Parislog 37
Aug. 11, 2006

I went for a nice long way today to get out of the house because my roommate came home earlier than expected today. I had planned on sewing but didn't feel like doing it while he was here. So instead, I went to the Seine and walked along the point of the Ile de la Cite, which is one of the two islands in the middle of the river. It wasn't a beautiful sunny day but that was okay with me. I enjoyed the fresh air and the cooler temperatures. The cobblestone path around the Ile is very cool but really hard to walk on because all the stones are at different angles and bumpy. They are very cool to look at though and when I went under a bridge, I noticed that the stones were even more uneven. I imagine because it doesn't get as much weather beating.

After the Ile, I came up onto the regular roadway just past Pont Neuf (New Bridge), which is the oldest bridge in Paris and saw a really cool outdoor adventure rig for kids. It was a part of the Paris Plage (Paris Beach) and was like those survival challenges. It was all aerial and had different stages and different ways you had to cross the space. One had little wooden steps at intervals like those scary bridges, another was just a cable and the final leg was the one you get to hook onto the pulley and ride down. One poor little girl had made it as far as the walk on the wire section and just froze. A crowd started to form to watch what was going to happen and cheer her on. The guy on the pole came across and walked with her the whole way just one step ahead. Everyone cheered when she made it. Her poor little legs were shaking so badly that I could see it from my perch.

At the Tuileries garden, connected to the Louvre, there is a fair going on that lasts about a month. I had seen the huge Ferris wheel when taking a walk and made a note to myself to come back and see it. Well, today was that day. The first thing that struck me was the little bistro style eateries in the fair. They gave it a very French feeling. The second thing that I noticed was that most of the kiddy rides had chairs and benches located at the area for the parents to sit on and watch their kids. That is a very good idea. I would imagine more parents would be willing to hang out while their kids are playing when they can sit and relax. Many rides were the same like bumper cars, swinging chairs, haunted house and fun house. There was also one of those g-force machines. I came to it just when a couple was paying to ride it and so I stopped. It was quite a process of two different harnesses and then the big iron bars locking them in. They were instructed where to put their feet and hands. All items had been put to the side, even her waist pack. Then they were hooked up and the bungees started tightening. You could watch the cords. It released and they flew up into the sky and then down and up and down over and over. They finally came to a rest and were brought back down. Her hair was no longer perfect. It looked like she had stuck her finger into a socket.