Yesterday was actually a bit cold, and since I have a bit of a cold too, an easy day was prescribed. The mornings here have been chilly – as low as zero degrees – and then in the afternoon, very hot – layers are essential, as you remove bits and pieces. My plan was to climb the towers of Notre Dame, but there was a long line-up in a bitter wind, so I bought a purple beret and walked around the Ile de la Cité instead, those marvellous narrow medieval streets. Many things are closed Monday and it was very quiet – decided that I’d try, for once, to get a glace at the famous Bertillon there, since there didn’t seem to be a line-up for once – but there was no line-up because it was closed for the week. I discovered several quiet parks a stone’s throw from Notre Dame, one with a memorial to the many people, not only Jews but gypsies, political prisonners and homosexuals, deported from France to the camps during the war.