Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Pictures from Paris!

I now realize that I really didn't take enough pictures while I was in Paris, but here are a few of my favourites!

Couldn't resist this bit of graffitti:


The entrance to the apartment building where I was staying. My little studio apartment was on the top floor, above what you see here:

On every landing, there was a chair to either rest on, or rest your groceries on:


This is a photo of the staircase, taken from the very top of the building, on "my" floor. Every day, at least three to four times a day, I would walk up five flights of stairs. Each flight was 19-22 stairs. Quite the the number of stairs, but actually not too bad. The building dated from the 18th century, a time when people were about my height, so the stairs were rather low and made of beautiful wood, which is very forgiving and easy on one's back:


This is a view of the inner courtyard of my building, taken from the fourth floor. I was on the fifth floor, in a studio apartment that only had skylights for windows, much like the two skylights you see here:


I couldn't resist this photo either. The store's name is  a combination of my two sons' names. Weird.


Most of Paris was rebuilt by urban planner, Baron Haussmann, in the mid-19th century.  Very little of medieval Paris remains, but I did find these two houses, which, according to the plaque on the wall, were built in the 14th century! I found them about 10 minutes walk from my street:


Not surprisingly, there are many plaques on buildings in Paris, noting famous people who lived or died there, famous events that took place or, in this case, a terrible and fairly recent event that should never be forgotten. It reads as follows: "In memory of the little children at this pre-school who were deported from 1942 to 1944 because they were born Jewish, innocent victims of Nazi barbarity with the active complicity of the Vichy government. They were exterminated in the death camps. May they never be forgotten."


Just a little street not far from where I was staying:


The inner courtyard at the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris:


Pinned to the wall of a restaurant: "Friendship is making love without touching one another."


Scene from one of the bridges that crosses the Seine:

It's pretty clear why I want to go back!!

3 comments:

  1. I saw those very plaques--were you staying in the Marais? I'm oh-so-jealous!! Hope you enjoyed the croissants!

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  2. Yes, that plaque was in the Marais. As for the croissants--they were amazing. Oh, and the baguette too. It must be the flour and the water. I've never tasted bread that good here in Canada. Even in Quebec.

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  3. Beautiful photos. Love the staircase! Love the old buildings.

    I want to go too.

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