New Apartment and Mandela Exhibit at City Hall

Monday June 24 was move day to our new apartment where we will be for the rest of our visit to Paris.  As we had mentioned, our landlady from last year had double-booked the apartment we stayed at last June.  She was very helpful in finding us a place to stay- our first six nights were at a friend of hers at the same address on Rue du Fer a Moulin in the 5th.  It was difficult finding a place for the remaining eight nights, but she found us a place on Rue de Bievre, also in the 5th, on a small street that runs between Saint Germain and the Seine.  Former President Mitterrand lived on this street and there is a small park dedicated to his wife, Danielle Mitterrand.  It is a great location.

There was supposed to be a taxi waiting for us at 12:15 p.m. to take us to the new place, where a friend of the landlady was to meet us with a key.  The cab didn't come and the guardian was about to call another, when a man walked down the street and (I thought) asked whether were we waiting for an ordered taxi.  We said "yes", got in his taxi and he took us to the new apartment.  He had mentioned that he was waiting at an address two numbers down from the place we were staying.  Just before we got to our new place, a message came on his screen and he asked if my name was "Waight..."  I said no.  It turned out someone two doors down had called a cab.  I thought he had said "were we waiting..." when he was really asking me if my name was "Waight...".  However, all's well that ends well, as Francoise was waiting for us and had the key from our new landlord.

Outside of apartment building

Living Room with high ceilings and fold out couch

 Bathroom

Bedroom

Kitchen

Courtyard

Corner of our street

There is a lovely small park on the street named in honour of Danielle Mitterand (1924-2011).

We then headed out to see an exhibit at  L'Hotel de Ville (City Hall).  We crossed the Seine where there are still bouquinistes, after all these years.

Les Bouquinistes  2013

At Les Docks on Sunday, there was an exhibit of some old Paris pictures.  Here are the Bouquinistes from years gone by.

Bouquinistes Paris 1934 - Jaques Boyer/Roger Violet

We walked by Notre Dame Cathedral which is celebrating 850 years of existence.

Notre Dame Door

We reached City Hall and went to see Nelson Mandela: de Prisonnier a President (From Prisoner to President).  The exhibit, which is free, was part of a South African Season in France, and was put together by the Apartheid Museum in cooperation with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.  It could not have been more timely, with the news of Mandela's failing health.  The exhibit was very celebratory, touching on the facets of Character, Comrade, Leader, Prisoner, Negotiator and Statesman.

There was some interesting history of the France - South Africa connection.  In 1960, Charles de Gaulle and Hendrik Verwoerd, architect of apartheid, made a secret pact for South Africa to provide France with uranium in exchange for French military supplies and nuclear technology.  By 1965, France was by far South Africa's biggest supplied of arms.  When Mitterand came to power in 1981, Franco-South African policy was revised.  The exhibit deals with Mandela's 27 years in prison and his later presidency, with a focus on his travel to many countries who had supported the anti-apartheid position.

Poste

Recreation of  Mandela's cell in front of City Hall

Inside the exhibit

Photo of Nelson Mandela's father

Beaded portraits of Mandela

The Rogue's Gallery of white South Africans from the
Afrikaner Nationalist Party which brought  in 46 years of apartheid.

Mandela with law school colleagues in 1943, including Ruth First (later assassinated) and
George Bizos (who became one of Mandela's main lawyers and whom I met in 1990)

Mandela dancing

Cartoon commemorating Mandela  by Zapiro

We left the exhibit, and outside of City Hall was a garden project and children's play area (some ideas for Mayor Ford...)

Kids playing in front of City Hall

We wandered around the Marais for a little longer, stopping at Merci, the concept store, and then having an apero nearby.

Car outside of Merci

Toby having her Diabolo menthe 

Back to the apartment for some pasta and to wait for our friend Shirley to arrive.  Unfortunately, the internet crashed last night, so I am finishing the post this morning.  Shirley and Alain just came back from shopping for dinner.