Paris, Part I

We were awoken Wednesday morning by the clamour of shopping buggies being pulled down flights of stairs. Ah market day at Place Monge – it starts at 6:00 am! Being part of the rhythm of everyday life is one of perks of staying in an apartment instead of a hotel. In Toulouse, it was everyone arriving to the apartment above ours after Sunday mass, people coming and going, and the lovely sounds and aroma of a meal being enjoyed from lunch until well into the evening by multiple generations. Another perk, in Paris at least, is front entrances with mosaic floors that look like this!  And comfortable living rooms.

We never tire of markets and I always learn something new.  Even though I’ve eaten Coquilles Saint-Jacques I never realized that fresh scallops actually look like this.

And Parisians make good use of their bike-rental system. Here is the “bike-park” in front of our apartment at night – all the bikes are returned and being charged. The next morning (a week day), by the time we head out, look how many have already been borrowed. There few bike lanes in Paris, no laws about wearing a helmet, and women cycle in dresses and heels, occasionally texting along the way (which IS against the law). Biking is simply a mode of transportation, not something that requires a lot of additional gear and effort. The ease of access to rental bikes meant that we also saw few “private” bikes being ridden – likely a reflection of the lack of any spare space in apartments. 

And perhaps because of that limited space, people don’t seem to spend a great deal of time indoors. On a Wednesday evening (below), the streets are packed with people having dinner. That may be in part due to the fact that the restaurants don’t allow smoking indoors, and since most of the women there smoke, the preference is to dine outside. And cafes, like this one in Place de la Contrescarpe are always busy. We headed here as soon as we were settled into our apartment and were treated to great music by this upscale street musician.