Rive Gauche

Missoula friends Kim and Dave arrived Sunday and Monday we accompanied them to Notre Dame and then the Left Bank. They carried on, incredibly, walking first to the Eiffel Tower, climbing the first stage, and then on to the Arc de Tromphe. They're a good bit younger than we. Vicki and I tied up some loose ends on the Left Bank, had a nice lunch, and worked diligently at seeing a few more of the things we wanted to see.

Us in front of the cathedral

Left Bank view

Revisiting goofy St. Severin, with its glazed
triforium on the north side

And open triforium, almost a gallery, on the
south

I think this is maybe not the main entrance

One of the remnants of Phillippe Auguste's
12th century city wall

Inside the Roman arena of Lutetia, 3rd century

Incredible 360 degree panoramic view of the arena

Discovered in the late 19th, restored 1947-48

One of our favorite places--complex of places--on the Left
Bank is Au Vieux Campeur (the old camper), and we spent a
couple of hours exploring the now 30 Au Vieux Campeur
stores clustered around Boulevard St. Germain, Rue des
Ecoles, and Rue Saint-Jacques

This is the kiddie store (of course we got something for P)

At the travel accesories store, one of two
displays of money belts, hidden wallets, etc.

The other; one of the things we like is the
enormous selection; the French are really
big on gadgetry, and it is largely in stores
like this that you can see all of what is new

Store #31 about to open; it is quite a different
experience, unlike Decathlon or REI; you get
your hiking boots at one store; your compass
at another; your backpack at another; your
hat at another; we wondered how many of
the stores you'd have to visit in order to
completely outfit yourself for, say, the Tour
du Mont Blanc; probably only 12-15, I
suppose, but then you'd have the best of gear
and a great shopping experience too