Along the Seine, Saturday, 14 November

Bookstalls with Notre Dame in the Background

A beautiful morning which, sadly, deteriorated into a wet and blustry afternoon. We set out to go to the Boulevard Saint Michel which we already mentioned has numerous bookstores since it is very near the Sorbonne. We found some cheap books, in English, so bought a couple to give us some reading material. Then we started walking along the river. No matter how many times we say it and no matter how many photographs we take of it, it is impossible to do it justice. On the other side of the Seine was Notre Dame in all its majesty.

We continued along looking for the Musee de l'Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris. This is a museum devoted to the history of hosptials in Paris since the middle ages, and while it doesn't sound like a crowd-pleaser, take it from us, it is very interesting. Many of the documents and paintings date from the thirteenth century, and if you really want to feel a shiver run up your spine, all you need to do is look at some of the early surgical instruments on display. The building is in the lovely Hotel Miamion which dates from the 17th century and was the city's central pharmacy until the mid-1970s. On the other side of the river, and just next to Notre Dame is the Hotel-Dieu, a city hospital which is supposed to have been founded around 650 by the Bishop of Paris although its current building dates from the late 18th Century.


As we walked towards the museum we passed one of the great "English" landmarks, the bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. It was the home away from home for many of the Americans of what came to known as "the lost generation." Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein were frequenters of the bookstore and while many now lump it as an artifact of that period rather like Harry's American Bar at 5 rue Daunou, in addition to great memories, it remains a thriving bookstore serving the English speaking population of Paris. Indeed, as book buyers, we found the prices there for new and used books as good, if not better, than any of the other bookstores in Paris!

By now the wind had come up and it was looking ominously like rain, so after a quick lunch we headed back to Montmartre.

French drivers are a breed unto themselves. The most amazing of them, however, are the bus drivers. It is hard to imagine the skill it takes to drive one of those articulated monsters down a one-way street barely wider than the bus itself; especially when trucks are frequently taking up a portion of the road while they are being loaded or unloaded for the shops nearby. Generally the bus drivers wait patiently and often guide the drivers of the trucks so as to make an opening big enough for the bus to get through. I am sure the only reason buses manage to squeeze down some of the narrow old streets is because passengers inhale and hold their collective breath. If the bus drivers are quite impressive, the motor cyclists and scooter riders are something else again. They weave their way perilously through the streets ignoring lights and zebra crossings. Old men and women scatter before their furious approach. The amazing thing though is how they will stop suddenly just in time to avoid hitting someone and then resume at high speed. If you think bullfighters live dangerous lives, try surviving Paris traffic!