~A Stroll Along the Seine~

When anyone asks me what my favorite site in Paris is, I always answer "the river".

This is a view of the Ile de la Cite from the Pont des Arts bridge.

The little park on the tip is the popular Square de Vert Galant.

Left Bank quai~ very quiet and serene.

A view looking West from the Pont Neuf.  That is the Pont de Arts .

Another view from the Pont Neuf~this time looking East at the Ile St.Louis.

This artist with his easel set up on the Quai des Grands-Augustins is painting...

the Pont Neuf.

Entryway down to the Quai de Bourbon.

Another view of the Pont Louis-Phillipe which connects the Marais and the Ile St. Louis.

This has to be Sunday morning...absolutely the best time to walk around Paris.

Whenever we can, we walk along the river.

Then we will always have peace and serenity on one side at least.

A view of the Notre-Dame from the Pont au Double.  

The name comes from the amount of money that was charged to cross it.

Another Left Bank scene.

From this photo you can't tell that you are looking at one of the busiest (not the biggest) intersections~

Place de St.Michel.

That is the fountain of St. Michel in the center.

This is one of the wrought iron "deterrents" that you see, in one form or another, all around Paris.

 This is a beautiful walkway along the Quai de la Tournelle.  It is a great way to go to the

Jardin des Plantes without having to climb any hills.

Then there are the barges and houseboats parked along the quais. Some are permanent residences.

This is the Batobus.  It is an "on & off" river taxi. You pay for the day and can get on and off as often as you like.  All of the stops are at key siteseeing spots.

This is a sleek new "bateaux mouche"~siteseeing river cruise boat.

The more classic "bateaux mouche".  This line leaves from the tip of the Ile de la Cite.

A working barge..I noticed the fenced in "play area".

This is a barge, parked on the quai, that is a restaurant.  There are several of these.

Some take you on a dinner cruise.

This is both a Batobus stop and a Seine river cruise station.  

You can see all the parked tour buses in the background.

These are all parked boats and barges.  The one with the red on the front

 is a Paris River Fire/Police Station.

This is the site of another Batobus stop across from the Notre Dame.  The parked barge is a restaurant.

This is the beautiful pedestrian bridge~Pont des Arts.  It is a popular gathering place

 for picknicking and watching the Eiffel Tower at night.

The railing fence is covered with "love locks".

The Pont Notre Dame.  Notice the "N" embellishments.

Chestnut trees along the river.  In spring they are covered in pink blossoms.

The book stalls attached to the walls of the river are called "les bouquinistes".  

They sell old books, prints, post cards and souvenirs.

More bouquinistes...some closed up.  They open and close at will.

Pont Neuf, my favorite bridge.

The Pont Neuf is beautiful from all angles.

The Pont Neuf under a full moon.

Paris is beautiful at night.  All the main sites are lit up and night river cruises are popular.

On warm nights, a stroll along the river to one of the bridges is perfect.  We often go to the 

Pont des Arts to watch the Eiffel Tower "light show".

Sunday at the Marche aux Fleurs

It is Sunday and on this particular Sunday Woody was a little "under the weather" so I went out on my own.  I knew exactly how I would start my walk; to the Ile de la Cite and the Marche aux Fleurs.  The Marche is a permanent flower market very near to the Notre Dame and on Sundays it becomes an exotic bird market.

 You'll find everything needed for your oiseux~

cages, bird seed, toys, bird houses.

 I can not tell you what kind of birds these are.  Finches, wrens, canaries....

 some sort of parrot or parakeet?

 canary?

They look a little more exotic than the parakeet I had.

We've been here before when there more larger parrots, macaws, cockatoos, etc. but today there were mostly the smaller varieties.

 The little green/yellow one in the corner reminds me of our pet parakeet "Cookie".

Aren't these guys beautiful?

While I was walking around, a man asked the 'canary guy' about a particular yellow bird.  He wanted to know the sex.  So the guy reaches in the cage, grabs the little guy/gal, turns it over and checks it out and whichever it was~it was the right one.  Then the vendor, while holding onto the bird, puts together his little carrying box.  Then in it goes and the transaction is complete.

Before I left, I checked out some of the shops at the market.  Some sell flowers, decorative garden items, floral gifts (I especially liked the lavendar shop) and Paris souvenirs.

 Lots of orchids in Paris.

 This was a very nice shop.  The sign said "no photos"~I took this surreptitiously.  They had a beautiful display of Christmas ornaments too but the lady was watching me~closely.

 Visiting the bird market is a great way to start the day.  Sunday mornings are so peaceful for walking the city; no traffic, no noise and this is a such 'happy' place.

"je t'aime"~je t'aime aussi"

(my favorite photo)