A bit of the Old World…

We really are in the Old World, aren’t we? I had kind of a time warp experience this morning. As the din slowly grew louder outside, I first thought that maybe a circus parade was making its way up our cobblestone street. But then I saw that it was an honest-to-goodness Organ Grinder. I had never seen an organ grinder in person before. The Grinder was walking along slowly, pushing his wheeled organ and turning the hand crank all the while. I was a tad disappointed that he was sans singe (no monkey). The surreal part was watching the modern Parisians bustle by the Grinder while talking and text messaging on their cell phones…

In the same vein, I was awoken by the cacophonous clanging of bells outside a few days ago (Cathy was kind enough to let me sleep in). I didn’t rouse quickly enough to see what it was, but Cathy said it was a guy pushing a cart. I’m betting it was the Sharpener (I’m sure there’s an actual name for this), the guy who goes through the neighborhood with a grindstone and sharpens knives and scissors and such. It’s too bad we missed him, because the knives in our apartment are really dull. Hopefully it won’t be too long before he comes around again.