A day in Paris

May 29th 
Last night we had an almighty thunderstorm and at last the heat has subsided - a good day for walking:) So I went walkabout 4 times.  First I left the boat at 6.45 and walked to the bank of the Seine.  Supposedly a movie is being filmed on the section of the river right outside the lock into the Arsenal marina between 6.30 and 9.30 for the next couple of days but I did not see a thing and there was not much else happening at that time of day, very peaceful - and beautiful.

Early morning and the first rays of sun catch the Cathedral

Then Ian and I went to a supermarket for some essentials, not very exciting.

I left Ian on the boat and I took off in search of Paris.  It was relatively cool after the thunderstorm last night and not long after I set off large drops of rain started to fall but they were few and far between.  I was exploring the Marais district - well worth while.  

Lots of shops selling all sorts of decorative bits and pieces - this cat is about 3 feet long

The very impressive Hotel de Sully...

...I went through an archway and found myself in the Place des Vosges

A couple of times I wandered through an archway and discovered a delightful residential courtyard - I'm sure I shouldn't have been there

St Catherine's Square - deserted on a raining morning

Another quirky cat in a quirky interior decorating shop

Another charming courtyard - banana plants in Paris?

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I was amazed at the number of small gardens in formerly grand "Hotels de Ville" (the town houses of the wealthy who also had chateaux in the countryside) now open to the public

This one is not open to the public - a grand entrance with a tantalising glimpse of the magnificent house behind it

It's getting wetter

Rue des Rosiers in the old Jewish sector

 But after an hour and a half the rain got heavier and I was dodging from awning to awning and getting drenched in-between so I headed for home.  Of course the rain stopped as soon as I got back!  After lunch I set off to finish my ramblings.

Rue des Rosiers, the old Jewish quarter - narrow, fascinating, picturesque and full of tourists

Many years ago, when I was younger and narrower, I would have fancied this dress - but at €395 probably not.

This garden is dedicated to a man, a headmaster, who saved many Jewish children from the concentration camps 

In the garden there is a memorial plaque to the Jewish children who were killed by the Nazis.   It reads:  Arrested by the Police of the Vichy Government, accomplices of the Nazi occupation, 11,000 children were deported from France between 1942 and 1944, and killed at Auschwitz because they were born Jewish.  More than 500 of these children lived in the 4th Arrondissement, amongst them 101 were too young to go to school.  When passing, read their names, your memory is their only grave.

Back on the wide and busy Rue de St Antoine

We had planned a game of boules with Lynn and Shaun this evening (there is a petanque terrain at the marina) but my feet/knees/hips were all complaining after their extended work-out today and Shaun was also suffering from their exersions.  So we had Irish coffees instead!