Les Galaries au Marais

Now that we are studying modern art, my art professor took us on a gallery tour in Le Marais, the old jewish ghetto/the gay neighborhood. The weather predicted rain, so I geared up in boots, two raincoats (one with a hood and one longer one), and my umbrella. Of course when I got off the Metro at St. Paul, it was sunny and beautiful. We headed to the first of four galleries. The artist, Frederic Sanchez, used sound to convey his art. We entered a white room with speakers to listen to sounds of clashing and dripping and then you enter a completely black room with more soothing sounds. The contrast was interesting, but I’ll probably stay away from sound exhibits in the future- I hear plenty of noise just outside my window, which faces a hospital. Next we went to an exhibition by Claire Morgan called Life.Blood. (morbid.) But the exhibit was actually my favorite. She used small pieces of colored plastic bags to create suspended planes or cubes in the air. In each artwork, there was a dead animal or bug that was suspended in a scene describing nature. Ok- this sounds terrible, so just look at the photos. The final two galleries were pretty typical of what you might expect from modern art- a random collection of random things by random artists. The final gallery focused on videos and destructive art, which we learned about (and had seen at the Boston Museum of Modern Art).
After being thoroughly cultured, I was starving and luckily the Jewish quartier is home to the best falafels in Paris. I find it shocking that I have never been exposed to falafels before, considering it’s vegetables and fried chickpeas in a pita (aka my diet summed into one pita pocket). AMAZING! I seriously considered life as a vegetarian, or a falafel-tarian. I continued to walk around enjoying the last bits of my falafel. I stumbled upon some other interesting sites in the Marias; cute shops, Mariage Freres (a crowded tea shop), boutiques, souvenir shops, and a few specialty food/chocolate shops! Just as I was popping in and out of shops, the skies opened up and it poured!! The Parisians hid under awnings and in shops; but alas, I had prepared for New England rain and was able to continue my stroll on the empty, flooded streets.

If you are heading over to Paris, consider asking your cabby to just drop you off here and I’ll meet you:
L’as du Fallafel
34 Rue des Rosiers
75004, Paris (Le Marais)