Notre Dame and the 11th

A few unrelated things I donot want to forget:

the motorized scooters that people are riding around on are called trottinettes - what a lovely word - not booties for pigs

I have seen many people walking their dogs, but no evidence they do not clean up after their dogs. Not so the police who ride horses around, specially on the 2 islands near me!

I am sure there is a larger proportion of women over 60 with grey hair in Paris  than in Canberra,

This morning after my breakfast coffee ( I have discovered a corner bar where real milk, not UHT, is used) I went in to Notre Dame. I didnot immediately warm to it. It was too dark to read the brochure I bought. About an hour after it opened, there were already many groups - mainly Asians. I sat wondering about the millions and millions of people over the ages who have passed through the church. There were some interesting side chapels. There was a Chapel for Saint Germain (Bishop of Paris in the 6th Century and our lady of ( somewhere unpronouncable and un typable on this keyboard), queen of Poland. See photo below of an icon  of her .

I will go back for vespers one day ( which I read somewhere is sung by the choir)  but not today, I have to wash my clothes.

Next on today's plan was the Pompidou centre. Another aborted attempt. The queue was just as long on Saturday 5 min before it opened.  Another day.

I then walked from the Pompidou centre, in the NW corner of the 4th, through the 3rd to the 11th arrondissement. I found the coffee shop on my list and it was a good cup of coffee. Of all the 6 so-called new style coffee shops 5 of them have offered things like carrot cake, muffins, scones, no french style patisserie items, which I would prefer. I can make a carrot cake, but a little delicate citron tart.?

  Then I walked some more and found one of the places on my list of new style bistros.  Trouble is , all the signs outside were in English and I usually avoid these places. Next door was a simple French bar with about 10 tables, the only menu - 2 entres, 3 mains and 2 deserts was written on a blackboard. So I ate there. Simple French food with real , local, people.

Then I walked back along different roads. The 11th was interesting. I walked through some almost derelict areas with 2 out of 3 shops shuttered. Partly some places are closed on Mondy, but it was more than that. There were other areas that had clearly become done up, with modern interesting shops and places to eat. A real ethnic mix in the older areas. But also in the better areas, I looked at the 'menu' outside a discrete, interesting place that was a Hammam - Turkish bath house. The basic experience was E40 , or you could pay E240  for the day. I didnot understand most of the words, so what you got was a mystery.