After wandering the streets of the
13th arrondisement, Tom and
Kathleen relax  at the Café du  
Rendez-Vous.
Après errer les rues du 13-eme  
arrondisement, Tom et Kathleen se
reposent au Café du Rendez-Vous .
T
We had decided that this trip to Paris, we really wanted to just hang out in
places that were not necessarily touristy. But, we had been talking about  
going boating on the Seine for almost ten years now, and every one of our
trips to Paris we didn't get around to it.  Today was a perfect day [sunny,
warm, no breeze] to do something utterly touristy.  So, . . .
Tues., 9 April, 2010
We were surprised at the great
angle we had for photographs.
La Samaritaine -- one of the
biggest department stores in Paris.
Bienvenue à  bord!  
Le Pont Neuf --the "New
Bridge,"despite its name, is the oldest bridge in
Paris.  Built in the XVII century, it was the
first bridge built without houses on it.
Le Mus ée du Louvre   
Sunbathers  under the Louvre
Le Pont des Art
Le Grenier de Notre Dame
Favorite Dish -- L'Assiette
Royale (minus the "oef")
On the Petit Pont (Behind us:
the Pont Au Double & Notre
Dame)
The Pont au Double was thus named
because it cost a toll of two sous
instead of one to cross it.
The Petit Pont was first built in 1185
(although the present -day version
was built in the 19th century. In the
Middle Ages, minstrels were allowed
to cross without paying a toll.
Rabbits for Sale at the
Sunday Bird Market
Tour St.-Jacques is all that
remains of the 1802 church
St.-Jacques La Boucherie.  
The tower now doubles as a
weather station.
(Appropriately enough, at the
base of the tower is a statue of
Blaise Pascal who happens to
be one of France's first weather
forecasters.)
This page is presently
under construction.
Que la vie est belle!
The New "Squatocracy"
Only in Paris!  
(This one is going to be difficult to summarize, but here goes! . . . . ) (Recounted in the historical present
tense.)
1. Artist squatters illegally take over an abandoned building that is in a very high rent district. (Rent is very
high in Paris, a pretty difficult place for a budding artist to get a start while having enough money to pay rent
and eat. The artists feel they are doing a favor to the city by occupying a building that has been vacant for
many years. The city doesn't see it that way.)
2. The city tries to evict the artist squatters who put up a great deal of resistance.
3. The artist squatters get a lawyer, and in the meantime, they decorate the place (inside and out) and  turn
it  into a sort of avant-garde art gallery exhibiting all kinds of "squ'art."
4.This "movement" gains notoriety.   Even the mayor of Paris gets into the act, trying to help the now-famous
artist squatters.
5. The city ends up refurbishing the building, chasing the artist squatters out in the process (and, sadly
enough, taking down the fabulous face sculpture attached to the facade of the building.)
6. The battle rages on, and, finally, the court settles the dispute, granting a "lease" to the squatters
requiring a 130-euro monthly rent, thus legitimizing the "enterprise."
7. Nowadays you can be a supporting member for 5 euros (or more).  They have their own website  and
require submission of a portfolio of work to even be considered as one of the artist-tenants.
8. This kind of dwelling is now titled  "L'aftersquat." They not only welcome visitors, (they continue to draw
thousands of visitors) and, unlike most galleries, they value your opinion both during and after the artistic
creation process -- visitor's have a real participation in the creation of a work of art. They live and work and
display their art in the same location-it's a real participative art happening!
9. This  phenomenon that began in Paris gains strength in other big cities of the world (e.g. Berlin).
http://www.59rivoli.org/
Art is everywhere in Paris. One day
while walking home from Les Halles, we
found this lovely sculpture in a little
Plaza on Rue Turbigo at the Arts et
Métiers Metro Station .
Harmonie by Antoniucci Volti
View of part of the park, in front of the apartment, to
the North
These are three of  the views
from our window when we
arrived in March.
View to the right (Northwest) down Rue
du General Brunet
Enjoying the shade under the Louvre
Below:  The view, at sunset, to the far left of our
apartment window.
The Pont de L'Alma was built in 1855 to
honor the first French Victory in the Crimean
War (1854). At the base of the bridge is a
Zouave soldier that Paris uses as a
watermark to determine how high the Seine
is.  During the flood of 1910, the water
reached the statue's chin!
The American Church
Le
Tour
Eiffel
Approaching the Pont
Alexandre III
Le  Musée d'Orsay
Approaching the Pont Neuf
Notre Dame
The Conciergerie
The  Conciergerie was built as a royal palace
in the 14th century, but later lost favor and
became a prison and a torture chamber. This
is where Marie Antoinette was held for two
months before she was beheaded at the
guillotine.
My Two Cents -- Click Here
Our Favorite Indian  Restaurant in Paris!
Le Gange
J"ai acheté un livre, des
bateries,. . .
Parfait !  Une table
près de la fenêtre !
Great Food!
Great Service!
Right at Le Parc de
Buttes Chaumont, 19th
Arr., on Rue Manin
Across the street from
our apartment in Paris
is the beautiful Parc de
Buttes Chaumont.
Our apt. is in this
building.
↓
In the middle of the lake is a 164
ft. man-made island which is
topped by the Temple of Sybil, a
Greek reproduction. One of the
park's more impressive features is
a 105-foot-high waterfall tucked
inside a grotto.
Tom on the
Temple of Sybil
The Parc des Buttes Chaumont is a
61-acre park that was commissioned
by Napoleon III and Baron Haussman
in 1864. It took 4 years to complete.  
Its hilly terrain offers a challenging
run for joggers, and it's a popular
place for a picnic or just reading or
reflection.
One of the views
from the temple.
Such a nice afternoon!  
We decided to take our
Kindles to the park and
read for a while.
A field of yellow tulips!
On our street, and just across from the
park is a favorite neighborhood bistro.
Parc des Buttes Chaumont
A quick trip to La Duree to buy
chocolate for Joe.
We stopped for a drink at Café de Flore,
a famous haunt of French intellectuals
during the post-war era. Its
mahogany-and-mirror interior has
changed little since WWII.  This is
where Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de
Beauvoir and company met to work out
their philosophy of existentialism.
Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped by
St-Germain-des-Pres. so Tom could say hello to
René.