Rues Perree, de Picardie, Dupetit Thouars, Etienne Spuller

After dropping my bags off at my hotel, Hôtel Chopin, I walked out into the Passage Jouffroy to wait for the infamous tour guide, Michael Osman.
We’d been corresponding for months, left messages for each other (he’d even popped by my hotel to leave me a note) but this would be our first meeting.
Presently, I saw a gentleman strolling down the passage dressed completely in black, wearing a rakish black hat with his long hair flowing behind.
Upon meeting me he remarked he hoped his long hair didn’t scare me! Mais non, after all Mr. Connolly wears his hair long, too.
It must be that artistic temperament!

Michael is every bit as nice & wonderful as you’ve read: charming, intelligent, erudite and witty.
He’s extremely knowledgeable about art, and about the architecture & history of the city which really brings it alive more than any guidebook ever will.
It’s no small wonder that he has a legion of fans and I count myself among them.

This day’s jaunt took us from the 2nd, through the 3rd, 11th & the 20th arrondissements,
while the day ended in the 14th at Jim Haynes’ place for a dinner party,
which proves you really can cover a lot of ground in Paris in one day.

We began in the financial center, Place de la Bourse (rather like Wall Street in NYC), to pick up the Metro to the Arts et Metiers station
whereupon we walked over to Carreau du Temple (located at rues Perree, de Picardie, Dupetit Thouars, Etienne Spuller) in the 3rd arrondissement.
While we waited, we kept up a flowing conversation that included history of la Bourse, the district & he showed me the surrounding buildings
where the major newspapers are run – after all, information & money go hand in hand.
Carreau du Temple, our first stop, lies east of Rue du Temple near Square du Temple.
We walked inside to find the marche of different vendors which included a lady selling fur coats which was surprising to find in:
a) the 3rd &
b) a marche!