Ok, so on Saturday, one of the professors from CUPA took us on a tour of the Marais, which is one of Paris's oldest and most historic quartiers. In French, marais means "swamp," which is essentially what this area was in the Middle Ages before a group of monks came in and drained the land so that they could build monasteries and churches there. As you can see in some of the photos, the area still retains traces of its medieval heritage and history.
A few centuries later, the Marais became the place for noble French families to build their homes. As a result, the area is now home to many impressive urban mansions, including the Hôtel de Sully, which we visited (see below).
In the late 19th century, le Marais became home to many Ashkenazi Jews fleeing prosecution and pogroms in Eastern Europe and has ever since been considered the Jewish center of Paris. In the Jewish community, the area is known as Pletzl, which is Yiddish for "little place."
Finally, in the 1980s, the gay community also took up residence in this district and helped to make it the quaint, chic, charming neighborhood it is today. So, anyway, what I'm trying to say is that this bitch is mad old and tons of shit went down here. Basically. Here are some damn photos fo' yo' ass:
Medieval houses
I couldn't decide which one I liked better so I just put them both up...
I like the silhouette on the left but I also like the sunburst effect on the right.
What do you guys think?
Cobbler shop
Old medieval street
Hôtel de Sully.
This is the Place des Vosges, an iconic Parisian square and park that was designed and constructed by King Henri IV in the 16th century. Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables here and Mozart gave one of his first recitals here. It's lovely and very historic but all I saw when I went there was this baby.
I have a problem (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3q4xr_natasha-bedingfield-i-wanna-have-yo_music))
Best viewed large!
I swear to God I have seen more macaroons in the last week than I have seen throughout in my entire life
Also, because we were in a group, I didn't really have all the time that I wanted to stop and just take photos, so expect another post on le Marais in the (hopefully near) future.
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