Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hotel de Ville and Le Marais


Hotel de VilleBHV
My route today

After a much needed aromatic oil massage with J.B today, I decided to walk over to Le Marais to get some frozen yogurt. I use times like this to talk to myself, to mentally plan things, to think about who to delete on my facebook, you know, things that need attention! From Bastille I walk down rue Saint-Antoine, that then becomes rue de Rivoli, and I turn right at rue Vieille du Temple and head towards MyBerry. I was the happiest girl in the world when I discovered MyBerry with I.M. a few years ago, the closest thing we could find to Red Mango in NYC! Although they don't offer mochi toppings here, the endless supply of fresh seasonal fruits is sufficient enough for this gourmande.

From there, I head towards Hotel de Ville. Every time I walk by, I think of my dearest Daddy. When he saw Hotel de Ville for the first time, he said out loud "hotel ni mesti mahal ni!", meaning "this hotel must be real expensive!". I chuckled, then laughed my @$ off, and had to explain to him that it is not a hotel! Hotel de Ville = building of the city = city hall.

This City Hall is the main City Hall of Paris, and also the City Hall of the first arrondissement. So if you live in the first, this is where you get married, get divorced, and get papers done. Each of the 20 arrondissements in Paris have its own City Halls and its own Mayor.

Right next door is Bazar Hotel de Ville, one of my favorite places to waste time! You can get everything you need here, from clothes to perfume to towels and linen to toasters and mixers. Like its name says, its a complete bazaar, set like a department store with different levels for different needs. I love it! Where else in the city can you find wooden cutouts of the alphabet and magenta colored envelopes?!? Nowhere!

Le Marais is a super cool neighborhood, sometimes I don't feel cool enough walking around here alone because I'm not wearing vintage leggings. Its very American, gay, and artistic at the same time. Here you will find cool contemporary brands like Maje, Sandro and Berenice, you will also see many vintage stores, and a little further cheap popular brands like HnM, Mango and Zara. Its great for shopping, people watching, and self stuffing with American inspired food. (frozen yogurt, cupcakes, cheesecakes, hotdogs, etc).

Metro: Hotel de Ville, St Paul, Rambuteau
Photos by Me, Map courtesy of Google

2 comments:

  1. bahahahah i still remember daddy's comment! i seriously miss paris now

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  2. Hotel de Ville!u remind me how much I miss shopping for art student's essentials in BHV :P

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