Weather getting Cold, little sprinkles
Euro now at $1.40
So today I met with my tutor and went over some stuff then I had the day free to wander. I did the easy dining thing and ate from a sidewalk crepe guy, a little pancake, emmental cheese, smoked ham and mushrooms, YUM! Anyway after slopping down that snack I walked over to the other side of the Montparnasse Tower to see what the other side of the village looked like. When you cross over you go from the 14eme/6eme to the 15eme/7eme, the neighborhoods in Paris are laid out like a snail, go figure...
As the city grew they just kept tearing down the wall, literally a wall, and adding new areas behind it. Most of the street paterns follow the curvature of the old walls. Here is a great article on the Arrondissements of Paris (districts): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissements_of_Paris
So anyway, here I am walking from one to the next and low and behold I am in the 7eme near Invalides, war memorial and tomb of Napoleon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invalides
Here I am walking and it is tranquil and then all of a sudden I am in the middle of a protest! From what I could gather it was the socialist party asking for the state to help those in need.
Here is a video, but turn the sound down low, they are loud:
TURN YOUR SPEAKERS DOWN FIRST!!
Here are some stills:
Here are some stills:
So my friend Patrick in SF wanted to see what cops look like in Paris, for that matter France. First of all just like the US they are men and women, most of them are kind of small in stature (it is France), they carry guns.. but they usually ride 4 to a small car, or more to a van, on a bike, on a moped, walking two by two... They try to be macho, but they are usually very helpful. Most of them look so gay, and not happy gay, I mean gay gay. I think many come from the countryside and take what they think is a macho job, but much like some in the US they just want to carry a gun because they like to hold big things or they don't have a big thing of their own to hold. Off the soapbox, here are the pics:
OK so I walk across the street into the protest to cross... Well I did not realize that there was a barricade and all of a sudden the copper on the very right of the first pic started giving me a hard time, he thought I was a protester trying to brake the route... Well I stuttered and stammered Je, Te, Vous, Nous, shit what word??? He realized I was obviously un bete American.... Allez, allez (GO! GO!). So I did not end up in jail.
I did however come to pont des Invalides where I managed to snap this photo, look at the sky, it's cold! I also got a shot of the pont Alexander III (the next bridge over)
Once on the right bank of the river (now in the 8eme) I walked down the Cours la Reine which is a tree lined alley way that runs along the river here, it is where all the royals met for there secret romances. I loved the way the trees have all gone orange:
OK, forgot to mention that I did hit the market on Rue Cler really quick to get some cheese for tonight, having friends over. I got some St. Marcelin, Selles sur Cher, and some Roblechon.
This is important to mention as I stopped on a bench on the river, down below, right at the edge and ate the entire 1/8 lb of Roblechon with some warm baguette! I am such a pig! I took a photo across at the Musee D'Orsay but I also saw an AMPHICAR! If I could have any car in the world this would be it!
OK cooking now for my two friends coming over so need to go, making one of Michael's dishes, a stew of Lentils, Fat Back, Onion, Garlic, Tomato, with a frisee salad, and 3, uh I mean two cheese, and then a lemon tart for dessert.
Apparently this is where Edith Piaf was born; there are many rumors one is that she was born on the steps inside. I did open the door and was about to snap a photo when I got chased out by the care taker…Opps!
