Our little island was a very touristy area that had a lot of street musicians. We walked by them several times every day and really enjoyed them. Chuck even bought CD’s from several of them. One lone guy, The Troubadour of Paris, was playing at the end of the bridge by Notre Dame and we realized he was the same one on this very same corner when we came by here just over a year ago. At that time, he played Romance by an unknown composer which is one of our favorites. This time around Chuck asked him to play it while he recorded him. The Troubadour seemed a little nervous, maybe because he was being recorded.

One afternoon we were in our room where I was working on the blog and Chuck was taking a nap. Our hotel is only about 1/2 block from the pedestrian bridge that goes over to Notre Dame – the bridge that always has the street musicians on it. I heard the music playing and thought the performers were back – but they sounded so close and it sounded like a full orchestra! When I leaned out of the window to look, I realized they were down below our windows and because the street is so narrow, the sound came up and in through our 5th floor window. And although it sounded like a whole orchestra down there, I discovered it was only one guy with a clarinet, another with a trumpet and a boombox on wheels for their back-up. That guy on the clarinet was really good.

There was always somebody on the pedestrian bridge playing music. We thought these 2 guys were especially good. Unfortunately we’re terrible at recording videos but it kind of gives you the idea of both the music and the surroundings. It’s windy on the bridge which explains the wind noise on the video.

The streets along the Seine are high above the water, but there are frequent stairs or ramps that take you directly down to stone walkways right along the river. This is where all of the young people congregate in the evening, enjoying picnics, talking, and making their own live music.

This group was very animated. I like his yellow trombone and the guy in the red pants had some really good moves. Unlike the musicians on the bridge who perform for donations, these guys are just part of the group and they play for the enjoyment of it.