It was outside the Notre-Dame this morning that we first noticed the beggar schools. Little gatherings of Roma people being talked to brusquely by their pimp (usually an older woman) before being sent out to bring in their ‘charitable donations’. In this particular case they were definitely getting a pep talk. Perhaps business wasn’t going so well, or perhaps her students weren’t looking ‘needy’ enough. What ever she said to them, they took turns in approaching us with more determination.
There is no shortage of skams around here, all in the name of ‘money for nothing’. Later in the day we had the ol’ “please sir you have dropped a ring” trick played out before us. As you approach they throw a gold ring on the ground. They pick it up and give it too you, and since they helped you find it, they demand 20 euro. Even if you say that it isn’t yours, they still want money, because “it is real gold and I gave it to you.” Then there is the “Sign this petition for peace in Africa”. Well everyone wants peace in Africa so they sign up, but then they want money. You can bet your bottom dollar that the money that they collect doesn’t go to Africa.
There are so many scams going on that they are impossible to list. And then there is the straight out begging too, with the schools of beggars being run by pimps. The thing of note is that these woman who want money to feed their family, feed their little children, feed their dog, help their poor sick aunt, they all look pretty healthy. And from what we have heard, many of them own several apartments, are very well off, and all in the name of begging. It is unfortunate that those genuinely in need, don’t get the help that they need. It is unfortunate that it makes everyone cynical and think that anyone offering anything is either wanting money, or is about to rip them off while they are distracted. We saw a perfect example of this today, a young couple had signs offering people ‘free hugs’, and you could tell that people were standing back and wondering what new scam this was, but it appeared to be a couple of innocent tourists just out having fun.
Once we ran the gauntlet of beggars we got inside the Notre-Dame. ‘Our Lady’ is very dark, very cold, and very large. She has very impressive stained glass windows and the flying buttresses (the ones that Quasimodo slid down) really are very impressive. What we did find inside was an alter to St Denis. St Denis? We didn’t know that there was one. We also found that they sold takeaways in there … takeaway candles for 10 euro. So yes, another commercial church. However it does have a very impressive history. The foundation stone was laid in 1163, and it took 170 years to complete (quick by European standards), and she was almost destroyed at the time of the revolution. Evidentally the masses that stormed through her lopped the heads off all the statues thinking that they were nobles, when in fact they were apostles and saints. But then that is hardly surprising when they have statues of the likes of St Denis. We’ll run into a St Gavin next! As well as the rioters of the revolution, and Napoleon, the Notre-Dame has had some other interesting visitors. Joan of Arc was here, in fact they held a posthumous trial for her and found her to be innocent of heresy. What a shame it was 24 years after she had been burnt at the stake.
From here we went for a wander through the Latin quarter. We were almost over run by the restaurant owners touting their menus, and competing for the lunch time euro. But we didn’t feel as threatened as the protesters would have, that were parading down St Michel’s Boulevard. The first indication that anything was going on was the mass of police officers that we saw padded up with gear that they were preparing for more than issuing parking tickets. What we saw on one street corner was 20 bikes, a dozen vans, a couple of buses, and more arriving, all spilling out police officers.
We had no idea what the protest was about, but there was a mass of what appeared to be predominantly black students, waving banners, banging drums, and blowing whistles as they moved down the street. We had the impression that the police here are well accustomed to containing these kind of crowds.
It was about now that it decided to bucket down with rain, and so we headed indoors at the Musee d’Orsay. What a fantastic art gallery, which starts with the building that houses it. This was the train station that was built to bring the crowds to the ‘Great Exposition’. After lasting several different phases of it’s life, it was turned into an art gallery after being considered for demolition. Inside the gallery is crammed with more great works than we can recall, but of note was the room dedicated to Van Gogh, heaps of impressionism, Monet’s waterlilies, Whistler’s mother, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Sisley, etc. Very, very cool. It is amazing to walk around these pieces, works that we would have never had the chance to see otherwise, but works that we have seen many times in books before now.
There is no shortage of skams around here, all in the name of ‘money for nothing’. Later in the day we had the ol’ “please sir you have dropped a ring” trick played out before us. As you approach they throw a gold ring on the ground. They pick it up and give it too you, and since they helped you find it, they demand 20 euro. Even if you say that it isn’t yours, they still want money, because “it is real gold and I gave it to you.” Then there is the “Sign this petition for peace in Africa”. Well everyone wants peace in Africa so they sign up, but then they want money. You can bet your bottom dollar that the money that they collect doesn’t go to Africa.
There are so many scams going on that they are impossible to list. And then there is the straight out begging too, with the schools of beggars being run by pimps. The thing of note is that these woman who want money to feed their family, feed their little children, feed their dog, help their poor sick aunt, they all look pretty healthy. And from what we have heard, many of them own several apartments, are very well off, and all in the name of begging. It is unfortunate that those genuinely in need, don’t get the help that they need. It is unfortunate that it makes everyone cynical and think that anyone offering anything is either wanting money, or is about to rip them off while they are distracted. We saw a perfect example of this today, a young couple had signs offering people ‘free hugs’, and you could tell that people were standing back and wondering what new scam this was, but it appeared to be a couple of innocent tourists just out having fun.
Once we ran the gauntlet of beggars we got inside the Notre-Dame. ‘Our Lady’ is very dark, very cold, and very large. She has very impressive stained glass windows and the flying buttresses (the ones that Quasimodo slid down) really are very impressive. What we did find inside was an alter to St Denis. St Denis? We didn’t know that there was one. We also found that they sold takeaways in there … takeaway candles for 10 euro. So yes, another commercial church. However it does have a very impressive history. The foundation stone was laid in 1163, and it took 170 years to complete (quick by European standards), and she was almost destroyed at the time of the revolution. Evidentally the masses that stormed through her lopped the heads off all the statues thinking that they were nobles, when in fact they were apostles and saints. But then that is hardly surprising when they have statues of the likes of St Denis. We’ll run into a St Gavin next! As well as the rioters of the revolution, and Napoleon, the Notre-Dame has had some other interesting visitors. Joan of Arc was here, in fact they held a posthumous trial for her and found her to be innocent of heresy. What a shame it was 24 years after she had been burnt at the stake.
From here we went for a wander through the Latin quarter. We were almost over run by the restaurant owners touting their menus, and competing for the lunch time euro. But we didn’t feel as threatened as the protesters would have, that were parading down St Michel’s Boulevard. The first indication that anything was going on was the mass of police officers that we saw padded up with gear that they were preparing for more than issuing parking tickets. What we saw on one street corner was 20 bikes, a dozen vans, a couple of buses, and more arriving, all spilling out police officers.
We had no idea what the protest was about, but there was a mass of what appeared to be predominantly black students, waving banners, banging drums, and blowing whistles as they moved down the street. We had the impression that the police here are well accustomed to containing these kind of crowds.
It was about now that it decided to bucket down with rain, and so we headed indoors at the Musee d’Orsay. What a fantastic art gallery, which starts with the building that houses it. This was the train station that was built to bring the crowds to the ‘Great Exposition’. After lasting several different phases of it’s life, it was turned into an art gallery after being considered for demolition. Inside the gallery is crammed with more great works than we can recall, but of note was the room dedicated to Van Gogh, heaps of impressionism, Monet’s waterlilies, Whistler’s mother, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Sisley, etc. Very, very cool. It is amazing to walk around these pieces, works that we would have never had the chance to see otherwise, but works that we have seen many times in books before now.
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