The Left Bank

From Berlin to Milan

Well our milk drinking got the better of Ben and I and we had to partake of the French medical service and see a doctor. I was a little concerned about costs etc but we were really not very well. We saw a doctor near to where we were staying on Rue de Boulanger near the Pantheon and he was great - would accept no money, made sure we came back the next day to see that we were improving, made recommendations for us when the medications he rescribed ran out, etc, etc. As I keep saying through the blog, we have been very lucky and been helped by some fabulous people wherever we've gone.

From Berlin to Milan

Anyway, Paris was great as of course it always is - I love the place and the people. I love trying out my French and being being spoken to in French in return. We have had to try a bit harder on the trip with languages because it seems like wherever we went, we were in areas of Germany, Italy and Romania where little English was spoken. But it was great fun.
Staying on the left bank in an apartment allowed us a view of the city we hadn't had before - we have previously stayed near the Moulin Rouge a couple of times and so we saw Notre Dame (still lots of gypsy beggars here - watch your monies - a new scam was a lady would seem to pick up a gold ring just in front of you and ask you if it was yours while the kids crowded around you while you were distracted by this and make a lunge for the wallet or similar). Did you also know that Americans pronounce Notre Dame as Noter Dame?
The Pantheon, Jardin et la Palais du Luxembourg, Tour Eiffel, etc - what a great city!
Paris is also a leading example of providing bikes for people to use and encouraging their use with bike paths specifically marked on the roads. On many streets, there are say 25 bikes for hire using a parking meter type of gadget to hire it - first hour is free. You can return it to any of the similar bike stations throughout the city and it is locked into place and the computerised locking system tells the central system that you have 'returned' it and to compute a final price. The bikes have lights front and back, gearbox rear hub and very easy to ride. Roads here are narrow but again drivers are pretty forgiving and everyone 'fits' on the roads.