We have spent quite some time on the bus here and like in Rome I find that it is a great way to "visit" neighborhoods without having to walk long blocks. I like to pick out places I want to return to as we go by and also take pictures of things from an angle I might not be able to use on foot.
Recently we were in very slow traffic on the way home and we passed by the Louvre Pyramide. I got these pictures as we inched our way forward through masses of cars,taxis, trucks and buses.
Do you see the bus sign reflected in the window below? Also, as always with these bus shots the pictures are a bit greenish...tinted windows!
The railway strike is causing more people to drive into the city since you never know if there will be a train on time...so totally frustrating in every way!
Our friends Susan and Bruce from Portland arrived in Paris for a barge/bike trip so we had morning coffee with them and then had to rush off to the Gare Montparnasse to see if we could get a commuter train out to the darling village of Méré just outside of Paris.
We were invited to have an "American" style lunch which included a barbecue and potato salad (yum). As you can see from the photos we did get a train and spent a lovely afternoon chez Kristen and François. Everyone says bonjour to you Lena-Liis!!!
I am an Audrey Hepburn fan and loved "Charade" which mostly took place in Paris. In a park on the Champs Élysées is the stamp market every Thursday so we went over there and sought out the sites of the movie. Here are some stamp vendors. Remember her husband bought a very expensive stamp here.
And here is the Guignol...puppet theatre which also figures in the film. I could not get in to the actual theatre because the gate was locked and I did not dare step over the little fence...good thing too...as I came around the corner there was a guard standing nearby!!!
Not far away is the Place de la Concorde and I was able to get some views from yet another bus window.
What looks like fog is actually a rather smudgy bus window!
Thursday is also the day for the marché at Place Maubert which I remember from my college days as a pretty fantastic market. We walked around a bit and bought some delicious goat cheese but I have to say I think I am pretty spoiled by the Provençal markets now.
Still...it was colorful and varied and it gave us a chance to stroll down little Latin Quarter streets we might not go on.
Most shops were closed which gave me a chance to photograph at leisure. I liked this artistic mise en scène in an old books and prints shop window
...around the corner was a gallery showing Native American art, garments, dolls.
The little street was calm and peaceful and yet a few steps further was the busy street that goes along the Seine just bustling with all kinds of traffic.
The Pantheon is being worked on and it is wearing this rather creative "bonnet"!
We've been noticing it from different parts of the city but didn't realize it was the Pantheon until we came to the market. Here is a closer view which I took later in the day.
Hope you have a nice day...we have a few more things to do here before we leave for Estonia on Tuesday!
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