Paris—what can you say?

romantic -- the Seine River at dusk

gritty - wall of a neighborhood alley

     I think the image one has of Paris is so overburdened with romantic clichés and scenes from movies that you may come here with unrealistic expectations, maybe a little “irrational exuberance” and even a dash of road burnout. There is another cliché that I picked up somewhere that says you either love Paris or hate it, but you can't be indifferent to it. I can agree that you can't be indifferent to Paris, but I think you can both love and hate it at the same time, or, at least, alternately. It can be An American in Paris or Gigi or it can be gritty and threadbare like La Boheme.

photo op

connected

     In fact, Paris is a very big city with an overabundance of famous buildings, monuments and “atmosphere”. To try to see and do everything in Paris in a limited amount of time would be foolhardy (although many try). It's best to pick and chose and then approach the whole issue of touring with a relaxed and casual attitude and a lot of room for diversions and detours as opportunities present themselves.

vintage shoe sale?

no, these are not burned out tourists

     I always like to look for the quirky and unusual side of places I visit while, at the same time, paying due diligence to the “famous” must see and do stuff. I have, of course, got tons of photos of the biggies, but, today, I want to present a few of my quirky, a little off beat, shots. Hell, everybody's got a shot of Notre Dame!

rent-a-Porshe and fight Paris traffic

needles are to prevent birdshit...but

size matters

sculpture is titled The Crowd

Arago plaque - a line of these from north to south
mark the Paris Meridian (zero longitude
before the Greenwich Meridian used today)

baptismal fount - St. Sulpice Church -
 apparently a real shell

Hmmmm!

When was the last time you saw one of these?

Yup! 

ICBM Missile silo?