Latin Quarter

Paris, Latin Quarter

We arrived in Paris almost two months ago, in the middle of a late summer heat wave. With temperatures in the 30s and hot sunshine it was always something of a relief to get back to the relative coolness of our hotel in Montmartre. Seven weeks later the seasons have made their transition into late autumn, and you sense that the cold days of winter are not too far away. The trees that were covered in bright green leaves are now clothed in various shades of brown and orange and the avenues and boulevards of the famous city are now carpeted with a thick layer of fallen leaves.

On our last full day in Paris the skies were dark and leaden overhead and a gentle drizzle had fallen for most of the past few hours, turning the millions of cobblestones to shiny stars on the ground. We decided to spend our time huddled under an umbrella just wandering the labyrinth of streets near our hotel.

We are staying near the Boulevard de Saint Michel in the middle of the Latin Quarter of the city. With the huge student populations of the nearby Sorbonne and University of Paris, this area has a distinctly different feel to the bohemian/arty atmosphere of Montmartre.

The Latin Quarter is filled with a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways, containing an incredible mixture of small shops. It is always an adventure to just wander these streets, not knowing what surprise lies around the next corner. Tiny Antiquarian bookstores are stocked to the ceilings with fading copies of old books and manuscripts, tiny toy stores sell everything from wooden puppets to music boxes, shop front art galleries feature the works of rising young artists, other stores sell an eclectic mix of antiques, clothing, old radios, knick knacks and anything else that strikes the owner's fancy. If you peer in the windows of these shops you will usually see the owner sitting at their desk immersed in some old book, not seeming to care at all whether a customer walks in their door or not.

On our aimless wander we happened to stumble across a gem of a store called the "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of Life). Inside was a delightful cornucopia of kitchenware, furniture and other quirky items. We left some time later, a little poorer but carrying a couple of delightful little mementos which we will always treasure.

After dinner in a roadside Brasserie we walked back to our hotel and noticed that the skies had miraculously cleared to reveal a brilliant full moon hovering over Notre Dame and the Seine. What an amazing way to remember the final night in Paris. It was too good an opportunity to miss so we spent the next couple of hours wandering along the river in the moonlight, watching the large tourist boats and the dazzling lights on the Eiffel Tower. In the Place de la Concorde we stood and gazed up the famous Avenue de Champs Elysees and stared at the patterns of light caused by the headlights and taillights of the hundreds of cars heading to and from the Arc de Triomphe. A fleet of diminutive Citroen 2CVs were parked on the side of the road. What an iconic end to a marvellous trip.

We finally wandered back to our hotel, tired and footsore but deliciously happy. I can't wait to get back here again as soon as possible.Read more