Sh's Adventures Continue...

On any trip there are things we notice, chat about, or suffer through and there isn't a natural place to put them in the blog. We collect our comments and then try to figure out what to do with them - so this is that post. Kind of like Seinfeld, it's a blog about nothing. Enjoy, or ignore. We'll never know unless you tell us ;-) ;-)

Stop signs in France say STOP, not ARÊTE. Odd when everything else is in French.

Unless you are having something to eat or drink in a restaurant, washrooms are really hard to find. If you do find them, you will likely have to pay. For example, the Carousel du Louvre shopping centre and Le Printemps department store have hired private, third-party washroom providers and you'd better have 1.50 euros in your jeans or you'll have a problem. There are some public toilet installations in Paris, but they are few and far between and are guaranteed to have a line up. Small towns sometimes have a public washroom somewhere, often near City Hall. I'm sure glad I wasn't in France when I was pregnant, seemed like I was in a washroom every five minutes - or is that too much information.

Dennis and I kept turning products in grocery stores around to read the English - duh! Only Canadians will get this.

I drank "pink wine" the whole trip. I never consider rosé over here, but there it is plentiful and delicious. And perhaps, I am just more mysterious when I am abroad.

In two of our three apartments, the toilet was in a separate room from the shower or tub. Not a fan, just seems odd.

France is not for the old, infirm or weak. There are few provisions for people without great mobility. Many apartments don't have elevators. Metro accesses are filled with stairs. Sometime sidewalks become a foot wide. And some cobbled streets are so arching and wobbly that walking is like a carnival ride.

We noticed several families of beggars who were using their children badly - forcing them to stay with one parent on the sidewalk on a piece of cardboard, or blanket, with them all day. It was so hard to watch, especially when the kids wanted to play. At the end of the day they would pack up and go home. When you watched closely, over several days, they were eating well and had good clothes; they were just passing on the family "business."

It was apparent that bands of thieves were still plying their trade. They tried a scam on us by one woman pretending that she found a gold ring on the street right in front of us. She asked if it was ours and when we said "no" she said it was our lucky day because none of them could keep it, their religion didn't allow jewellery. So they she pressing the ring on us; grabbing our hands. I checked that she wasn't stealing my rings right off my fingers, but they were all so tight on me, nothing would move. She forced the heavy 'gold' ring into my hand and walked away, then came back and said it would be customary to give her a little something, maybe enough for a Coke. Dennis gave her 2 euros and she joined her friends who started to yell at her and berate her, probably for only getting 2 euros. She turned to come back to us, but we entered the store right in front of us, and turned the ring over to a security guard. Later we read about the scam on the Internet and yes they were after any loose jewellery they might have gotten from us, or more money for a "finders fee."

Many people still smoke, it is especially prevalent in young people. Cigarettes are nine euros a pack, so it's not because they are cheap.

There are different approaches to living so closely with your neighbours; often in apartments that look in on each other. Some people seem to keep every thing closed and buttoned up, while others accept that they are on display and just go on living. We opted for opening the windows and getting air moving through, but paid the price in mosquito bites because screens are nowhere to be seen. I have to admit, we are spoiled by space in Canada and I would find it very hard to live in such close quarters all the time. And I'm not even mentioning the cooking odours.

People are always in a rush in the Metro stations, it's kind of funny when the next train comes in one or two minutes.

It's pretty cool when you get to the point in a vacation where there is nothing else you feel that you really want to do or see, so you can just be.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the photos of street art and strange sights from all over Paris.

Thanks for coming on our adventure with us!

Odd windows.

And odd business names.

The sublime...

And the ridiculous, though I like that pink bag.

Some businesses have windows like museum displays.

Now do I know anyone who needs one of these purses?

Or this, which changes images as you walk by like those old 3D post cards.

Um, not saying anything at all.

Banksy "wanna bes" abound.

For some reason, alligators were mentioned and shown all over the place, and not just in Paris. Don't get it.

I love this image. Beautiful garbage.

This Pharmacy was just trying to show all the braces and supports it sold, but the window was looking a little '50 Shades' to me - especially with the random stocking legs just standing there.