Quartier Latin

The Latin Quarter, also known as my Paris hometown, is filled with culture from many centuries. During my past five weeks here in the LQ, I've learned quite a bit. However, in just a couple of hours last night, I nearly tripled my knowledge.

A friend of mine from my TEFL course has been living in Paris for the past few years. Originally from Michigan, she came to Paris for an au pair job that was supposed to last six months. Well, her au pair position came and went, and Molly decided to keep living life in this miraculous city. Now, she is earning her Master's Degree (which is quite affordable compared to the US) and working a tour guide job on the side. She was kind enough to let me jump in on one of her tours last night. Although I travel for extended periods of time to avoid being labeled as a "tourist," this tour was definitely a necessity. 

I gained an immense amount of knowledge that will come in handy in the classroom, in small talk, and whenever I'm looking to impress someone with my cultural awareness. Some fun facts:

• Both Earnest Hemingway and James Joyce called the Latin Quarter home.
• Rumor has it Johnny Depp also owns property in the Latin Quartier, and we passed the supposed quad where he stays. 
• A majority of Midnight in Paris was filmed here (look below for the iconic steps!). 

Do we look like a pondering Owen Wilson?

• Although most believe Sweeney Todd is based on an English horror story, the original story takes place in Paris, specifically the Latin Quarter. Centuries ago, dozens of male students had gone missing from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. Investigators and police eventually discovered a barber was slicing the necks of the students and selling the bodies to the Baker across the way. The baker was then mincing the bodies and using them in his meat pies! Yuck! 
• There is an original wall from King Phillip's reign which was meant to protect the people from attack. The wall is now quite deep into the Latin Quarter, showing how much Paris has grown over the centuries. 
• While the Han warriors were planning an attack on Paris, the government encouraged everyone to leave. However, this also created a dangerous situation without protection from the wild. Instead, Saint Genevieve encouraged everyone to stay. At first, nobody listened. So, she focused her preaching on just the women of the city, who agreed to obey. The men didn't want to be one-upped by this femme congregation, so they too decided to stay. Well, the Han were deterred and Genevieve was inducted a saint. Her fountain still runs in the Latin Quarter. 

As we started to step past the boundaries of the Latin Quartier, I continued to learn more about major monuments that I hadn't known before. 

• The Notre Dame was never meant to exist today. After it was nearly demolished in war, the government planned to finish the job. One architect encouraged the people of Paris to fight back to save the centuries old monument. The people gained interest and overturned the government's decision. The architect then rebuilt the cathedral, with a touch of sense of humor. The fifth hebrew king from the left is actually not a hebrew king, but the architect. The sixth hebrew king was constructed to be looking to his right to signal the small, yet eternal, joke. 

Unfortunately, my picture cuts off the Hebrew kings,
but can you figure out which one is the architect?

• The Hotel De Ville is the central Mairie (courthouse) of Paris. It burned down, but has been since reconstructed to imitate the original architecture. The only element the modern version lacks is the collection of execution structures. It is a beautiful property to visit, as long as your not afraid of Marie Antoinette's ghost! 

• Speaking of ghosts, a man in a red coat is said to haunt the Jardin des Tuileries. He was a henchman to the Queen of France during the 16th century. Well, Catherine de Medicis decided the henchman knew too many secrets about the royal palace and decided to have him executed. His supposed last words were, "I'll be back," (I wonder if that's where Schwarzenegger got his line?!) and shortly after his corpse disappeared from the garden, only leaving behind a puddle of blood. For centuries, residents of the royal palace complained of seeing a man in a red coat in the gardens, including Marie Antoinette. Perhaps this fear is what sparked an interest in real estate in Versailles...