Paris Day Eight

While I had a general plan for my Paris jaunt today, it was all of the accidental discoveries that I made that really made my day. I set off first on the metro to find the Grande Mosquee de Paris...both because it's the oldest mosque in Paris (not sure there are a very many though?) and also because despite spending four months in an Islamic country, I never once entered a mosque...Islamic law and all. So I've always been intrigued to go inside one. I got off the metro and was a bit lost, so I turned a corner and saw a little park and wandered into it to find a bench so I could sit down and pull out my Paris Practique (best little map book ever!! It's invaluable, sort of like the London A-Z).

The park I wandered into turned out to be the Arenne de Lutece, and ancient Roman amphitheatre. Apparently they always knew it was supposed to be here, but no one could find until in the late 19th century they were excavating to build a road here and happened upon these ruins.

The mosque was beautiful, I love the brightly colored mosaics and the fountains.


I had lunch in the restaurant at the mosque, where I had delicious harira (Moroccan soup) and and eggplant salad, eating off a low copper table. Finished off with a cup of mint tea, of course.


On my way to my next stop, I noticed another park so I decided to take a short cut through there. Suddenly, peeping at me through the fence, was a little wallaby! I guess I had wandered into the Jardin des Plantes, which has a zoo in it.


Then I went to the Institut du Monde Arabe. The permanent collection of art from the Islamic world was a little disappointing...but I discovered the terrace on top of the building and caught some gorgeous views of the Seine and Notre Dame. The building itself was really cool, as it's covered in metal work which are actually thousands of apertures which open and close depending on the amount of light available to let in.


Finally, since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to walk past the Pantheon, where the remains of Victor Hugo, Rousseau, and others are intombed. It used to be a church but Napoleon turned it into a mausoleum, removing all religious symbolism and even covering all the windows. I didn't go inside, just walked around then headed back to the metro. After stopping for an afternoon snack of pain au chocolate, of course.

On my way back to my apartment, I happened to glance through an open door, just two doors down from my entrance. I found the cutest little alleyway full of boutiques and galleries. I've been here for a week, and never even noticed it before. A wonderful little surprise to end my day of surprises.