MIA in Wonderland: 14e Arrt.

I really enjoyed this arrondissement! I explored this one by myself while the rest of the class was in French class. I tested out during the first week of the second class because it was very repetitive for me and I had improved on my French a lot by this time. It was very relaxing to walk around and go exactly where I wanted. After exploring the city both alone and with friends, I’ve really learned to enjoy exploring by myself. I fell in love with
the Cimetiere du Montparnasse. Before this, I had only been to cemeteries with small headstones either embedded in the grass or just a foot tall in the grass. This cemetery had huge tomb looking stones that resemble ancient Egyptian tombs. Each name is hand graved with a chisel and brick. It was beautifully overcast, and the weather was perfectly cool. I spent an hour looking at the different stones, each different and unique in it’s own way. Some are large and look like coffins, and others are small rooms with little shelves holding photos, rosaries, and candles. Along the lines of the ancient and the dead, the Catacombs are also in this district! We went the very first weekend in Paris and it was super cool and super terrifying. It really got to me. I had a really hard time looking at all the skulls stacked in perfect lines and designs. Every skull I looked at I pictured what they must have looked like, what their life was like and how they died. I also couldn’t stop thinking about the person who had to stack all of them! Could you think of a worse job? It’s definitely a must see in Paris though.

This arrondissement is pretty large. On the other side of it, there is a cool street with many restaurants and stores. One store that stood out to me was a butcher shop. Butcher shops alone freak me out. The raw meat hanging in the window already diseases me, but if I think about where it came from, it goes to a whole other level. This specific one was even worse because they had two large fake animals right outside the door! Oh so that’s what that raw meat looks like before you murdered it, thanks! Gross! The market prices around this area are fairly cheap for the steak at a price of 27.50€/kg. The eggs are priced around 1.65€ and the milk for 1.21€. There is a restaurant and bar called Le Lock Groove that was closed when I passed it, but it looks awesome! Live bands come and play every evening and they host different social events weekly. I definitely want to make it back there!