Le Deuxième Jour

Today during mon deuxième jour à Paris, we toured the Crypte Archeologique beneath Notre Dame, a museum of the remnants of medieval Paris. Archaeologists had uncovered the walls of Paris during the time of the Roman Empire. They even had remains of a port from 100 BC! That’s 100 years before Chrsit! Anyways, it was really neat to be able to travel back in time to Medieval Paris and walk along the original streets like the Parisians of old.

The Crypte Archeologique under Notre Dame

Later in the morning, we took a walking tour of the Latin Quarter with Madame Clay to see all of the Sarbonne buildings and to familiarize ourselves with the area. Not only did we see the oldest church in Paris, but we also saw the oldest tree in Paris, which is partially supported by a cement cradle because some of the brances are so thick. Can you imagine how old that tree must be? Watch out Rip Van Winkle!

We ate lunch in les Jardins du Luxembourg, one of Hemingway’s old haunts! Now I see why! The gardin is beautiful! There are rows of evergreens, statues, a magnificent fountain, a gorgeous building that reminds me of the Biltmore Estate, not to mention the flowerbeds! Note to self: this would be a fantastic place to come running! Unfortunately, it’s all of the way across Paris from my the house where I will be living.

We actually found all of our homestays after lunch! While my homestay is not the most charming, it is certainly very cultural. The apartment is very simple, with white stucco walls, and there is a petit jardin across the street where a lot of families were eating lunch. While it will be nice to live in a quiter, more residential part of Paris, I hope I will still be able to experience the nightlife of the grand city. It is also in a predominantly Muslim and Jewish part of town. I am right down the street from a very large synagogue and only a few blocks away from the only mosque in Paris. The mosque has Turkish Baths, a tea room, and is open to tours on several days of the week. Add this to my “Must-See” list. Living there will give me an exposure to a culture to which I wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed, and it will give me insight to how average Parisians (people who can’t afford to live in a Latin Quarter apartment with a wrought iron balcony) live. So, in a sense, I’m getting a true Parisian experience, n’est pas? Who knows? Maybe I’ll come home speaking a little Farsi, too!

Afterwards, we went to a Roman sporting arena that is still in use. There were a lot of boys playing “football” and a lot of older men playing Pétanque. (Thank you, Ryan, for figuring out what it was called!)

For dinner, my roommate for next year and I ate bacon and cheese quiche at the hostel. It was only 3 euros, and it was delicious!

Off to bed now! Bon nuit!