Arrived on time, 7:40 a.m. local time, taxi-ed in from the airport, checked in to the hotel, the Best Western Jardin De Cluny, and took a nap.
Charlemagne
Got up at 2 p.m. and wandered through the Latin Quarter, across the Seine, past Notre Dame, the Hotel De Ville, past the Centre Pompidou (hasn't aged well at all), through the Marais and stopped at a brasserie to relax and people watch.
Protesting for the return of two journalists detained in Syria at Hotel De Ville
Paris is such a people friendly walking city. Bob and I haven't been back since 2000 and it's seen some wear and tear. Casual culture, especially among the teens and people in their 20s, has taken hold, like almost every major city, which is a little sad, but the city is far more multicultural than we remember, which is cool.
The facade above the main doors at Notre Dame
But it's amazing the number of people who smoke here. I mean, it's got me jonesing big time. It's funny, the petite young mom with her months-old baby in one of those pouches, was just chatting away with her male friend who chain smoked hand rolled cigarettes, oblivious he was exhaling into the baby's face.
Kid didn't seem to mind, though ...
If you can't tolerate having your senses of smell and taste dulled, a little smoker's cough, having your clothes and home smell like an ashtray, some high blood pressure and an early death by cancer, well ... then you obviously have no joie de vivre.
ReplyDelete