Slow Day

Friday, July 25

Being tired from the frantic museum trips and all the walking, we decided to take it easy. We had a very nice lunch at Le Framboisy, a small cafe two blocks from St. Paul on rue de Charlemagne.











During lunch, we got a display of street drama. We assume that someone was moving into a flat on an upper floor of the building across the street from the cafe. Five trucks showed up (one with appliances), one which had a telescoping power lift. They completely blocked the intersection for almost an hour, standing around waiting for something. The guy in charge (you could tell by the clipboard and cell phone) kept waiving his arms around and talking on his cell phone, giving the occasional "Gallic shrug". Then suddenly, they all left. How French!

We did some shopping at the local supermarket, Monoprix. This interesting when all the products are labelled in French and very few of the employees speak English (or don't admit to it). Then home for some rest (eating a good lunch and watching street drama tires us out).

We then walked to Pont Neuf (new bridge, although it's the oldest bridge in Paris; the first bridge without buildings on it) on the tip of Ile de la Cite to catch a boat tour on the Seine. On the way, we walked along the Right Bank and saw Paris Plages; they bring in sand every summer and dump it along the promenade on the banks of the Seine, creating a beach. There are cafes selling food and drinks, tables for sitting and watching, playground areas for the kids, and sun bathing areas. Families were in great abundance. And we were exposed to French girls in bikinis; disgusting!


We decided on the Vedettes du Pont Neuf based on location and price. The tour took about an hour and went from just East of Ile San Louis to just West of the Eiffel Tower. There was narration from a tour guide in French and English, but her accent was pretty thick and hard to understand. We saw many of the sites we had already walked by, including Notre Dame.