A Guest Blogger!

Rue Mouffetard

Part of the atmosphere is, of course, the sounds of the city. Besides the hum of the traffic, which isn't a problem since the windows are closed, there are the occasional sirens (think Jason Bourne, Paris car and motor bike chase scenes), the underground rail and a piano. The rail (the RER) appears to run right under our building, but it's not a 3rd Avenue El situation, with knickknacks falling off the shelf. It's a gentle rumble that can only be heard in the quiet of the night. The piano music comes from one of the apartments, each day in the late afternoon. We really enjoy it. Haven't you seen that in French movies? For some reason I picture a young woman in her twenties who's living a bohemian lifestyle on the Boulevard Saint Michel. It's probably a twelve year old boy who hates to practice. -E.

And now a few words fron Andy . . .

Weather today (3.4.09) is rainy and cold. Many raincoats and umbrellas out and about. People still walking their dogs in the park despite the rain. We found the local patisserie and everything in it looks great. We are headed out for a stroll in the rain. Mon Dieu, this is beginning to sound like a Twitter! -A.

Walked over to Saint Sulpice, a Church mentioned in the Da Vinci code. It's a massive stone structure where the panhandlers outnumbered the tourists. When I told one of the them (a panhandlers) that we didn't speak French, hoping to discourage him, he simply switched to quite good English. There are many large frescoes that are so darkened and in need of restoration that at first we didn't even notice them. Nice shops in the area including a large GAP. What a surprise. -E.