The only downside to my tiny studio under the roof is that I got to go two floors down in the morning to get my shower in my cousin’s apartment.
The upside, which entirely makes up for it, is that I have direct roof access (just got to step outside my window). Hanging on the roofs seems to be one of my favorite activities when in Paris… Unlike Tokyo or SF, European cities like Paris offer lotsa possibilities when you get on the roof of an old building: you can pretty much make your way around the whole block and sometimes farther if you are feeling very adventurous (and discreet, as, needless to say, the local police does not see these urban acrobatics with a keen eye).Of course, the times where you end up doing some climbing around are usually the times were you probably should not be doing it (like, after coming back with some friends from a night out drinking), but catching a summer sunrise on the roof in Paris is definitely film material.
Or just hang out on a clear night and watch the lights and listen to the city. It’s awe-inspiring. Did you get any pictures of the pathways (chemins-de-bois?) built over the Rue de Seine place? They were spectacular.
How odd to divert on the sights and sounds of a Paris rooftop…From this point, cool evenings watching the sky may most naturally produce encounters with the lighted bellies of snow geese south-a-going and, looking down, the slow-errand-like-meanderings of skunks. Going up the gene pool, I am most grateful he did not disturb or startle the latter.