It was with the help of the Metro and our trusty feet that we headed out on Day 83 to explore the famous Latin Quarter of Paris. We had heard that this was the traditional home of writers, artists, poets and thinkers who frequented the many bookshops and cafes in the area. We found evidence of all of these past inhabitants but also noticed that a new gang seems to have turned up and were taking up residence. We had seen this group clustered in ghettos in New York and many of the European cities that we have visited. We generally try to stay well away from this mob as we consider them not to be of our social class. You may have heard of some of their names and we would like to warn you that you too, may come across the likes of Prada, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Co, Cartier, Swarvarski and Chanel. They seem to be everywhere!
After walking for quite some time we decided to rest our tired feet and have a coffee at one of Paris’s famous haunts the Café de Flore. This café has been a refuge and meeting place of many famous writers, academics, philosophers and thinkers throughout the last century. We were able to sit and sip our cappuccinos and wonder if Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir had sat at the same table. We considered being and nothingness but decided that the pursuit of beauty, life and joy was much more productive.
Later in the day we headed out to the famous Montmartre area to take a bird’s eye view of the city from the north. The view was almost worth the tourist crush, which I guess we also contributed to. Later we strolled past the famous red windmill outside Moulin Rouge (made even more famous by Baz Luhrmann’s movie). The style of the Montmartre area do not exactly fit our taste but to sit with Sartre and walk with Baz made it another surreal day in Paris.
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