Because it’s where you see the real Paris.
Traveling around Paris is quite a burden. I’ve only been twice, but I don’t think it would change even if I live there. There’s a lot happening, new places, new shops, new streets and new food, it’s impossible to make up your mind on what to do and where to go. Which is why I kept it simple with only a few major goals in mind, including a restaurant, a street/neighborhood and a couple museums. For about three days, including the weekend, two to three restaurants, two museums and a specific neighborhood that you certainly, most possibly, absolutely want to go seemed doable. At least for Paris.
My itinerary included a bunch of macaron places (as much as we could do, find and eat), one crepe place, two museums (the Louvre and the Musée de l’Orangerie), a couple of bookstores, department stores and le Marias, which is a very happening neighborhood these days. We did pretty good, considering the fact that I had an interview with ballerina Park Sae-eun from the Paris Opera Ballet (such a fighter!) for The Korea Times, which came out early January. It’s available as PDF version (part 1 and part 2) but painfully enough, the paper got the accents wrong, which is very annoying, even after I reiterated a couple of times. This post, however, is mostly about the streets we walked on, talked on, talked about, ate sandwiches on, and just stared at other people walking along.
파리만큼 매력적인 곳도 없지만 그래서 여행하기가 힘든 것이 사실. 그래서 작전을 잘 짜야하는데 3일이었던 두번째 파리 여행은 꼭 가고 싶었던 2-3개의 레스토랑, 2-3개의 박물관/미술관 그리고 1-2개의 동네/지역으로 일단 정하고 추운 파리의 거리로 나갔다. 물론 중간 중간 쇼핑도 있었고 파리 오페라 발레단의 박세은양의 인터뷰 (1편, 2편)도 있었고 먹을 수 있을때까지 마카롱도 사먹었지만 그래도 생각했던 작전대로 꼭 봐야할것들은 다 보고 온 느낌. 성공.
The locks are everywhere it’s a bit ridiculous. For those who don’t have locks, look into carving our names and your significant other’s name on the tree bark. I’m not sure if it’s legal to do that, but a bunch of people thought it was ok and went on with it. And no, we didn’t. No locks and no tree bark.
자물쇠에 사랑을 약속하는 것은 좋은데 이제는 하다하다 나무에 그림을 그리는 지경까지. 자물쇠로 꽉 찬 다리를 건너면서 든 생각은 아름답다보다는 무너지지는 않을까 하는 걱정. 그 정도로 많이 붙어있었던 자물쇠들.
The Eiffel Tower. Getting up high and looking down below through a glass floor seems to be the trend, and now it’s possible to do just that at one of the most romantic towers in the world. I haven’t gone up the tower yet, mostly because I don’t want to wait for three hours just to go up and then come back down again. But the glass floor did sound very intriguing.
We went to Paris early December, so all the streets were very heavily Christmas-mode.
We were staying very close to the Notre Dame de Paris and it was a treat to walk pass it every day. I especially found it very interesting to see children flocking around the cathedral with their teachers and parents while the adults would try to explain the art, history and architecture of the magnificent structure. I have to say I’m not quite knowledgable when it comes to Korean artifacts or monuments. I thought I did, considering all the studying and memorizing that happened during my middle and high school years, but when it came the moment when I had to explain the overall history and specifics to someone who has zero knowledge, I admit I was a very limited guide.
우리가 묵었던 Airbnb가 노트르담 성당과 가까이에 있어서 어딜 가든 늘 성당을 지나쳐야 했는데 신기하게도 하루 어느 시간에 보느냐에 따라 분위기가 완전히 달라진다는 것. 워낙 디테일하게 지어진 건물이라 공기, 빛, 바람 등에 따라 그 느낌과 분위기가 달라진다는 이야기. 재밌었던 장면은 노트르담 성당에 대한 역사를 배우고 있던 꼬마들. 선생님으로 보이던 여자 분이 계속 설명하는데 한 이야기가 끝날때마다 궁금증이 어찌나 많던지. 개인적으로 한국의 유적이나 유물에 대한 질문을 받으면 곤란할때가 한두번이 아니다. 물론 기본적인 이름이나 특징이나 시대 등은 대충 설명할 수 있지만 왜 특별한지, 어떤 사연이 있는지에 대해 물어보면 빼도박도 못하고 벙어리가 되어버리는데 그렇게 부끄러울 수가 없다. 분명히 고등학교때 그렇게 외우고 배웠을 것인데 내가 기억력이 별로인지, 학습 과정이 잘못된 것인지, 결론은 부끄럽다는 것.
The Luxembourg Gardens, which turns into jogging central during the weekend.
The French chic: black from head to toe, stylish yet ignorant-looking hair and bright red nails.
파리지엥의 공식: 머리부터 발끝까지 블랙, 무심한 헤어스타일, 그리고 빨간 네일.
Le Marias seemed to be the popular neighborhood these days. Most of my instagram contacts from Paris have at least one or two photos of any shop, brunch place, cafe in the district per week, so I made sure I paid a visit.
Historically, le Marias was one of the most famous aristocratic districts of the city. It’s the home of several palaces, residences and mansions of royalty, which travelers can still visit, such as Hôtel de Sens, the Hôtel de Sully, the Hôtel de Beauvais, the Hôtel Carnavalet (the home of the Paris Historical Museum), the Hôtel de Guénégaud, and the Hôtel de Soubise. Modern art museum Centre Georges Pompidou is also located in the western part of Marias. Now the Marias is the center of art galleries, fashion and trendy cafes and restaurants. It’s also where you can find one of Paris’ main Jewish communities with bookstores, restaurants, cafes and bakeries.
마레지구는 유난히 인기가 많은 동네였다. Instagram을 자주 하는 편인데 파리에 있는 사람들이 부쩍 마레 지구에 있는 곳들을 찍어서 올리는 것을 보고 이번에 가보리라 다짐. 역사적으로 마레 지구는 궁전이나 귀족들의 빌라들이 많았던 곳으로 지금은 박물관, 미술관, 미술 갤러리, 옷가게, 카페 등으로 유명하다. 파리에서 가장 큰 유대인 공동체가 있었던 곳이기도 해서 지금도 유대교와 관련된 박물관, 서점, 레스토랑, 카페들을 쉽게 찾을 수 있다. 서울의 가로수길과 삼청동을 합한 느낌.
All photos by rachelsanghee. December, 2014.