I could sit on my nice grey leather loveseat all day and watch the barges and yachts go up and down the river. Tour barges, hop-on-hop-off transportation barges, private yachts, yachts-for-hire-for-business-meetings, working barges, wooden speedboats (going slowly of course), dinner cruise boats, construction-barges-with-cranes, travel barges (with staterooms and diningrooms and everything), marine patrol boats - it's a regular parade out there, day and night! (And at night the tour barges have big spotlights to shine on buildings such as mine as they tell folks all about the history of this island and city.) I'll try to have my camera close to the window so that I can take snapshots throughout the week, and then post a photo parade for you before I leave!
I heard the clip-clop of horses' hooves but didn't grab my camera in time to get a "coming" version of this scene - so you get just the "going" version - mounted police patrolling the 'hood, a tour barge cruising by, pedestrians and motorists and cyclists all over the place, sunlight sparkling off the water, bridges and buildings and sky and trees reflected in the water. Aaahhhhh...life in the big city...doesn't get much better than this for me!
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| Parisii coins, 1st cent. BC |
The earliest evidence of human habitation in this area is dated at around 7600 B.C. But in the 3rd century B.C. Gauls of the Parisii tribe settled here, right on this island and the banks of the Seine where my building sits. The river became a strategic resource for shipping and commerce. By the time the Romans arrived in the 1st century B.C. the Parisii were wealthy and organized enough to have their own gold coinage. Battles for this area ensued and this time the Romans won (later this week post some photos of Roman ruins that sit just a few blocks from my apartment), and it's been the place to see and be seen and buy and sell and make art and eat and drink and govern and relax and love and study and worship and serve and live the joie de vivre ever since!
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