A quiet place in the big city

Arabian days...

Paris is a city that never stops surprising me! Wondering through its streets in an excruciating heat and while the roaring of the cars overwhelmed me, I stumbled upon a marvelously quiet place... well... OK... I guess I should be honest... I didn't actually STUMBLE upon it, I read about it in my guide... The result is the same, don't you agree? It just feels really weird saying that I used a guide for Paris and that I discovered so many beautiful things I had no idea about, after having spent a whole year here! It seems one discovers much more being a tourist than being a local...

In the south-eastern part of Paris, near one if the entrances to the Jardin des Plantes, there is a beautiful Mosque built in the 1920s in moorish-hispanic style. It has baths - or as they call them hammam - that are open to the public and a great restaurant and terrace. The tower overlooks the quiet surroundings from a hight of 33 meters and it is still used to call people to prayer.

Pure cobalt blue

I loved the colours in here, from the cobalt blue of the terrace to the vivid orange and golden tones inside the restaurant, everything reminded me to my trip to Africa and set me in a moroccan mood. Drinking a cup of tea on the cool terrace in the shade is the perfect remedy for the heat you have to endure during a hot summer day. The sweet things to eat are exquisite, but they come with a price - you'll find yourself surrounded by sparrows in no time! They are so accustomed to being fed, that they will even eat from your hand if your cookies are tasty enough!

Sparrows enjoying lunch

The restaurant inside is gorgeous, next time I'm in Paris I will definitely stop by and grab something to eat here! The next two photos are courtesy of my french guide (yes, I also had a french guide, not only my book ;) ) Eric D., I didn't want to take credit for his beautiful pictures.

I hope I dragged you into the mood for drinking some tea to cool off, because the heat outside here in Bucharest most certainly outruns the one I had to stand in Paris two weeks ago!