LE MARAIS:
Crossing the bridge, our tour group made its way into Le Marais,
The Swamp - named so because it began as a swampy mess.
Today, its roads are littered with designer shops, fascinating
museums, cafes and bars that sell all sorts of luxury items,
limited edition prints, and a variety of foods from steak frites,
falafel wraps, to galettes/crepes and gelato.
We stopped to see some of the oldest houses in Paris, the 15th
century, half-timbered houses of Maison a l'enseigne faucheur -
gabled houses with high pitched roofs, and two-windowed floors.
The original facades were covered with a mixture of plaster and
lime meant to minimize the possibility of fire. The plaster was
removed in 1967 which restored the medieval charm of these
buildings.