Six Days in Paris: Day Two

Day two, our first full day in Paris, was the day that Andy presented a paper at his conference (at the Sorbonne!). He was busy with last-minute fine tuning of his work in the morning, so it wasn’t until just before lunch that we set off on our pre-conference adventures.

We began by taking a stroll through the Montparnasse cemetery. Although famous folks like Charles Baudelaire and Jean-Paul Sartre occupy plots at the cemetery, a stroll through the Montparnasse cemetery for me — unlike the more famous Père Lachaise cemetery on the north side of the city — is less about who rests within the walls and more about the quiet atmosphere. I got the feeling that our friend the crow (above) feels the same.

Andy guided me through the streets of the Montparnasse neighborhood, showing me places he used to frequent as a child during the year his family lived in Paris (his dad was a political scientist who was invited to teach at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes). We eventually ended up at the pedestrian shopping area of the Rue Daguerre, which houses many drool-worthy charcuterie, bakery, cheese, veggie, floral, etc. shops. In fact, it’s where we finally succumbed to our hunger and picked out sandwiches to carry with us until we found a perfect park bench for a picnic.

Look at that brioche! Why can’t someone in southern Utah bake brioche like this?! Perhaps it’s a good thing that scrumptious bread like this isn’t available in my neck of the woods.

After lunch we decided that it was time to head toward the inevitable… It was nearing the time for Andy to deliver his paper, so we decided to stop dragging our feet and march (or rather stroll) down through the Luxembourg Gardens toward the Latin Quarter and the Sorbonne.

Just before we stumbled upon this 17th-century statue that had been retrofitted with a modern-art installation, Andy spoke up to mention that we should keep our eyes out for something of the like. This robe (??) which encases the statue is made of looped rubber. What do you think? I thought it was kind of neat. From farther away the texture looked almost like feathers. It seemed like most onlookers were less impressed though.

Andy’s session went well. I was a proud wife (and also completely lost, as I speak next to no French). With the pressure behind him, Andy was eager to set off on more Parisian-street adventures. Along the way we spotted three more Invaders. Do you see them?

For me, the icing on the cake came late in the day when we wound our way toward the fashion mecca 31 Rue Cambon — the location of Mademoiselle Chanel’s first all-around fashion boutique. We arrived after hours when the stores on the street were closed and the crowds had departed. It was so quiet standing in front of the windows of her shop. I took my time eyeing all of the intricate details of Karl Lagerfeld’s designs and soaking up the fact that I was standing in the famous spot. It was quite the experience.

It was getting late by this point, so we decided to turn around and head back across the river toward the 6th arrondissement. Andy needed to get to bed early so that he could make the early session of his conference, and I wanted to rest up for some much more selfish business I had planned for day three of the trip. Check back next week and I’ll share all the juicy details :o)

Lots of love,

Jacqueline

Gorgeous geraniums in the Montparnasse neighborhood.