Place de Vosges

There is a nice square called Place des Vosges, which is located a very short walk from where we're staying. It was built in 1605 by Henry IV. When I see that date, I think of how different from the little settlement at Jamestown just two years later. You know what I mean, here was this completely developed city,and there is primitive Jamestown. What a contrast. It has a grassy area with trees, a fountain, a statue, lots of benches. It's lovely to sit there in the shade and watch people. The birds are so used to being fed that they hop over and cock their heads at you, waiting for you to drop something to them. The corner house #6 is where Victor Hugo lived and wrote Les Miserables. There are restaurants, shops (including Issye Miyake) and, oh yes, a reminder of the inequities, homeless people sleeping under the arcade. It's difficult to capture the Place. Commercial postcards are best for that.