We had a great time traveling to Paris in spring of both 2002 and 2003. Sure, we saw all the stuff everyone sees and took pictures of it all, but here are some of the more, erm, unusual shots and activities from our trips. Click the images for larger versions.
Le Canal St. Martin
One of our fun activities was a canal ride on the Canal St. Martin. This canal was seen in the movie “Amelie”. Much of the canal is underground, though the boat comes above ground several times to pass through locks. These pictures show the view during the underground portion of the trip, and in one of the locks.
I think we took the trip through Paris Canal, but it might have been someone else. This is one choice anyway. I highly recommend the trip. We took the boat northbound and ended at the Parc de la Villette, where there are various things you can do, or you can walk back down through some of the neighborhoods of the outer arronidssements. Or take the metro if you’re in a hurry. You can also start at the north end and end in Central Paris, or take the boat both ways.
Les Catacombes
The catacombs. An ossuary. A bone repository. Basically, you walk for a while underground surrounded by enormous piles of bones (some 6 million in all) that were relocated in the 18th century when the Paris “Cemetery of the Innocents” (and others) were excavated to make room for further development.
But the bones weren’t simply thrown in a pit. Some were arranged quite artistically. Case in point, see the nice “heart of skulls” and the cross. There were also a couple of examples of “skull and crossbones” displays. I guess the bone handlers had a sense of humor.
In any event, we both really enjoyed this underground attraction. It’s a little spooky - I think we saw maybe two or three other small groups of people the whole time we were down there - but it’s fascinating. And lest you get any ideas about souvenirs, they do check your bags at the exit.
La Tour Eiffel
Yes, I know. The Eiffel Tower is not remotely an unusual site for tourists in Paris. And I also know that everyone takes pictures of it, and there are plenty of professional pictures of it out there. But it was our favorite site, so I took lots of my own pictures. I’m sharing a few that I like.
On both trips we stayed at Hotel de la Motte Picquet, just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. So each morning we would get breakfast from the bakery and fruit stand on the pedestrian market street alongside the hotel (Rue Cler) and head over to eat it on a bench on the Champs du Mars so we could start the day gazing at the Eiffel Tower. We often ended the day there as well.
The Computer Keyboard
Yep, they use different keyboards, at least in parts of Europe, than we do here in the States. And I’m not just referring to those countries whose languages don’t share our alphabet. We did find some QWERTY keyboards in internet cafes - this was before the usage of laptops and wi-fi was so predominant - but had to use this type as well. Makes it much more difficult for a touch-typist. Yep, you have to use the shift key to type . or numbers (without the number pad). And I can’t even remember what you have to type to get the @ sign. Its up there on the lower right of the zero key. Maybe that’s the Ctrl function? Well, it was fun trying it anyway.
Rollerblading Tutorial
While waiting for sunset so we could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up, we enjoyed watching a young French boy learn to Rollerblade down stairs. That is his mother standing to the side watching him, and a young friend who had already perfected the skill. The man helping him out was a stranger who came up and offered his assistance after the kid had fallen many times. I don’t know how his mother was able to watch him do that. It had me cringing, and I don’t even know the kid.
L’Etoile
Standing on top of the Arc de Triomphe and watching activity in the traffic circle below reminds me that I’m very happy I don’t ever have to drive in Paris. Chaos would be a suitable description for the driving patterns, or lack thereof. And do you see the people on motorcycles in there? Yeah, they must be crazy.
And Last But Not Least . . .
The Sexodrome! Of course the Pigalle area of Montmartre is widely known to be full of sex shops and the like, but happening upon this building was still a surprise. It’s just so . . . subtle!