The alley....
This is just one of the many narrow cobblestone streets of Paris. In this section of town, the buildings and streets are left over from medieval Paris. The tops of the buildings really do lean towards each other, so that the tops are much closer together than the apartments at the bottom of the buildings. One guide told us that this is because the residents could throw their garbage and waste down into the streets without hitting the people passing below. So much for the romance of Paris! I couldn't help but to look it up every once in a while to make sure that nothing was being thrown out of a window.... The pavement is built up higher on the edges of the street, and there was a channel in the middle for all of the garbage to float away.
The alley....
This is just one of the many narrow cobblestone streets of Paris. In this section of town, the buildings and streets are left over from medieval Paris. The tops of the buildings really do lean towards each other, so that the tops are much closer together than the apartments at the bottom of the buildings. One guide told us that this is because the residents could throw their garbage and waste down into the streets without hitting the people passing below. So much for the romance of Paris! I couldn't help but to look it up every once in a while to make sure that nothing was being thrown out of a window.... The pavement is built up higher on the edges of the street, and there was a channel in the middle for all of the garbage to float away.