Picnic Crasher: The Marais

The Marais is probably my favorite part of Paris (so far). There are TONS of things to do, good places to eat, and it is super walkable. I go there more than I go to any other neighborhood in Paris, which I sometimes feel a bit guilty about, but whatever, I love it. The Marais used to be the Jewish Quarter in Paris and while there is still a pretty signficant population of Jewish people living there, I would say most people now are young, professional/creative (can you join those two with only a slash??) types. It's really expensive to live there now, though, because it's gotten pretty hip. Some vestiges of a larger Jewish population remain, though, such as delicious falafel all up and down the Rue des Rosiers and the fact that things are closed on Saturday and open on Sunday, instead of vice versa. I avoid it on Sundays, though, because that's when there's an influx of people/tourists (see above reasoning).

The most famous falafel shop on Rue des Rosiers is L'As du Falafel. This sandwich is from their across-the-street rival Mi-Va-Mi because when I went, L'As du Falafel was closed for Passover (Mi-Va-Mi is also Jewish run but I guess they have a better sense of competition than religion?). Like I said... some of these are pretty old pictures...

Them's fightin' words...

The Marais also has some of the best thrift shopping in Paris. It is sooo different than the thrifts in the US. Everything was nice and organized and not overwhelming, but shockingly not overpriced either. I got a skirt and a shirt for only 5 euros each here.

One of my very favorite things about the area is that there is street art everywhere, EVERYWHERE. You just have to look around a bit. Though, sometimes it kind of hits you in the face, like with this: