We didn’t see the “lucky day scam,” today. There were no rows of street venders at the tourist’s sites selling trinkets the way you frequently see in NY. There seem to be few panhandlers in Paris, too, though I’ve seen several women sitting on the street begging for money. I saw one young woman sitting all hunched over, scarf wrapped sadly about her head and when she thought no one was looking she quickly dab on a bit of lipstick, shoved the tube into her shirt and then presented a really quite sad face.
We are always drawn to water so it would only seem natural for us to walk toward the Seine. It runs all the way through Paris and even though there are tons of tour boats the water continues to have a majesty and seems to be kept pretty clean. Though we did see a soccer ball stranded in the middle of the river. The tour boats frequently resemble barges hauling people and because they are so crowded they make me feel a bit uneasy thinking about clambering onto one of those things. I worrying about what a great splash we'd all make if the thing sprung a leak or ran into another barge carrying a full contingency of tourists.
You cannot beat strolling along the water at sunset.
I ask you how do you top a beautiful day like this one?? And my answer is, you have French ice cream and a glass of wine. And if the waitress brings you a small dish of olives, have a nibble and add it to the texture of your day.
1 comment:
Joyce and I made a flying two day trip to Paris a couple of years ago, when we were in Switzerland, skiing. The snow was bad. So, we figured a trip on the high speed train to Paris would be great fun, and it was.
We boarded in Zurich. Our friends from Gstaad, dropped us at the train station and we were off. We stayed right across from whatever the main park is, a couple of blocks from the Seine. It was great fun.
The first day, we hired a driver. Best money we spent. For the entire day, he gave us a whirlwind tour of the City. It got us oriented, so when we go back, it will be so much easier to decide what to do.
We spent days in the museums. The people watching was 'way good'. Then we walked across the Seine River bridges and watched the barges come past. What fun it was!
It is fun, reading your blog and going back. It is fun that you are there, in good weather. It was pretty cold and stark in January. But, when we got back to Switzerland, the snow was great, so we were good!
Enjoy the ride!
Steve (ESL)
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