Vieux Paris resembles other historical cities, like Greenwich Village or old Santa Fe, the streets running off in all directions and intersecting at odd places and angles. A good map is our friend. There are so many tourists wrestling with maps that we can blend in.
Our street is one lane, one direction, and just about wide enough for a car and single-file sidewalks. I suppose it kept the sheep gathered in and headed for the water in its early incarnation -- or, perhaps, permitted a one-way horse-drawn carriage.
At the downhill end, there is the Seine and the north end of Ile de la Cite. The view is expansive in both directions.
This day had a sluggish start. We remember at one point hearing a soft "ding", and at another hearing a short part of one telephone ring. We now know that the hotel staff were trying to make the room and wondered why we were not at breakfast. When we finally were awake enough to be coherent, it was 1:30 in the afternoon. Probably the real concern of the staff was that we were dead.
We walked for hours (after profuse apologies, pauvre Henri). We crossed over the Seine on the Pont Neuf. Here and elsewhere, but particularly here, are jillions of locks attached to the fences and the bridge railings, most of them symbols of couples locking themselves together. There are also jillions of young men, of immigrant appearance, selling these locks for 1 or 2 euros. Others are selling water, for 1 euro per bottle. Still others are selling miniature Eiffel towers, 1-3 euros.
An interesting phenomenon: On the bridges are men running the infamous shell games, like we've all seen at the carnival or state fair. Five or six very excited guys, one or two win to effusive congratulations, the curious tourist checks it out, and so on. There is a lookout at the end of the bridge. Once, as we watched, the lookout yelled something like, "Shoo! Shoo!" Probably a French word, but whatever it means, the entire entourage vanished within a few seconds. So did the kid selling water, fifty feet down. After a few minutes, through some all-clear signal, they were all back in place and back in business. The come-on they use, to drum up excitement, is multilingual, including English.
Immediately north of the Seine is the Louvre. We did not go in, but we did stroll through the gigantic courtyard. The famous pyramid is there, which we now know from the Da Vinci Code is the actual Holy Grail. One can look down through it into the museum proper -- it looks like the gift shop, fittingly enough.
There are a number of people selling the same souvenirs in the courtyard of the Louvre. Some are also doing a brisk business in Selfie Sticks. One young man approached us, and I elicited a chuckle when I said, "Non, merci. Nous ne sommes pas japonais."
West of the Louvre is the famous Jardin Des Tuileries, a (relatively) quiet green place with lots of statues, greenery, water, outdoor cafes, and people strolling and lolling about. There are plenty of gendarmes, whose primary responsibility seems to be to keep us off the grass. We split a sandwich and had a glass of wine at Cafe Diane, the bill ("l'addition") being under 25 euros.
Continuing west a half mile or so, we arrived at the Place de la Concorde. This is a noisy, busy place with lots of bus and tour transport traffic, and an obelisk with a gold pyramidal crown. Champs Elysees runs from here northwest to the Arc de Triumphe, which we could see but saved for another time.
From Place de la Concorde, we crossed back over the Seine on Pont de la Concorde, and followed the river upstream and back toward our hotel, checking out the sidewalk vendors and bars/restaurants along the way. The sidewalk experience is polyglot and multicultural. English works here, but not very well.
At 7:00 pm, we rode a taxi to a dock on the river's north side. We had a delightful and very friendly young driver with whom we shared much laughter. Whether we were laughing at the same things is not entirely certain. He dropped us off at the dock for Bateau-Mouche, one of the river boat companies.
We were greeted with complimentary champagne before being led to our reserved table on the boat. We could not have asked for a better spot. For the next two and a half hours, we endured a five-course French dinner, while cruising slowly along in this glass-enclosed boat. Everything was perfectly timed. We went east for the first part, going around Ile de la Cite, past the lighted Notre Dame du Paris, and around Ile St. Louis, with views of Notre Dame from the other side and of St. Chapelle.
The boat passes under many bridges, some of which are hundreds of years old and still exhibit original stonework and iron rings for barges to tie onto. The current is quite strong.
Then we headed back in the opposite direction, along the north bank, approaching and then passing the Tour Eiffel, which is brilliantly lit at night. Paris, perhaps modeling Las Vegas, celebrates at regular intervals with flashing lights on the tower. From the river, That is a breath-stopping sight from the river. Finally, before disembarkation, the boat passes a small version of Lady Liberty.
Wisely, we walked the three miles from the boat landing back to the hotel. At 11:30 at night, at least along the Seine, there is no discernible diminution of people on the street or in the level of revelry.
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