Better Know a Quarter : Le Marais

I have not seen all of Paris yet, but I certainly have done my fair share of exploring and I do believe that I have located my favorite quarter: Le Marais.  
Located in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, it spans from La Bastille to Centre Pompidou and includes such sights as la Place des Vosges, l'eglise St. Paul, and Victor Hugo's house.  It also has tons of museums and hotels that I have yet to visit, but intend to.  It is the Jewish Quarter of Paris and therefore the place to get challah.  And falafel.  I had my first (and second) falafel ever this past week, and I loved it.

L'AS du Fallafel--the famous falafel of le Marais!

There are also tons of vintage stores and funky boutiques, a wonderful macaron shop, and a café that sells rather eccentric muffins.

blueberry macaron

cinnamon pecan

&

pear chocolate chip

synagogue de la rue Pavé

strange wares in the Adidas store

I will definitely be traveling back to this quarter very often, taking more pictures, seeing more sights, so I will update the blog on all things Marais in due time.

Another event of interest from this past week: Angelina's hot chocolate.

The most decadent, rich, delicious hot chocolate that will ever enter my blood stream.

Known for its hot chocolate (called l'Africain), this place is super classy and super expensive.  Thankfully, 7 euro gets you a mini carafe of melted chocolate (that contains about two cups) and a cup of whipped cream.  Four euro will also get you a small glass bottle of Evian...learned that one the hard way.  But I stole the bottle when we were done, so I feel I got my money's worth.  All in all, very much worth the price, but very much unrepeatable.  If I get another cup of Angelina's hot chocolate within the next 6-8 months, I will overdose on chocolate and I will collapse on the floor.  I had such a buzz/headache after my two cups! Put it on your bucket list...towards the end if you want to die happy.

This weekend I am determined to dedicate my nights to going out with my friends to new and interesting places.  On the list: L'International, Le Basile, & Rex Club.  Oh well look at that! Three places and three nights in which to see them.  Where will we go tonight...?

*I should probably credit Rebecca, one of the interns at IES, for the title of this entry.  She is leading a series of tours for us to all the arrondissements of the city and calling it her "Better Know a Quarter" series, after Stephen Colbert's "Better Know a District" series on The Colbert Report.  Genius idea on both their parts.