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A lot of the pictures we took in France didn't seem to easily fit into
one category or another.
While strolling along the Champs-Elysees we poked
our head into one of the fancy car showcases and saw the read beast above.
On the street though were all sorts of those odd little two-seater things in
the upper right. Matt got a particular kick out of the 6 foot model of the
Splinter Cell guy (a video game). And then there was the strange water
dude in the photo below. He'd stand on the side of that fountain,
dancing around, yelling to the crowds, then shove his head into the water
for 30-40 seconds. Sometimes he'd hold one hand above his head as he
did this. Then he'd get up and do it again. French people are
strange. |
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Getting food was a constant battle for us in France. More often as not, we
ended up in or near the Latin Quarter. It was only 3-4 blocks from our
hotel (over by Notre Dame), and it was lively, fun, and tourist friendly.
The majority of vendors spoke some level of English, and they genuinely seemed
to want your business (unlike much of the rest of Paris).
All sorts of people try to get your attention. The guy above was in front
of a Greek place, and he'd stand out front having an argument with the Greek guy
across the way. Each would occasionally say something we couldn't
understand, then break a plate or cup on the sidewalk. |
One afternoon, we opted for Indian food, which is not something we generally go
for. Part of the decision was back to the theme of just getting tired of
French food and people. In truth, the food in this place was really good,
and not overly spicy.
And then it came time for the after dinner things (not sure what to call them).
They were candy-like, but had fennel seeds mixed in. The result was a
strange and distasteful mix between tasting like licorice and Play-Doh. |
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The grounds in front of Notre Dame attract all sorts of traffic and
attention. Shown here are a bunch of guys doing stunts on roller
blades. |
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One thing to their credit, there was some good wine in France.
To the
upper left is a shot of Matt after enjoying some at the Indian Restaurant.
Tracy and I left him there after we went in search of bathrooms. On
many of the streets in Paris and Germany were things we called robo-toilets.
They looked like small metal kiosks. The door would open up and let
you have entry only after you deposited what amounted to 50 cents or so.
Then the door would close, and you do your business in private. When
you leave, the entire insides go through some fancy automatic washdown and
sterilization process. |
You find street vendors and artisans all over the place in any major city.
This guy was cool though... he'd make carvings out of carrots and other veggies.
Pretty amazing, actually. |
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You end up just stumbling across neat stuff in town.
The green statue above was donated to France by some fund raiser from
American school children. We know this, because it was one of the very
few places where anything was inscribed in English(!).
One thing we particularly enjoyed was that there were dogs everywhere!
Nobody paid any attention to them though, which was odd to get used to.
Around here, if you see a dog, you at least acknowledge it in some way; not
there. I just found it neat that there was a cat sitting in a chair at
a restaurant. |
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The wine and fatigue got the best of us, so I have no idea what the
building on the left is for. Probably something important. Pity,
because it seems to be a centerpiece for the city. |
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Splinter Cell
