Medication for jetlag.
Yes, we are here in Paris and settling into our Marais apartment which is well-located, petite, and full of a kind of shabby charm. Translation:it could do with redecorating, but nothing has been spoiled or jars. I love the four tall French windows framed by white cotton curtains and glowing in the south-facing sun. I love the black marble fireplaces, which a dinner companion this week tells me indicates the place is 18th century, and many little touches such as the ornate brass clock on the mantel (doesn’t work) and the pair of brass candelabra that are reflected in tall old mirrors. The floors are mellow waxed oak – wide plank rather than parquet – and the tiles are earthenware octagons. We look due south to the Seine and while you can’t see the water, you can see the dome of the Pantheon in the quartier Latin. Out on the street everything we need and love is there with many wineshops, a street market, and a nearby Monoprix (heaven).
Here is the view from the dining room through to the living room. On our first day, we stopped for flowers – an inexpensive Paris necessity – and the little pyramid you see on the dining table contains a couple of chocolate pastries from the corner boulangerie. This how they package them!
View at dusk from our window, the cobbled, narrow streets of the Marais. You can see my reflection in the window.
Our area, the Marais, is one of the oldest in central Paris. It has dozens of these beautiful buildings, which one views through grand doorways off the sidewalk. Known as hotels particuliers, they were the in-town chateaux of the aristocracy in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many have been turned into museums or government buildings .This is the Jewish Museum.
Closeup of the grand, carved doors of the Marais.
What does it feel like to be back in Paris? Like meeting again with an old friend, whose many ways you treasure, especially the ones you had forgotten.
