Ile St. Louis is my favorite part of Paris, so I was looking forward to visiting its Roman equivalent, Tiber Island. But beyond their both being islands, they don't have much in common. Tiber Island looks dramatic in the aerial photo, and is connected to the river banks by two pedestrian bridges, the oldest of Rome's many bridges. In Ancient Rome, there was a temple to Aesculapius, the Roman god of healing, and naturally attracted the city's sick in search of a cure. Over the centuries this was formalized into a hospital, which is flourishing today. It's doing so well that it now occupies the entire island, and its undoubtedly interesting medieval parts are buried in a sea of modern medical buildings. Needless to say the quaint streets of Ile St. Louis are more captivating than Tiber Island's waiting rooms and maternity wards.

I remember the weather was really cold, in fact snowing a couple of times despite it being April. So we went shopping the first day to buy some winter clothes. In general, much as I love Paris, it does have crap weather, about as bad as London, but somehow only London gets tagged with that reputation. This is Somchai on a bridge across the Seine in front of the Ile St. Louis, which is my favorite part of Paris despite the tourist hordes. It's a small island in the middle of the river (Notre Dame Cathedral is on the other island) and is lined with elegant buildings. The main street is quite busy with tourists and some shops, but the rest of the island is quite peaceful. They also have Berthillon ice cream, which I think accounts for its popularity with tourists. It is quite good, and there's nothing like walking around with a camera and an ice cream cone in Paris to blend in with the locals.