Paris Journal 2002

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Because we are working during the day, all the photos I have to show you are from the evenings when we "baladons," when we stroll.

If we stroll straight down the Avenue Emile Zola we cross the Seine at the bridge called Mirabeau.  That puts un in this lovely neighborhood in the 16th called Auteuil.  Here is its church, at left. 

Our knowledge of French must have improved.  There is an inscription on the side of this church that informs folks that it is forbidden to play ball games on that solid wall (no windows, so it is tempting to bounce balls off the wall, I guess).  When we first saw this church in 1998, not having a French-English dictionary in hand, I thought the inscription had something to do with defense against cannon balls thrown from the sea, and Tom thought it said something about a high water mark from the rising of the sea.

When we walk this way, into this part of the 16th, we get to see the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower together.  That's a treat.

Also from this bridge at Mirabeau we can see a cluster of riverboats, including the Tennessee (below left).

Now we are anxiously anticipating the opening of Paris Plage (Paris Beach).  Like last year, the city officials are closing Georges Pompidou Way, a highway that besmirches the right bank of the Seine, for part of the summer.  This year, after lots of complaints from French motorists last year, the period of time will be shorter, only from July 21 to August 18.  But it will be even better this year because they're bringing in tons of sand and palm trees.  This week, they've been installing these beach necessities at night, and the neighbors ("riverains") have had some choice, snide remarks to make about all the fuss. 

But the roller bladers, skateboarders, bicyclists, walkers and tourists love the idea of closing this road to cars.  You can bet we'll be there for the opening day on Sunday.  Walking along the Seine is just about our favorite thing to do in Paris.

The cops are cracking down on prostitution.  They're even putting the johns in jail.

Bubbly lemonade from Belgium was contaminated with pharmaceutical hormones.  The fizzy stuff was sold and consumed all over Europe.

Two policemen were caught taking bribes and allowing dozens of Filipinos to immigrate illegally into France.

Two men suspected of exploiting handicapped Gypsies, forcing them to beg in the streets of Paris, have been taken in for questioning.  The crippled Gypsies, who live in a camp at Choisy-le-roi on the outskirts of Paris, were forced to beg  for 35 hours over the course of three days.  They were taken to places like the area around Notre Dame to beg among the tourists, and when they were returned to the camp, all the money they'd collected was taken from them.  They were kept in incredibly degrading conditions - some had to sleep in dumpsters.  Their passports were confiscated so they could not return to their homeland.