24th October Paris

 ** Now for something completely different. I really need to discuss something very briefly that has shocked me as a man, a husband, a father etc. You all know of the concept of a glass ceiling, well our hotel in Paris has taken the glass ceiling to a new and rather imaginable level. Ladies just consider yourselves walking over a transparent glass floor where there is a dining area underneath it; with people looking up! With you wearing a dress or a skirt! I leave the rest up to your imagination. This is the front foyer of our hotel. Their dining room is in the basement and the patrons can just look up and take in the view. And the best/weirdest part? The hotel is part of the '"Sisterhood Hotel" group. Surely a sisterhood would know better that putting females in such a position.

** Today is Melody's birthday. My wife is still a very spritely 55 year old, and looks great for it. And how would a husband treat his wife on her birthday? Take her to a cemetery, of course! Together with my sister, we went to visit the Père Lachaise Cemetery, which is only 10 minutes from the flat. Apparently it is one of the most visited cemeteries in the world. There are so many people of note buried there, including Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Chopin as well as highly emotional memorials to the thousands of Jewish people who were sent to the extermination camps.

** I took a number of what I believe are interesting photos. I would have taken more but my knee basically froze up in pain, overshadowing the extreme pain in my foot. Did not have a good day.

** However, visit the cemetery we did and as I said to Mel, one day she will leave me at a cemetery, but today is not that day.

Most interesting writing (script). It is the writing of the North African Tuereg peoples.

The grave of Braudel, who in my opinion, was one of the greatest historians of the 20th century. A man who always quoted multiple evidence for every thought he wrote down. I have four of his brilliant books at home in my library.

The following grave was one of the most emotional we passed. A 21 year old girl who was killed in 2015 during the Bataclan attack. The bronze plaque tells it all. Her life snuffed out by people who believe that religion is more important than life itself.

Our timing was good today.  A storm looks like it is about to hit Paris. I took some shots trying to tracks the dark ominous clouds travelling across the north of Paris.