Way Cool

Last night Mom, Aunt Connie and I went down to the river.  It's one of Mom's favorite places at night, between Bvd. St. Michel and Notre Dame because of its vibrancy and people-watching worthiness.  At this time of year, it doesn't get dark here until about 11:00 pm, so there are swarms of people out enjoying the balmy evening.  On the little bridge by the side of Notre Dame, in-line and roller-skaters have been performing for years.  When Mom first watched them a number of years ago, there were only the in-line skaters who would set up a slalom course of paper cups and zig-zag through them.  They advanced to doing routines and dance steps.  Now, there is a guy who has set up a launch pad and does high jumps, landing on the hard cobblestones.  There's quite a bit of drama involved setting up the home-made high jump poles and then rolling up the ramp on a couple of test runs.  Then he gets the crowd to clapping - they clap in unison, louder and faster as he makes his approach and burst into a roar as he clears the jump and lands, not always on his feet.  He wears no padding or protective equipment, but also has not visible scrapes or scars.  I went up to express my appreciation afterward and he cheerfully agreed to have his picture taken with me.  Here it is, with some pictures of him in action as well as the in-line skater doing some pretty fancy footwork:

                               Me 'n' my man

Can you see the cups he's twirling around?






After the show was over we meandered through the maze of narrow streets on the left bank that are lined with rows of restaurants, mostly North African and Mediterranean, where the waiter stands in the door and calls passersby in.  Bright lights, loud music and crowded streets.






The famous Paris University, the Sorbonne, is on our way home.  I knocked at these doors of higher learning, ready with my notebook, but no one let me in.








Today Mom left me home so she and Aunt Connie could go to the museum, Cite de l'Architecture, where there are life-size plaster replicas of many of the old Romanesque and Gothic churches around France.  She tried to take me with her one day, but they wouldn't let her in, so this time I had to stay home.  She said the replicas are casts of the real thing and are remarkable in their size and scope.  There are also interiors of old churches in which the frescoes have been reproduced in the worn state that they are now in.  The colors are still rich and deep.  There is another floor that has displays of "modern" architecture, meaning the 20th and 21st centuries.  These included a model of a home by le Corbusier, some "social living" housing that looked like rabbit warrens and whose design, Mom was sure, wouldn't stand the test of time like the 500 year old cathedrals have.

This model was doing a photo shoot on the terrace of the restaurant of the museum for a new collection by Elie Saab.  Yesterday the whole museum was closed for a private showing by Giorgio Armani.  Many celebraties were there whom Mom had never heard of, but she knew they were important because of all the photographers and groupies waiting for them to come out.  When Katie Holmes emerged the crowd roared and the cameras clicked.  When Giorgio Armani, himself, came out, he was surrounded by bodyguards in black suits who didn't let anyone come near him.  Mom was hoping that they would open the museum after everyone left, but they didn't, so she had to go back the next day.

Around the Eiffel Tower and the Palais de Chaillot where the museum is, the North African hawkers sell Paris kitch - little Eiffel towers, designer knock-off purses, hats AND the inimitable
UMBRELLA HAT.  Mom brought one home for me since I had to stay home alone today.  Thanks, Mom.  How do you always know just what I want?