Voilà, pictures of the 7th arrondissement where the restaurant L'Arpège is located. The buildings all look quaintly old, as if by design. Something about the place is ancient yet modern, the arrondissement of Musée Rodin, Musée d'Orsay and Les Invalides, a quartier close to major tourist spots, including the Eiffel Tower. 3€50 a kilo for tomatoes? Probably reasonably cheap for a place like this.
The almost uniform paleness (beige-gray) of the neighborhood is sometimes broken up by large, ornate doors painted with a vibrant color, a welcome visual break.
It was the end of February, a leap year at that. Paris was still cold, at rare times a whipping icy wind would swirl from seemingly nowhere and hit us in the face. Most of the trees were still leafless, though once in a while, you'd see cherry blossoms already in bloom. In this place though, mostly arboretums in hibernation.
Around the neighborhood, which hums along trying to be oblivious of the touristic throngs around it, the quotidian life is quiet, though like any other big city neighborhood, parking is infernally impossible to find. In fact, my friends and I arrived at L'Arpège a few minutes early and, while waiting outside, saw a car towed very quickly and efficiently. It was a marvel of of technology and elbow grease. Appropriately enough, Rodin's The Gates of Hell is here.
Rue de Varenne, corner of Rue de Bourgogne, where L'Arpège is located. Across the street, a plaque commemorating someone I assume is a fallen WWII soldier, Michel de Bretagne.
What do you think, Thinker?
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