Some Paris pics

Sorting through the photos I took in Paris, I'll post a few at a time. Even though this was my fourth trip there, I enjoyed it all (except for the smoking, which along with the smog caused my sinuses to act up, leaving me on a couple of occasions exhausted from coughing and trying to breathe.) I'm so fortunate that George likes to "hang" as much as I do, soaking up the sites and exploring new neighborhoods. We did less "touristy" stuff than on previous trips, spending a lot of time just being there.

We stayed at Hotel Baudelaire-Opera, located in a different area than we'd stayed in the past. A short walk (about 10 min) to the Louvre in one direction, the Opera in the other, it was a neat neighborhood, filled with lots and lots of Asian restaurants. Our room, #53, had a view of paris flats. It's amazing the amount of greenery and flowers Parisians have on their tiny balconies and hanging from their windows high above the streets.

The room was very small by American standards, but clean. The bed was rather old and lumpy. The closet sized bathroom was a challenge with the handheld shower and a flimsy shower curtain ... George kept dropping the shower thingy and flooding the bathroom :-). The young people at the front desk were great -- very pleasant and quite helpful (with recommendations for restaurants and cold medication.)

On our first venture out we happened upon a street market (with entertainment) and a "mall", actually called a "passage" between two buildings from one street to another.

Once we reached the Tuilleries, I knew I was back in Paris. The beautiful statues and fountains and views of beautiful buildings and people enjoying the afternoon...

A short walk to the Louvre, which we visited on our last day. I'll post those pictures at another time. The design on the side of a building was interesting, as were the armed guards -- reminding us that we were in a very public place where they take safety seriously.