EXCERPT FROM SARA’S JOURNAL
September 21st, 1999
Rue Mouffetard
Below us, on the ground floor of our tiny apartment there is a cafe
designed for those who enjoy smoking from a water pipe. Next door there's
another cafe, and next door to that there's a baker. This area, one of the
most tranquil and intimate in the city surrounds Paris's oldest street,
Rue Mouffetard. A major thoroughfare since Roman times, Mouffetard ran
between Lutetia (Paris) and Rome. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was
known as the Grande Rue de Faubourg St-Marcel and most of the buildings
date from this period with painted signs, mansard roofs and sculptured
facades. Each day there is an open air market of fresh vegetables and
fruits, seafood, Asian and African foods, pastries and roasted
chickens.
Behind us, closer to the river and beyond a labyrinth of small
restaurant-lined streets is Paris's Latin Quarter. It's dominated by
the Sorbonne, and acquired its name from the earliest students, most of
whom spoke Latin. The Sorbonne is the seat of the University of Paris,
established in 1253 by Robert de Sorbon, confessor to Louis IX for 12 poor
students to study theology. From these small beginnings the college grew
to be the centre of scholastic theology. In 1469, the rector imported
three printing machines from Mainz, Germany and founded the first printing
house in France. The surrounding area is generally associated with artists
and bohemians, and a history of political unrest, staging a Paris Commune
on the Place St-Michel in 1871 and student uprisings in 1968. The
college's opposition to the liberal 18th century philosophy led to its
suppression during the Revolution. It was re-established by Napoleon in
1806. Today the Latin Quarter is a chic centre for students and other
young people. A mother and daughter comb the streets with eyes wide and
not much of a map. They stop us, as if we're locals, and ask in immaculate
French how to get to the Sorbonne. From where we are, in a semi-circle of
student-encrusted streets, there's any number of ways.
