Paris – Ile de la Cité and Lunch at Les Bouquinists

A free breakfast in my hotel, and I was off to walk along the Seine to Ile de la Cité. I didn’t get any good photos out of the walk, but I did find a hand-done painting of the Arc de Triomphe at sunset - a perfect reminder of my first night in Paris.

Check out the photo taken from Square du Vert-Glant, at the western tip of Ile de la Cité. This island has been the centre of settlements in the area for long enough that the the present city is now almost 7 metres above it's orignal elevation. The square is at the level that the island was during the Gallo-Roman period (or so says my guidebook), and modern Paris is at the level of the horse statue. I guess that means that everything on Ile de la Cité is built on rubble!? If anyone wants to clarify, feel free...

Determined not to leave Paris without a having a few good meals, I took my guidebook’s suggestion and had lunch at Les Bouquinists on the left bank. What a great meal! If I described it, it would seem ordinary (fried fish and potatoes with chopped vegetables on top), but if there’s anything I learned in Paris, it's that the French know how to do the simple things perfectly.

Since I didn’t have anyone to share my meal with at the time, I’ll show you all some photos now: