Tuesday: June 9
Today we woke to rain, dark clouds, a bit of wind and lots of silvery lightning. The transportation workers went out on a general strike today, closing down bus, taxi and metro services for all of Paris. The majority of our group gathered after breakfast to consider our options for exploring the nearby Marais district of Paris.
Jean Jacques met us in the lobby and suggested we wait out the rain and then embark on a walking tour.
Our first stop was a church just down the street.
Here we admired the gothic architecture and religious paintings.
The Marais district contains a multitude of pre-Revolutionary lanes and buildings. Above is the oldest house in Paris, built in 1407, now the Auberge Nicholas Flamel bistro (note bene, Harry Potter fans).
Here is another example of a local patisserie/bistro.
This former mansion now houses the Carnavalet Museum.
The Carnavalet is devoted to the history of Paris.
As you can see, the gardens within this typical mansion courtyard are quite magnificent.
Here is another example of a small walkway leading to yet another spectacular lane and square.
We stopped at St. Catherine's Square for lunch where we had ravioli in beef gravy. Others had salmon or artichoke pate.
The owner of the cafe explained that we needed to hurry up and order as the cook wanted to leave to join the downtown protest.
Today, over 200,000 workers took to the streets to protest the government's proposal that the retirement age be changed from 60 to 62 years old.
To show our solidarity, several in our group helped hold banners and joined in the march that proceeded all the way down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.