Mon 30.May.2011
Paris, France
After a week in the relaxed French south, suddenly ka-thoom! the big city. Paris itself,
ready of not. The city has a real learning curve, but I've learned it well enough
by now.
The Marais
I rarely visit The Marais. Nothing wrong really; it just isn't one of
my neighborhoods. Somewhat to my bemusement, I've been there twice
this week.
The first occasion was an exhibit at the Hotel de Ville (City Hall?) of
objects from the Musee D'Orsay documenting Paris in the Time of the Impresionists.
Interesting in person, but it would be tedious to go into here.
The Seine and the two islands
Immediately south of the Marais, the Seine was traffic'd with long
narrow boats jam-packed with my fellow tourists, like frogs packed on a floating
log (to choose a polite simile).
Not only tourists. The long boat in the right-hand photo is a garbage scow, enjoying
a sunny afternoon in prime tourist territory.
Beach Bumming
This stretch of the Seine also has Paris' beaches. One stretch has
actually been fancied up with big sandboxes, but mostly people just sit or lie
on the stone ledges of the lower river banks.
Looking from the Isle St. Louis, that is the Hotel de Ville across the river. Some
people will know it as the background of a famous photograph of a kiss.
A Bridge of a Zillion Padlocks
Right behind the cathedral of Notre Dame, connecting the Isle de la Cite with the
left bank of the Seine, this oddball bridge.
A fellow tourist explained to me
(in German) that people put these padlocks here to symbolize that they are leaving
a bit of themselves behind when they leave the city.
I'd love to own a lock store in this neighborhood.
There is a similar mass of locks on the Pont des Artes, a bit down
river by the Louvre.
The view from my window in the Rue Daguerre neighborhood.
Contents Copyright 2012 Jeff Bulf