End of a series

Today was not a good weather day but it was a fine day for riding a bicycle. It wasn't quite warm enough and the sky remained totally overcast throughout my ride but I felt pretty good, the ride was a success.

And I met some people. I was riding up towards the house with the bicycle signs that I have photographed a couple of times. The home owners were leaving the house to go for a walk and the male half of the partnership stepped out into the middle of the street and flagged me down. They have noticed me riding past "lots of times" and were curious.

Their names are Rick and Lolly and they ride. The signs are not just for show. Rick proved he was a bicyclist by having on a Tour de France hoodie and by remarking that he rode 53 miles yesterday. They were taking a walk today as a recovery day. Upon ferreting out from me information about where I live Lolly proved she was a bicyclist by asking the very, very pertinent question, "Where do you cross Snelling?" Crossing Snelling is a big, big issue and all bicyclists know that. In your car you just wait at the light, not so easy on two wheels. The answer, by the way, is Garden. Lolly immediately agreed that Garden was probably the best place.

Even though the skies did very significantly lighten from about the 7 mile mark to about the 10 mile mark there was never, ever a break. It was totally grey for the entire time I was out. A byproduct of totally grey is that I didn't get any photos today.

I was leaving the garage in my car for my post ride errands when it started to rain.

I tried to stay pretty close to home but a mostly east but partly south wind eventually led me to the Fairgrounds. On tap for this weekend are:

Midwest Comic Book Association SpringCon comic book convention, Saturday and Sunday at the Education Building.

The Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo and the Saint Paul Women's Expo, Saturday and Sunday at the Progress Center. Beyond referring to outdated gender stereotypes which I am reluctant to do I find myself as unsure as everyone else why something called the Saint Paul Women's Expo is held in conjunction with the Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo.

The Art on a Line watercolor art show, Friday through Sunday at the Fine Arts Building.

And probably the biggest event, the YMCA Garage Sale, Wednesday through Saturday at the Merchandise Mart.

I was a little surprised to discover that apparently there is no horse show this weekend.

This is the end of a series because even though I have double checked My Photos I seem to be completely out of old stone French churches which have not already been featured. So here is the last.

This is a really nice, old stone church. It is one of the oldest in town, certainly the oldest of churches anywhere near that size. It is also almost certainly the largest, it is the Saint Paul Cathedral.The Saint Paul Cathedral is a really nice old stone church. It isn't anywhere as old as this one:That's Notre Dame de Paris (in English: Our Lady of Paris), also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, photographed from the very commonly photographed west side.

That is an interesting photo, I think. Usually that square in front of the church is teeming with tourists. I was out on an early morning (for Paris) walk when I took the photo. There are only two other human beings visible in the photo.

Construction on Notre Dame began in 1163. There is a stained glass window, what is called the North Rose window which is substantially unchanged since the 13th century. These two things alone make Notre Dame a much nicer and undeniably older stone church.

Here is another view of the exterior, this one taken from the upper level balcony at the Pantheon. That's the south facade.The series is probably over although I have noticed that I have a CD here with "Paris photos" written on it. I know that CD to be a back up of photos taken by Wireless. I may just review that CD and, who knows, perhaps there WILL be more of the series. Certainly I have many more local nice old stone churches available to provide contrast.