Paris at night

Previously we've stayed near a metro line which served the Eiffel Tower and visited more than once. This year we hadn't seen it at all except from a distance, so we rectified that on the last night. According to Google Maps we walked about 10 km (7 miles) miles that night - no wonder C was tired afterwards.

We were curious about the onion domes, because we couldn't remember ever having seen them before. They are, in fact, the new Russian Orthodox Cathedral - so in fact we hadn't seen them.

Sunday afternoon

...and various.

We went to the Place des Vosges on Sunday afternoon, and were able to enjoy the sunshine. We went into a small art gallery and saw some beautiful glass art featuring Tintin - but alas, while I was sure I remembered the name of the artist, searching for it online has been a vain quest.

On the way back we went into the Pavilion de l'Arsenal which, along with the July column in the Place de Bastille was one of the features I used to orient myself. It's a museum of the city and built environment, and we would love to go back and spend more time there. It would be a great rainy-day destination. On a hot day with no air-con it was rather on the warm side, but fascinating. The two photos show a 3D relief model of Paris, and a model for the refurbishment of a multi-story carpark into residential dwelling.
The two sheep were just a window display - an Iceland travel bureau.

Sunday outing

On Sunday morning we went to the local market off the Place de Bastille, and then took the metro to Belleville. The street art was NOT what Lonely Planet led us to expect and we felt we'd wasted the metro tickets, but at least we got my birthday present at the market - and a bunch of lilac.

Jardins de Luxembourg

On a hot and sunny day. One small area , going down towards the Observatory, said that sitting on the grass was allowed. It's the norm in Paris that most of the green areas in parks are "pélouse interdit" - keep off the grass. The little boats for sailing on the pond were in great demand.

We walked past one of my favourite shops in Paris on our way to the gardens.

Round and about Paris...

Assorted photos...

There was a major bicycle related promo running in BHV, and on the top floor there was a small photo exhibition, photos of (mostly) celebrities and film stars either in real life or from films. Johnny Halliday, with the caption saying he had no choice because his driving licence had been suspended. We enjoyed looking at them.

Eglise Saint-Paul Saint-Louis

view from our apartment

The following three photos were all along the Rue de Lille, as far as I remember.

Working on La Monnaie, trompe l'oeil hoardings

and a hoarding on the old La Samaritaine building.

Along the Seine

It was more like high summer than early Spring, and the banks along the Seine were absolutely packed with people enjoying the sunshine and warmth. And in the case of the firemen - they found the best of both worlds, mooring partly under a bridge for shade. The dog was also hanging out under the shade of a bridge.

 A random sampling of photos taken throughout the few days....

Spoiled for choice with a header for this month, as we were camping in France last June. The photo I chose is a nesting stilt, in the Camargue.