Cars in Paris #2

While rambling around Paris, we see some very nice cars, including a variety of classic and luxury cars.  Check it out.

Mercedes Benz 380 SL

Below is our friend Jean-Claude with "his" Ferrari that is usually garaged in Monte Carlo. 

Thanks for viewing some great cars with us.  

July 4 in France

In France, July 4 is not a big day.

Of course, in the U.S., July 4 is a very big day:  Independence Day, a national holiday, parades, fireworks and family picnics. 

Because we are in France, we decided to celebrate July 4 in a very American way.  We visited a statue of Thomas Jefferson.  It is located in central Paris along the Seine river, not far from our apartment.  Here is our selfie with the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

We hope everyone had a happy Independence Day.  

P.S.  True or False.  France played a key role in securing America's independence?  

Traveling in France #3: Visiting Vichy, Introduction

A couple of months ago, we visited friends living in the town of Vichy.  Eliane and Jean-Charles have lived in Vichy for about 5 years and they invited us to visit Vichy on the weekend of the annual Napoleon III celebration.  (More about the celebration in future posts.) 

Eliane and Jean-Charles Pasquier

A view of the center of Vichy

We had a wonderful time and took a lot of photos, which we will share in future posts.  

First, here is some information about Vichy.  The town is located in the center of France, about 3 hours by train from Paris.  Its population today is around 25,000.   

Vichy is an old town.  It was a Gallo-Roman settlement two thousand years ago and was known for the curative powers of water from Vichy's springs.  

Over time, the health benefits of bathing in and drinking Vichy water were popularized.  Consequently, Vichy has been a spa town for the past few centuries.   

One of Vichy's golden ages was during the 19th century.  In the 1860's, during the Second Empire, the town seemed to explode overnight following visits by France's Emperor Napoleon III.  New construction included gardens, streets, hotels, houses, a rail station, even a casino.  Vichy became a very fashionable destination for the well-to-do.  

Again, in the early 1900's, during the Belle Époque, Vichy enjoyed another growth spurt, with the construction of an opera house, new mansions, a large public bath and a hall housing some of the springs.

During World War II, Vichy had a role that will be mentioned in a future post.

During the 1950's and 1960's, Vichy experienced enjoyed another boom, primarily due to Vichy's many guests visiting from France's colonies.  Following decolonization, the number of visitors greatly decreased.  

So, for the past several decades, Vichy has been a relatively sleepy spa town.  

Next Up:  The Napoleon III Festival

Wildlife in Paris #4

There is a lot of wildlife in Paris.  We have already shared sightings of insects, bees, goats.  

We have also seen some furry critters.  You guessed it.  Rats.  

While we have spotted plenty of scurrying rats at night, we don't have any photos to share.  They move quickly and we are not inclined to sit on a park bench and wait for them to emerge to forage.  That's a little too creepy.  

(UPDATE:  One day, while sitting in a park, we succeeded in photographing one of the furry Parisians that inhabit the city.

We have seen also rats in store windows.  Check out the rat lamps in the photo below.  Each rat lamp costs 65 euro.  

In Paris, there seem to be two camps:  anti-rat and pro-rat.  The anti-rat crowd wants to reduce the rat population, which has supposedly swelled to more than 3.5 million, which means there are more rats than people in the city limits.  The city has adopted a campaign that includes educating people about littering.

"Leave your trash on the ground and the rats proliferate."

Apparently, the city has also considered more active measures.  The guillotine was last used in France for a human execution in 1977.  However, the anti-rat crowd would like to resume use of the guillotine for rats.  No joke.  

A rat trap with internal blades to cut a rat's spinal cord: "the rat hardly suffers." 

On the other side is the pro-rat crowd.  That crowd believes rats have rights like all animals and the ongoing murine massacre is wrong.  Rats are supposedly beneficial because each consumes 7 kilos of garbage per year.  That's about 25 million kilos of garbage per year.  Plus, rats “are sensitive individuals” that can “feel emotions.”  One pro-rat group has sponsored educational posters in the subway.  Check it out.  

Translation:  "And what if we cohabited peacefully with rats?"  

"Rats feel emotions.  They want to live!"

Whether you are pro-rat or anti-rat, we hope you will still consider visiting us in Paris.  

P.S.  In case you were wondering, during Year 1 in NYC (the home of Pizza Rat), we saw quite a few rats.  NYC rats are noticeably bigger than their Parisians cousins.  

Addendum:  While visiting the Palais de Tokyo, a contemporary art museum, we spotted the installation pictured below.  In Paris, even rats can be art.  

Random Things #7

It's time for some more random things seen while rambling around Paris.  

You might remember that Susan has a fascination with door knockers.  Here are two knockers to add to the collection.  

"Why did it have to be snakes?"

Moving on.  Friends from the U.S. recently visited Paris for the first time.  On their second night in town, they took a 3 hour tour.  The tour was not on the S.S. Minnow.  Instead, the tour was on Bustronome.  (pictured below).  While seeing the wonderful sights of Paris, they enjoyed a multi-course dinner with wine.  They enjoyed their 3 hour tour and returned home safely.  (If you want to learn more about Bustronome, click here.)

We have twice seen the gent pictured below.  He pulls behind him a long line of toy models of trucks bedecked with flags.  He lets people know he is coming with a blast of an air horn.  

Below is a recent photo of Marie-Chantal, standing in front of the hotel near the Arc de Triomphe that she visited with Jean-Claude 20 years ago when they first visited Paris together.  Ahhh, happy memories.  

We spotted the cat pictured below, walking along a ledge above a restaurant.  We hope that cat is sure-footed.  It should be careful or it might become a spécialité Turque.

Lastly, here's some good news.  IKEA recently opened a location in the heart of Paris not far from our apartment.  Instead of having to schlep far outside the city, now we can stroll to IKEA to pick up some lingonberry jam.  Yum.

Celebrity Spotting in Paris

A lot of celebrities and famous people visit Paris.  Sometimes, they are far from the public eye.  Other times, they are seen walking down the street.

Friends living in Paris recently spotted a famous person, one of the most famous people around.  While returning from dinner out one evening, they think they spotted Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla walking along a sidewalk.  To be sure, they caught up to the couple at the next intersection and looked over.  Sure enough, it was Mr. Facebook.  Our friends said hello and Mark smiled in reply.  (No bodyguards were evident, which seems odd.)

We had a similar experience.  On a recent afternoon, while walking near the Louvre, we spotted one of the most famous basketball players of all time.  He was riding a motorcycle scooter.  We quickly snapped a photo.  Check it out:  MJ in the flesh.  

Note:  Thanks to eagle-eyed brother Mike for pointing out that MJ is on a scooter, not a motorcycle.  A scooter?  What’s up with that, MJ?

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup #2

The Women's World Cup is a month long with more than 50 matches.  The tournament has reached the semi-final phase this week, with the championship game next Sunday.  The U.S. team is still in the tournament, playing a semi-final match tomorrow against England.  

We recently visited the fan experience here in central Paris. 

 

The weather was so hot that they moved the small soccer field under the large canopy at Les Halles.  Fans enjoyed pickup games while staying out of the sun.

We discovered an indoor, air conditioned pop-up museum, which presented the history of women's soccer and the World Cup, first played in 1991.  There were many artifacts, including a very special one, this year's World Cup trophy.  Check it out.    

Marie-Chantal coveting the trophy.  

Greg liked a painting about former U.S. player Mia Hamm.

Of course, we had another photograph taken.  It was free, after all.

Thanks for visiting the fan experience with us. 

P.S.  Here is a photo of Marie-Chantal with her souvenir flag from one of World Cup matches.