Our New Home

Today has been spent slowly exploring our new neighborhood!  We have a lovely book by Thirza Vallois called "Around and About Paris" that talks about the history, easily fusing the Paris of the past and the Paris of the present.  For example, the Knights Templar were really the "founding fathers" of the 3rd - I had no idea that their temple sat at the site where I watched an outdoor concert on Friday, or that a Queen's lover lived on the street where I buy bread in the  morning!  I highly recommend the book, which comes in volumes, to anyone interested in Parisian history.

Now that I have only a month left in Paris, I am amazed at what I get to see every day.  Every street corner has a fountain or a statue; every door is crooked or brightly painted or set with a giant brass knob the size of my head.  Beautiful stained glass and elaborate lettering herald the boulangerie that smells delicious when you walk by; even getting on the Métro here means descending steps beneath a fairy-tale Art Nouveau sign.  I am worried that Cambridge, for all of its charms, might not live up to its predecessor.

(photos of thistles in a pretty blue jar inside the apartment, and the inexpertly shot view from my parents windows, both by me)