Bonjour
What better way to celebrate Australia Day than a long weekend in Paris. We caught the train on Friday afternoon and this time we stayed in the Marais area, on the opposite side to our usual stomping ground (Lee’s work in Paris is always at the Australian Embassy, right near the Eiffel Tower). Even though they only a few kilometres away from each other, there is a marked difference.
The Marais was busy with people everywhere but we did not see many tourists around (not even a queue outside Notre Dame – unheard of!). There are lots of little laneways and beautiful passageways and many of the streets are closed off to traffic. There is a real quirkiness and sense of fun about the place. People are friendly and English was spoken in most places.
We discovered the Passage du Grand Cerf – reminding us a bit of some of those Melbourne arcades. It was full of curious little shops including those selling very original jewellery, opticians, a fantastic patchwork and knitting supplies shop and all sorts of other shops with knick-knacks.
You can’t walk through the Marais area without constant reminders of the Jewish community and their losses during WW2. Above many houses and schools are signs recognising those who lived there and were taken by the Nazis. We also stumbled on the Memorial de la Shoah – including a long wall containing thousands of names of French citizens who provided help to the Jews during the war.
Another find was the place you see in the photo below. Leroy Merlin is similar to Bunnings and is the go to place for all your hardware needs. In the middle of the Marais area (where everyone lives in tiny apartments) they have set up a place where you can go and buy timber, nails, etc and use their equipment to make or fix whatever. It costs €15 for an hour, plus an extra €15 if you want one of their staff to help you. This was the first of its type we were told. They didn’t look that busy but they starting to get more business, including many female customers. What a great idea!
After we left, we discovered a sign outside telling us about the sad history of this location. In 1982 this was a restaurant called Chez Jo Goldenberg and was attacked by terrorists. Two people stormed the crowded restaurant and threw a grenade into the dining room then rushed in firing machine guns. Six people died and 22 injured. It was the heaviest toll suffered by Jews in France since WW2.
And no weekend in France is complete without a protest march by the Yellow Vests or Gilets Jaune. According to the news, most arrests this time were at the Bastille – just up the road from where we were staying. We didn’t hear any of the commotion, but we did see several hundred people marching along the street in that general direction. Marching is a bit of an overstatement, it was more like a large group of people of all ages who were out for a friendly chat as they strolled along. It was all very calm, probably typical of 98% of the protestors that march throughout the country each week.
And then it was time to return to Cherbourg. Train was easy, on time and much less to worry about parking in Paris. Definitely do it again but when the weather warms up.
A bientot
L & M.
thefrenchfeed 
Happy Australia day?
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