a blog by Peter Leonard
Arriving at Charles DeGaulle…
Our apartment, rented a very long time ago, was in the 11th arrondissement.
Both the memorial at the Place de la Republique, as well as the site of the attacks itself, were part of our everyday walks through the neighborhood.
Normally trips to Paris in January are characterized by grey skies, but we found enough color in stores…
…as well as street fashion:
…in the restaurant in the Centre Pompidou:
…and in the local bakeries:
Under the theme of “flying works of art” we might file Ai WeiWei’s installation at Le Bon Marché:
…as well as the tomb of Oscar Wilde at Père-Lachaise:
We ate well at L’Épi Dupin:
…as well as at La Boissonnerie:
…at the Musée d’Orsay:
…as well as at nearby Siseng, whose Bao Burger was worth the wait to get in:
We visited museums both old…
…and new:
Irrespective of location, we were happily surprised by how few people were present. Rooms in the Louvre that would filled to bursting in the summer were empty, providing some surprising alone time with famous works of art:
The lack of crowds allowed for the more everyday rhythms of life to emerge, whether that was shopping at outdoor markets…
…or watching families scoot around the streets:
It also allowed us to indulge in some activities that would normally have horrendous lines, such as enjoying the view from the top of Notre Dame:
