Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Walk 12: Time Travel, Tricks, and Treats around Saint-Sulpice


Yesterday we had a couple of hours between classes and FHE, so a group of us decided to do walk 12 “Time Travel, Tricks, and Treats around Saint-Sulpice.” We first saw the Hôtel Lutetitia, where Josephine Baker, Picasso, and other famous individuals have stayed. Then we walked through an interesting neighborhood with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries, but we were most excited to see Poilâne, a famous boulangerie. Although several people in the group purchased pain au chocolate, I was saving my pennies for an even better treat: Pierre Hermé, a fantastic patisserie best known for its macarons. This was my first true macaron experience (I wish I had taken a picture of it), but I have to say that I prefer cheap nutella crèpes from vendors around Paris. I had chosen the chuao flavor, which I thought would be entirely chocolate, but it had some kind of yummy fruit flavor as well. Tasty - just not what I was expecting.

We then went into Saint Sulpice, which you may have heard about from the Da Vinci Code. Although I really enjoy Dan Brown’s books, I realized at the church that I remember practically nothing about the Da Vinci Code, apart from that fact that it involved a crazy albino monk and a search for the Holy Grail. Oh well, I still took pictures next to the gnomon and rose line like any other tourist, and I’ll have to do a reread when we get back to the states.

We left Saint Sulpice and hurried past some shops I’d like to come back to visit when I have more time (namely a vintage clothing store and an Anglo-American bookstore) and made our way to the Abbaye Saint-Germain, which dates back to the 6th century. Although the building was beautiful and had some interesting statues, I think some of these churches are starting to look pretty similar. I can’t believe I feel so blasé about these amazing sites! As we headed out to the metro, I was struck by the irony of a centuries-old abbey sitting among the chicest of boutiques – Louis-Vuitton, Cartier, Swarovski. I’m guessing the nuns didn’t have much use for $1500 bags, but I could be wrong.


1 comment:

  1. It took me a minute to figure out what you meant by "chicest"...if you just read it the way it looks, it rhymes with "nicest." But I don't know how else you would spell the superlative of "chic." Hmmm.

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