There is no such thing as a Parisian No Go Zone. I’m making fun of Fox News. I’ll explain later.
This weekend I welcomed my first American visitor in Paris, one of my roommates from home who is studying in London for the semester. Saturday was our day of fun filled activities - we walked a total of 11 miles (or 15ish kilometers if you want to talk like a European)….which may be why it is 1 in the afternoon and I still haven’t had the will to get up from my bed.
We started off our day doing touristy things in the heart of the city, at the Notre Dame Cathedral and along the Seine. We ate a delicious breakfast of coffee and croissants along the Seine:
And then took some pictures of Notre Dame:
The Seine and Notre Dame were, as always, beautiful. I always love to head to the side of the cathedral and and check out the gargoyles on the side (see the 2nd picture of the cathedral) They’re super creepy. You can also go inside the cathedral for free, or climb to the top for a pretty view. You do have to pay to go the the top.
After gallivanting around Île de la Cité, we headed over to a neighborhood called Belleville for a guided tour of street art in Paris. I had won it through my abroad center.
After the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January of this year, news reports on Fox News declared “There are a whole lot of places in and around Paris where they ( the French police) are still afraid to go”. Check out the video clip here.
Well Belleville is one of those neighborhoods that Fox News considers a “No Go Zone”. That’s an absolute lie. The authorities to have control over these neighborhoods, and there is rule of law. I had a great day walking around Belleville, and never once felt threatened. Don’t trust Fox News,people.
The street art in this neighborhood was captivating. Here are some pictures of some of the things we saw:
That reads “Drunk off life”.
Yes, that’s a piece of pizza that is high.
In the neighborhood, there were whole streets covered in street art. It was a really cool sight.
The tour guide talked about all of the artwork-whether he knew the artist, what the inspiration was for these artists, and some funny stories about the things street artists will do to finish a project.
For example, I really like his story of an artist who paints a lot of cats around the city. He painted this one here:
It is a little hard to see, but the cat is on the beige building under the “CON”. This artist painted cats just like this in the metro in one of the long hallways connected one line to another, I believe in the metro strop Chatelet.
The city was really mad that he had painted these cats. He was found and faced trial. During his trial, he argued that in the winter, when all the Parisians are depressed because of the winter and the cold and the dark, the cats will help bring life back into the city and warm the hearts of the Parisians.
He won the case based off that argument, and wasn’t fined.
I really enjoyed this tour, because it gave me the opportunity to see a neighborhood and a subculture of Paris that I wouldn’t have on my own. I definitely have a new appreciation for street art too.
The one downside: I brought Lianne because the flyer said the tour would be in English. Turned out it was in French, so Lianne was a little lost the whole time. And I learned how exhausting it was to translate for 2 or 3 hours straight.
Afterwards, we went to Montmarte, stumbled across a parade that was giving out free wine, and then checked out this beauty:
11 miles and two pairs of very sore feet later, we were back at my apartment stuffing pasta, wine, and chocolate mousse into our faces.
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