Paris continued………..

……there is no doubt that Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was completely redesigned in the 1800’s by Napoleon III, he commissioned Haussman to “modernize” the city, creating wide tree lined boulevards. As an ex city council employee….I can’t help wondering who paid for it! You wander along the banks of the Seine and through beautiful tree lined streets marveling at the glorious architecture, BUT, and here’s the thing – at all times you must watch your feet – Parisiennes love their dogs and because most of them live “sans jardin maison” – they walk their dogs regularly and nobody ever ‘picks up’. It’s astonishing, in a population of 2.15 million people, over 200,000 are dog owners. That’s not counting the 30,000 homeless people – most of whom we saw had dogs or a cat on a leash. I can think of worse places to be homeless. Being homeless in Paris for some, means you get to reside in the most desirable of locations……check out the dude who lives by the Seine with his dogs. He lives in a sort of hole in the wall and sits outside in the lovely weather, drinking his aperitif, watching the world go by - c'est bien! A lot of the homeless camp along the Seine in very smart one person tents forming little communities, they don’t appear to drink meths or anything that isn’t half way decent…some even have little tables set up with wine glasses and table cloths.....comment les français!.........to be continued……….