Waiting for the morning rush....
Jogging alone along the Seine....A quiet park on a Saturday afternoon. There are tons of parks like this around the city--surprising little nooks surrounded by a short metal green fence with little entry gates on one or more sides. Some only have benches among the greenery; some have play equipment and sand 
boxes; some feature a statue or two. Notice the "book" bench in this park, which was on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter behind the Institute de France. The benches represent all of the intellectual life that was once a huge part of the bohemian life in Paris.
boxes; some feature a statue or two. Notice the "book" bench in this park, which was on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter behind the Institute de France. The benches represent all of the intellectual life that was once a huge part of the bohemian life in Paris. When Latin was the language of higher learning in the Middle Ages, this neighborhood was known as Europe's leading university district. This was the area to where many struggling (and often unhappy and confused) American writers came after WWI--James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, George Bernard Shaw, Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach--and oh, the stories (both published and oral) that came out of that period. Very entertaining and provocative stuff--if you haven't already, you might want to read some of them!
