Out and About on a Rainy Day

Saturday dawned rainy & cool.  By the time we hit the streets, it was alternating rain, no rain, misting, raining.  We brought our umbrellas, thanks to the landlord.

This is a collection of mostly street photos.

Getting into the dreariness of it all.

Looking down Rue St. Antoine towards the column.

Up the street towards Rue de Rivoli.

The Seine splits around Ile
St. Louis.  The only color in the photo is the car tail lights. 

Last year we found God Street.   This year it's Bad Boys Street

 The back of l'Hotel de Ville.

Parisian bike lanes, on the sidewalk.















Palais du Justice in the distance.  The spire of Sainte Chapelle on the left.   Yankees fan at lower right. 

The Concergerie is a prison where hapless folks on their way to the guillotine were held.   Marie-Antoinette & Louis XVI were held here for several years until they were taken to Place de la Concorde.

Note the "N" seal on the bridge above.  Napoleon & his heirs made their marks all over Paris.

For those who need a hot dog fix, a less than subtle reminder.

It's hard to see inside the booth, but beyond the mustard bottles, the lady is wearing a stars & stripes shirt.

President Hollande led the French parliament to support the Americans on some sort of military thing in Syria.  Here's the word from the other side stenciled onto the sidewalk.

A display of old police cars.  Can't you just see Inspector Clousseau getting in and driving away?

And can't you see the Gestapo colonel stepping out of a '50's film noir movie about the French underground in Paris during WWII?

As we were heading back to the apt. there were all these young kids spilling out into the streets, making as much noise as they could.  It turned out this was but a small part of we were to find out was an annual Techno Parade, featuring earsplitting music.























 The crowd at Place de la Bastille was the largest we've ever seen...a sea of people.

The sidewalks were completely full as were the streets.  There were plenty of cops around, you can see a few back row left.  As long as the "manifestation" as the French call it remains peaceful they are just spectators.  But they are in full riot gear, see the cop on the left looking at the redhead.  At the first sign of trouble the helmets go on.

Costumes optional.


















And finally, a video of a tiny bit of the whole thing.  There were lots & lots of these trucks, each blaring mostly pounding bass with the volume on super high.  Click HERE for the web.