Mon 21.Jul.2025
Paris, FR
Since about mid-May, I have been making short stays in many places. Now that I am back in
California, I'll work on the backlog of pix.
Most recent first: Paris!
A week in a favorite city, and a way to avoid flying from
a British airport - win/win so to speak!
Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th district, where I have taken to basing myself in
the French capital.
An afternoon at Jardin de Luxembourg.
An "Italian Style" park - the former palace garden of a French queen who missed her
native Florence, Italy. (The French Senate meets in the actual palace building!)
Today's only Eiffel Tower picture. (If you want Eiffel Tower shots, look at almost
anybody else's photos from Paris.)
The opposite of a Keep Off The Grass sign!
Palais de Luxembourg -
gathering place for senators and pigeons.
Paris Sidewalks
When people first visit Paris, they have "must see" things that fill their time here.
Eiffel Tower, Louvre, fill-in-your-own! Top of my list were the Orangerie
and Marmottan
museums, for their wonderful Monet water lily paintings; and the breathtaking beauty
of the Sainte
Chapelle.
(I met a traveller once whose heart was set on the Champs Elysee
boulevard, an international-brands shopping street that looks to me like the duty-free
area of any major airport!)
Once you've done your sights, what then? What makes this city worth returning to,
just to hang out in? Many little things, but especially the sidewalk scene. Paris sidewalks
are among the most entertaining I know. I love to nurse an espreso at a cafe, and watch the
people show go by!
Big chain stores exist, but the little storefront shops give the neighborhoods
color and life!
Place de la Contrescarpe in the 5th district.
The golden hour on
Rue Daguerre in the 14th,
where I base myself when I
am here.
Next: more Paris sidewalks, and who knows what else.