Passage du Grand Cerf

Métro: Etienne Marcel (line 4)
Access: 145 rue Saint Denis, 75002 Paris
             8 rue Dussoubs, 75002 Paris
Hours:  Monday-Saturday from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm.
               Closed on Sunday

 
It's one of my favorite passageways. It's really clean and filled with light, especially on a sunny day. I love walking through it especially on my way to Stohrer. Funny story behind it, it was built in the 1800's but was not profitable to a point that it became really run down. Now, it's home of a few fancy shops, which I dream I could afford to go into. There's one antique shop that I really like that sells doorknobs, and my sister is in love with the little haberdashery which sells amazing fabrics. Sadly, no little cute cafés to enjoy this lovely passageway.

 You can even pose with a male model! He's hot and he knows it!

 

Jean-Paul Hévin

Métro: Notre-Dame des Champs (line 12) or Vavin (line 4)
Address: 3 rue Vavin, 75006 Paris
Other locations HERE
Hours:Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm
Cost: 7.90 euros for 5 macarons
Website: http://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/fr/

I think I have mentioned before that I work right by the Garden of Luxembourg. In a little street next to it, you will find a Master Chocolatier: Jean-Paul Hévin. I have heard his name many times here in France for he is truly considered one of the best. His shop looked very fancy and is all dark chocolate brown so you feel like you are inside a piece. Isn't it everybody's dream: swimming in chocolate?

 

Of course, you noticed that it is not chocolate pieces on the pictures. Well, like any French artisan masters, it costs an arm to buy their products. And I am on the budget! Yep, if you want chocolate, get the big bills out (about 25 euros for 16 small pieces). If you really want your chocolate fix, get a chocolate lollipop for 4.50 euros. But I opted for some macarons (8 euros for 5), let's be honest here: it's still expensive but I'd rather spend 8 euros to get fat---ter than 25. Most macarons' flavor are a variation of chocolate (duh!). So I chose a few and off I went to pay with my lovely little blue card (no it's not gold, not even close). Cashier looked at me horrified and say: "We only take the card for purchases over 20 euros" WHAT?!? So beware my friends, come with your change.

I purchased a couple pastries to make it 20-ish. I did not like the pastries at all: way too rich with loads of cream, butter and all that jazz. But the macarons... yummy! Ah, I could eat loads of them. My favorite of all time is the Normandy (pictured above). Huge kuddos for the unbelievable texture and the burst of flavors especially the salted caramel. I could spend 8 bucks every week of those (that is if I had them). 

Mémorial de la Shoah

Métro: Saint Paul (line 1) or Pont Marie (line 7)
Address: 17 rue Geoffroy l’Asnier, 75004 Paris
Hours:Sunday-Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, open until 10:00pm on Thursdays
Closed on Monday and national and Jewish holidays
Free guided visits in English: Every second sunday of the month
Cost: Free
Website: www.memorialdelashoah.org

I am a French native. As most kids of my generation, we have been raised with stories of WWII mostly told by our own grandparents. My grandpa was lucky enough to escape labor camp but so many others, mostly Jews were not lucky enough to survive the concentration camps. I have always been puzzled by how such horrible things were able to take place. I've read so many books on the topic and I still feel very ignorant and without reasonable answers. My husband and I have always wanted to visit the Memorial in Paris and came face to face to closed doors on Saturday. But after all, it is a nice reminder that it is a place dedicated to French Jews.

We were not discouraged and went another day. Before you're able to enter, you have to go through a high security check, it's more thorough than the Louvre or any other museums I have been to in Paris. It's another sign that there is still something to worry about even nowadays. I apologize for not being able to take pictures of the inside of the museum since they are not allowed by respect, like all the monuments for the remembrance of the victims.

As you go in, you find yourself almost trapped within walls. It's the Wall of Names: 76 000 Jewish men, women and children who were deported from France in only the lapse of time of 2 years (1942-1944). Those names were found in the Gestapo records that you can consult in the museum. You can also find the Wall of the Righteous engraved with the names of those who helped rescue Jews during the war.

The memorial is a huge building. You can find the map and explanation in English right HERE. It is very interactive. I think I spend almost 1 hour just listening to the testimonies of survivors. It's amazing the determination of those people. Despite everything that happened to them they are positive people, some of them even have a great sense of humour which is so impressive to me. It's the last place where you think you're going to have a great laugh, but I did and that is the best revenge they can have on life and their oppressors. The Memorial is really accessible to children, lots of activities for them that respect their sensitivity (they can also browse the website: http://www.grenierdesarah.org/index.php/en/ )

I remember once talking to a camp survivor. I was a teen then and I was so disgusted by the horror of the Holocaust that I asked him he had done to seek revenge. He responded to me that the best way to get revenge is to live, love and forgive but not forget; otherwise you are no better than they are.