It was hot in Paris. Really hot. And when I headed out through Le Marais on 9 August, I wasn’t interested in racing from one tourist attraction to another. I just wanted to wander, see what was around the next corner and, preferably, find some shade.
Then I found Amorino. You know how sometimes you see an ice cream and think, I absolutely have to have that? This was one of those moments. It was a beautiful, colourful gelato shaped like a flower. Naturally, I took a photo with the shop behind it before eating it.
I crossed the road and went into the little garden at Place des Vosges, called Square Louis XIII. There was a fountain, beautiful trees and, best of all on a day like that, some lovely shady spots to sit. So that’s exactly what I did, gelato in hand.
What I loved was watching everyone else. People were lying out on the lawns sunbathing, chatting and having picnics, right in the middle of the city. No beach needed. They’d simply found a bit of grass and made an afternoon of it. I could understand why. It was lovely. And that park became one of my favourite places to stop for another gelato during our time in Paris.
I carried on exploring the streets and came across Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church. I hadn’t planned to visit it at all. I just happened to walk past, looked inside and was so glad I did.
Paris has all the famous places everyone wants to see, and we saw plenty of them too. But I reckon some of my nicest memories are the simple ones: a good ice cream, a shady tree, watching the locals enjoy themselves and finding something beautiful just by walking past.