Friday, October 3, 2014

Today we went off to see a part of the 3rd arrondissement that we have not visited. Ir's at the extreme northwest corner of the 3rd behind the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. First we walked the entire length of a small street that had a lot of restaurants, shops, and workshops. It was la rue du VertBois. If you use the link, you can translate the page into English.  We looked in at a couple of the restaurants. We decided that we would come back and try ones that looked good. One of the small ones on the street is called Chez l'Ami Louis. It is well known and very expensive for well-heeled people. It supposedly has the best roast chicken in Paris. The author of one guide books ate there and his bill was over $250 just for one person. We'll skip it, thanks.

Here ia a photo of one of the shops on the street. It's the shop of a luthier. A luthier is one who makes and repairs lutes and other stringed instruments.

The street ends at the rue Saint-Martin, named after one of the two remaining gates left in Paris of the wall that surrounded the city. The Porte Saint. Martin is pictured below.

We turned left down the rue Saint Martin and almost immediately on our right we find Square Emile- Chautemps. If you want to know who he was, click here. In the square there is a lovely park with lots of play space for children, benches to sit, several "boules" courts, and several fountains. See the photos.

Along one side of the square is small street called rue Papin. We discovered a lovely café there called Le Bistrot de la Gaîté.

It is named after the Théâtre de la Gaîté next door. Click here to read about the theater.  Notice the beautiful arches and columns on the front of the theater            

 After a libation in the café, we made our way back to the rue de Bretagne where we had a light dinner in one of the cafés near our street.