Paris, Day 9

Jardin du Luxembourg

 Saturday is a day on which the parking inspectors seem to thrive.  Not surprisingly many of the residents park their cars in no-parking zones after a late Friday night optimistically hoping that on the following morning they will still find their cars where they left them. But that is not always the case. I wrote about this in some detail almost three years ago and if you want to read that particular blog, click here.

Today we watched with interest as one of the "removalists" tried to get out onto rue Francoeur with the two cars he had impounded, one of which he was towing.  First, he got out of the truck and went to a car that was parked in his way.  He opened the door, took off the hand brake, and moved it forward as far as it would go.  He then got back in the truck and moved forward.  Seeing he could still not quite make it around, he got out, slid two wheeled devices under the back of the car being towed and tried to push it sideways.  Because of the angle, he was unable to do so but was joined by someone from one of the cars that were blocked by his efforts and so, the car was shifted and the truck went off to wherever it is that the impounded cars are kept.  This provided a good bit of excitement for the neighbours who were hanging out the windows watching and shouting advice.

Manhandling an automobile

Another event on Saturday is the Marché aux Puces, the flea market.  To get there one must venture beyond the ring road around Paris, the Boulevard Périphérique.  The market covers seven hectares, but is composed of numerous smaller markets ranging from those that sell high end antiques to those that sell second-hand trash and cheap clothing.  Wandering around, always on guard against pick-pockets, is quite an experience.  It is a world of many languages and all sorts of interesting sights, sounds and smells. There didn't appear to be any food section, and unless one were extremely knowledgeable about antiques I suspect you would not find any bargains.  On the other hand one can find lots of cheap but sound clothing at significantly lower prices than in most of the shops.

Cheap Clothes

A button merchant

An Old Pram

A narrow alley in the Flea Market

The weather was holding at around 18 or 19 degrees Celsius and it wasvery pleasant.  So after lunch, having seen how one half of Paris lives, we thought it would be good to check out the other half.  We hopped on the number 85 bus which goes from almost our front door to the Luxembourg Gardens, passing on its way little treasures such as the Opera Garnier, the Palais Royal, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Conciergerie, Saint Chappelle and Place Saint-Michel, to name but a few.

The gardens were lovely and bursting with people.  One thing that we have always found interesting is the policy of not allowing people on the grass.  Not only are there usually signs to warn one off, the police will tell you that you are violating the law should you happen to sit on the grass.  We were pleased to see that at least some areas are now marked as being available for sitting.  The gardens in France are very formal and laid out so that there are specific areas for doing things.  There are lots of seats so people can sit and watch the grass grow!  Oh well, to each his own.

We watched people playing tennis, pétanque and children sailing boats although we did not stop to watch the grass grow because if the weather stays as warm as it was today (and, it started to rain just as we were leaving) it is likely that the grass will grow far to fast for our ageing eyesight.

There is quite a bit of statuary in all of the gardens in Paris.  Most of it is in the classical style.

The skirts are short even in classical statuary

but every so often you come across a piece which is more modern and, for me at least, more interesting.

More modern statuary

As we left the garden and walked to where we would catch the bus back to Montmartre, I was taken by a lovely bookshop window.  There, next to a book on ornithology, was the "wise old owl."  It all seemed just right.

The wise old owl

Tonight is not a good night.  We will be losing an hour of our time in France.  You would think the government of M. Sarkozy would be considerate enough to turn off daylight saving until after we have left.