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Gerry and Notre Dame de Paris

When we were still in New Jersey and wondering what to do with ourselves we got asked if we would like to rent an appartment in Paris for the summer. It didn't take but a few minutes to decided we would, so we made arrangements and ended up Living at 71 rue de la Mare for ten weeks from June 22 to August 27, 1999. By the time that we left Paris we'd seen a lot of it and really were reluctant to leave. But as we had to give up the place to the returning owner, we did. If you want the end of the story first, read where we went after Paris

We arrived on the longest day of the year and started our stay with nights that didn't get dark until nearly 11:00 p.m.; we could hardly believe the time when we did get home. While there we saw lots and lots of Churches and Cathedrals more than you might have thought existed. Of course we had lots and lots of visitors; in fact we had somebody staying with us about 1/3 or our time — Guess Who Came to Town The biggest crowd was Jan's relatives who crowded our flat, at Gerry's invitation, for Jan's Surprise Birthday Party That certainly rates as the number one memory of the summer. The second is Gerry's appearance on the Pyramide Quiz Show

Some of the other things we did but never wrote about (we're hoping) have the tentative tilte  Using the Paris Metro and Bus; The Total Solar Eclipse of 1999; The Little Broadway of Paris; Belleville; and Nights Out at the Opera.
 

After a week in Paris we started catching up on email. Read how in Getting Online. Other day-to-day stuff included losing things; Lost in Paris tells about an attempt to recover some of them

Mime in White

We went to lots and lots of sidewalk cafes. It's funny, but years ago when we lived in France we just about never went. It's hard to be sure why, but it's probably because we were too busy then. Or maybe it's due to Gerry slowing down a bit. Anyway, at one of the cafes in the Latin Quarter we saw the lady in the photograph.

All over Paris there are "buskers" who make their living (or attempt to) by posing as statues. They stand rigid until a passerby puts some money in their pot. This brings the statue to life making it perform some kind of action. This lady blew bubbles each time. The photo shows her refilling the bubble blower.