05.26.05
Cops and Bridges
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Ile de la Cite
This morning I took a long walk that took me to the Isle de la Cite via Point Neuf. On the way I walked by the Palais de Justice where a group of demonstrators were getting ready to protest the weekend vote to accept or reject the new European Union constitution. The street was surrounded by cops in riot gear, there were two buses full of more cops standing by around the next street ready to run in and crack heads. Another group of cops had the very next street closed as there was someone ready to jump off the bridge, as a demonstrator or suicide? I am not sure. The man was talked back while I was there and one of the cops ready to jump in after him took a dive off the bridge and into the river to get back to this boat.
Had lunch close to eurocentres (where dad and Himelda are studying French) at a beautiful bistro between the Rue de la Seine and Rue Mazarine. I had a delicious Filet de Beuf aux Sauce B�arnaise with wine.
After lunch Himelda, Dad and I went to the �glise Saint-Sulpice where we saw the original French meridian (before it was decided to set the official meridian in Greenwich). The church is one of these gorgeous old world churches with huge arching ceilings and stained glass windows… very nice indeed.
By this point in the trip I am getting pretty good at a game I like to call ’spot the tourist’. The point of the game is not telling who is a tourist (that is pretty easy) but rather trying to figure out the nationality of different tourists. Americans, Japanese, Chinese and Germans are generally very easy to spot. I am learning how to tell Brits and Spaniards, not sure what the specific gives are yet but there is something about the way the Brits dress that gives them away and Spaniards carry themselves and in general walk in packs that are somehow unique. I still cannot tell the difference between Finns, Danes and other scandahoovians, often not even after hearing them speak (usually a dead give-away).