us enough time for a Parisian-length dinner and still catch the Metro before it stopped running at 1am. So we went back to the hotel and found a restaurant nearby, making it home by 1am. next>>