Hôtel de Ville and other random things

Soooo on Wed we went ice skating in front of Paris's Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) where every winter, the city sets up a skating rink. It was pretty cool to skate there at night cuz not only is it a beautiful building that looks great all lit up at night, but it is also such a historic location. It served for many years as the site of public executions and was the first place in Paris (and all of France, I think) to witness the use of the guillotine when common criminal Nicolas Jacques Pelletier was executed here in 1792. 

Also that night, I went to a hip hop show (or "le eeeep oppp" as the French call it). I thought it was going to be either amazingly good or hilariously bad, but like Eclipse, it ended up being neither good enough to appreciate nor bad enough to truly laugh at. It was just serious. Like, they danced to MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, which I thought was interesting and wondered how many of the audience (or the dancers) actually had any idea what was being said. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was good and they were talented and I can't say that I didn't enjoy watching young French men dance with their shirts off (http://www.par-alleles.com/compagnie-par-allèles/album-photo/ - oh hayyyyy), but I guess I was just kinda hoping that it would be more about having fun than sending a message. Oh well. The best part of it all (other than the shirtless boys, of course) was the fact that I finally got to the 10th arondissement, which was great, as I had so far only been to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th and was beginning to think I was gonna be stuck there forever. Here's that graphic again in case you forgot what the arrondissements look like:

H'annnnyway, that's all for now. Stay warm and dry those of you back home who are buried in snow. Here are some nice photos to cheer you up!

 

 Hôtel de Ville. I tolddddd you it was pretty.

Hey girl heyyyyy

 This detail from the Hôtel de Ville is actually the city crest of Paris. The city's colors are blue and red (which are also represented on the country's flag, with the white standing for the Bourbon monarchy...) and the ship represents the city's livelihood, which once came from merchant ships delivering goods down the Seine.

 Ice skating at the Hôtel de Ville

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The Seine at night 

 

 

 A little bird we met at the bird market