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.