Paris - Day 3 Aug 10

I will start today with a recap of last night...

I did a three hour bike tour of Paris starting at a bit past nine.   It was chilly but great!  The city looks so different at night.  The tour turned out to be me and the tour guide.  That's right, it was a private tour after all.  The tour guide said that tourism is off 40 to 50% due to fear of terrorism since the attacks in France.  He said most of the Parsians are out of the city on holiday but usually the city is packed with tourists at this time of year.  He said this is the most empty he has ever seen the city.  The economy is really hurting.

The tour being just me made it exceptional.  He asked what I wanted out of it and I told him... take me to the out of the way little gems that you know.  We wound our way through the city meandering down cobblestone streets and back alley ways.  It was quite the adventure.  I have become somewhat acquainted with how the city is laid out.

The guide had met me on the island where I am staying.  He reinforced my choice of lodging locations.  He said that it is the best location in the city of Paris from which to explore.  He also said that it was the most expensive real estate in the city.  

Oh the sites we did see...

    The dimming light as the sun is going down over the Seine.

    The pyramid of the Louvre as lit up at night.

    The lights of the Pont Neuf bridge at night.

    Palais Garnier as lit up at night.

    And of course the Eiffel Tower.  The Eiffel Tower is lit up at night but after dark at the start of the hour the tower comes alive with a display of glittering lights that is not to be missed.  It is spectacular!  

The pictures do not even begin to show the beauty and scenery that I encountered on the trip.  But they will give you a taste of what Paris looks like when night descends and the city of lights wakes.

After a good nights sleep I embarked on a day of walking exploration.  It was a brisk day starting out in the 50's and topping off at 63 degrees (17 for my metric friends).  It kind of had a feeling of fall this morning.  It definitely required long pants and a jacket for the first part of the day.

First up though was getting the SIM card issue worked out.  It turns out that the wifi in my rented flat was just that... Flat!  It was down when I came and the workaround that the owner proposed did not work either.  But I went and got a SIM card as I do wherever I go.  The issue is the instructions when you call their automated system are all in French.  So picture calling a help line that you cannot understand the options from which to choose.  And when you choose numbers randomly in the hopes that there is a language selection it only takes you to a submenu that is equally unintelligible.  So back to the little shop of purchase I did go...  All sorted out I think.  I use that rather unsure statement due to the fact that the shop person had English as probably his third or fourth language in order of mastery.  And the word mastery diminished greatly as he descended down the list.  😳

Oh well, at least I am back up live again. 😊

I walked about the Left Bank and Latin Quarter for the morning.  I got my coke and a couple of pastries from a little patisserie.  The little pastries over here are quite rich.  I think I need an extreme bike ride to be able to sustain this caloric intake.  But alas, I must endure...

Speaking of eating, here is the spot I had lunch at:

It is a little used spot at the tip of the Ille de la Cite, the island Notre Dame sits on. The guide last night told me about it.  He said it is a little known park on the tip of the island.  A place to go and get lost or read a book in relative peace as he said.  He was right...

    This was my lunch view.  There is an interesting story that my guide told me about the bridge closest in the picture.  It is the original love bridge.  Remember the picture from yesterday with all the locks on it?  This bridge was the first to be adorned with the locks of love.  There were so many locks on it that they posed a safety risk to the bridge.  There were tens of thousands of locks he said.  So much so that the structural integrity of the bridge was at risk.  The bridge was actually sinking into the Seine under the weight.  The bridge engineers never envisioned the weight in its construction.  They only planned for foot traffic.  The railings were cut off with all the locks and replaced with new railings and plexiglass sheets to prevent any new locks being placed on it.  The lovers therefore moved to the next bridge down, the Pont Neuf.  That is what I had a picture of yesterday.

Several people have asked me about security over here.  Since the terror attacks it seems that security has been beefed up.  There is a significant police presence everywhere.

You see police walking along in two person teams.  Both are armed and one of them typically has a rifle or automatic weapon.

There is also a military presence as well.  There are 4 person teams of soldiers moving about.  And they are all armed with automatic weapons.  They also do not like having their picture taken.  After I took this one I got in a fair bit of trouble when the soldier saw me taking this of them.

Needless to say, if trouble started, there would be a very rapid response with a significant force and weaponry brought to bear.

Well enough of that.  I have more but I am a wee bit exhausted.  Tomorrow I think is the Louvre day followed by a live Brazilian Music festival tomorrow night.  

I think I'm going to need a vacation after this to rest up.  😊