This picture is of my front door and the Scottish pub that my apartment sits several floors above. I actually live on the fifth floor of a building with a very narrow, wooden staircase, probably leftover from the medieval period. It's nice to live above a Scottish pub, except on rugby nights. Fortunately last night was the final game of the Rugby World Cup, and South Africa roundly stomped on Britain so it got quiet fairly early.
This next picture is mainly just to show how anything can be cause for celebration in Paris. This lovely shop is advertising the Grand Sauerkraut Festival to be held sometime soon. I might just have to go to that, just to see what there is to celebrate about sauerkraut. The man at the bus stop near where I was standing when I took this picture looked at me like I was insane to take a picture of that shop.
This is one of the entrances to the lovely Place des Vosges, which is a residential square where Victor Hugo once lived. It's hard to take pictures of because it is so big, so you can just imagine that this is what it looks like inside, in a big square, with grass in the middle.
As you might already know, many things in France are closed on Sundays and Mondays. The strict labor laws allow people to take two days a week off (although that may change soon) and since tourist season is winding down, and shopowners have little reason to work on Sundays. Yet this bakery has a line halfway down the block! It either must be the only one open in this area or it must be really good! I'll have to go buy a baguette there this week to check out what the fuss is about.
One of the great things about Paris is of course the open markets. There is a huge one at the Bastille on Sundays (the prison was torn down soon after its storming in 1789, and replaced in 1830 with this monument to the revolutionaries).
Normally I love a farmers market, but today it was a madhouse and I felt a little overwhelmed. HoweverI felt much better when I saw this gentleman juggling with a vase of goldfish balanced on his head. I've never seen anything that cool in New York City!
4 comments:
Can you make friends with some of the people down in the Scottish pub and find out if any of them have housing leads for me in London?
I also expect you to have found the best baguette in Paris by the time I visit you next year so you need to hit up that bakery.
I'm on it, captain!
I love walking through Paris with you...feels like I might actually be there, in some incredibly non-real, virtual reality way. :)
Can I come live in your apartment and hang out at the pub instead of school??? I am very jealous...I spend most of my Sundays sitting in dark theaters.
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