Sunshine in Paris

Thursday I had the chance to meet a former student of mine...from Whitford Junior High....Nicola lives and works in Paris for the International Herald Tribune and it was great to hear what she has been doing!

As we sat at the cafe near the Invalides I kept seeing people dressed like doctors from the operating room walk by...I was sure there was a hospital nearby but found it odd that they would still be in full operating gear. Turns out we ended up in the middle of a demonstration march where nursing students were protesting governmental changes to their program.

Took this picture above from our cafe table.

That is the Tour Montparnasse in the background:

The sun was out along with some gorgeous clouds and we went over to see the Paris Plage area by the Seine which is a summer set up of outdoor cafes, places to sit outside along the river and even sandy beaches created just for summer in the city. These photos are just the beginning of the strip which goes along the Seine.

On our way over we walked through the Invalides and the Musee de l'Armée and could catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower every now and then.

The architect Mansart looking over his plans for the dome of Les Invalides...

 As we came around the corner of the Invalides past Mansart a school group was playing ball in the courtyard waiting for their turn to visit...the teacher says to them..."Allez. On y va. Napoleon nous attend...!" (OK let's get going...Napoleon is waiting for us). ;-)

JC inside the archways of the Musée de l'Armée...they have an exhibit about the Mousquetaires:

Heading out the door towards the Seine and the Pont Alexandre III:

The bridge Alexendre III is one I like a lot...

it seems to play a role in things like perfume ads and things like that. I think it also figured in my favorite "Midnight in Paris"... at the end of the film.

I took a few photos while we were there and we met a young woman from LA who was in Paris for four days on her own...it was her first trip. She asked us to take some pictures of her so she could have one with her in it.

Crossing over the grassy area near the bridge we were warned by this sign attached on the curb:

Later at the Renault showroom on the Champs Elysées we saw some very fun exhibits created around what is typically "French"... here is a set of pétanque balls with the imprint of tires on the balls:

A wooden car with a beret steering wheel:

 and a rooster for the motor...see the Eiffel Tower hood ornament?

also check out the moustache windshield shape...everything was in the flag colors.

Don't you love that orange chair up on that balcony? We were waiting for our bus when we looked over and saw this. It is at the very top area near the black post sort of center.

In our neighborhood there is a pharmacie which has been there since about 1885.

They have kept the interior as it was from the beginning and there is even a note tacked on the inside of one of the cabinets to remind the pharmacist of the past of some medication they were running low on in 1911. The cabinets and shelves are all solid, carved wood...never been repainted or anything!

Some other fun things to look at around the neighborhood...aren't these adorable little shoes? Like little gumdrops!

I like the red cafe awing too.

Oh yes, and here is a good quotation for the day...of course it was in a boulangerie window!(Bread is even better when you eat it!)

Since it is June 6 today there are big celebrations taking place in Normandie for D-Day. On the news this morning they showed US newspapers from the date 1944 and one of the newspapers shown was...The Fargo Forum!! I tried to get a photo but I was not fast enough! 

It is a beautiful day in Normandie and it looks to be an incredible program for the 70th year commemoration.

I'll be back after the weekend...with more photos to share. The weather forecast is for nice days. I hope it is the same for you. A bientôt.