Allô, allô, ne kitty pas, s'il vous plait

This is the corner of rue des Rosiers and rue des
Hospitalières St. Gervais (a very long name for a very short 
street).  The street art appears to be a collaboration:
I don't know who did the robotic creature in the background,
but I think I've seen his (her?) work in the 13th; Nature's Revenge is 
usually associated with the artist Ludo, but I can't see what he 
contributed here (maybe the butterflies?); the beautiful 
tigers are the work of Mosko et Associés (founded by two old 
friends, Michel Allemand and Gérard Laux, who grew up 
in the area north of Montmartre called Moskowa).

[I'm linking back to Paulita's meme, 
Dreaming of France, because I am, always—
and also to Orange You Glad It's Friday.]

Notre Dame, 8 a.m.

It's worth getting up early to have Notre Dame
(almost) to yourself, whether you want
to appreciate it in peace and quiet—
or take unpopulated pictures.

Paris in Winter

I found myself stuck one night with a friend on the
covered terrasse of the Café de Flore (poor me, I know),
when an unexpected snowstorm came up and we
were hardly dressed for this kind of weather.  Although
showers are frequent in Paris, snow is rare. There may be
a dusting, but the highest one-day snowfall ever
recorded was only a bit over a foot—and that was on
March 2, 1946 (another good day for a brandy at the Flore). 

Marché aux Fleurs

The covered but otherwise outdoor flower market
on the Ile de la Cité has been in operation
(except on Sunday, when it becomes a bird market)
for 204 years.  I don't know how these primroses
survive—I shot them on a snowy morning in February—but
what a wonderful way to brighten a dreary winter day! 

Points of light

There's a point of light for each of the 76,000
Parisians who were deported to concentration
camps during WWII.  This memorial at the eastern
end of the Ile de la Cité is a very powerful place.

Bienvenue

There are about 15 museums in Paris that
have free admission, and the Musée Carnavalet
is one of my faves. This former home of
Mme de Sévigny has been open as a
museum since 1880. What I like best
here are the room re-creations, from a
15th-century drawing room to
Marcel Proust's cork-lined bedroom.

Where to Get a Bad Meal in Paris

You'd be better off buying a crepe from the stands
on nearby Boulevard St. Michel than to get drawn
into one of the joints with a "menu touristique" here
on rue de la Huchette, in the student quarter.
There are some good things to be found here
—especially if you're under 30—but food is
not necessarily one of them.  If you really do 
want falafel, head over to rue des Rosiers in the
Marais and join the queue outside L'as du Falafel.
(And if you're a fan of couscous, I believe there are 
still some places in Paris where they serve it up
for free, mostly on Friday and Saturday night.)