Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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There was no shopping on vendredi for the Cooleys. Instead, we were explorers for the day. Friday was one of our best days ever in Paris. And that’s really saying something! First of all, the weather was perfect. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, temperatures no higher than 78 degrees F. I’d suggested we walk up to the Seine to see the new pedestrianization improvements that we’ve been reading about in the past few years. This was it – many of the improvements were supposed to be completed, especially on our side, the left bank. After thoroughly enjoying a normal walk up around the Champ de Mars and on through the garden of the Musée du Quai Branly, we walked across the Passarelle de Billy only to see if the cat who lives aboard the Julia was out (he wasn’t), and we went on to the ramp where there used to be a highway along the left bank. We were accustomed to walking on that highway on Sundays when cars have been banned. Now, however, it is always a pedestrian area (bikes and rollerbladers, too). But the big change isn’t just that cars are gone – the huge difference is all the amenities that have been added. Tom and I are big fans of good infrastructure, and here it was, bigtime. Where to begin? First, perhaps, the barge. Or should I say barges? These are floating gardens and plazas. The officials call it the “archipel,” which roughly translates to “achipegalo,” but what they really mean is a cluster of floating islands meant for fun and relaxation. The relaxation is easy with some generous, double-size wooden lounge chairs. A delightful greenhouse rests on one of the barges. There are planters full of interesting vegetation, and some little floating beds of water plants that are struggling to take hold, but I think they will. French gardeners in Paris are highly skilled. We lingered on the archipel and enjoyed the sensation of movement, the gentle lilting of the barge, for so long that our inner ears still retained that sense of being afloat and in motion for a half hour after we’d left the barge. I mean, archipel. Everywhere, we kept finding great things for kids to climb and scamper upon. The whole stretch of amenities has so recently opened to the public that the kids haven’t found all these cool places yet. But they will, I’m sure. The serious infrastructure like the archipel wasn’t the only thing that impressed us. The simple planting of wildflower seed mixture where weeds once grew was a stroke of brilliance. Take what’s there already – i.e., native plants trying to take hold again – and enhance it, encourage it. That’s what the landscapers did – in all those dusty, barren places where weeds/wildflowers were trying to grow, wildflowers now grow profusely. Go with nature, don’t fight it. Wow. Look at the results! Simple infrastructure, like new higher curbs that more distinctly define the roadway are also an improvement. Pavers were not used in this section of the left riverbank, for the most part. Instead, most of the walking surface is blacktop, which is much kinder to the feet than pavers or cobblestones are. One of the inconveniences we’d long experienced on our long Seine walks on Sundays of the past was the lack of public restrooms. Who wants to go climbing back up to street level and walking for several blocks just to find a bathroom that one may use? Now, public restrooms exist at points here and there along the banks of the Seine. They will take a lot of maintenance, but they are so worth it, for the goodwill they will generate. Paris has long been criticized for lack of public restrooms, and so they added the sanisettes on the streets of the city. Now, the next improvement is here: the public restrooms on the banks. The riverbank now has places to eat, and lots of places where you can bring your own picnic (but no food is allowed on the archipel). What we initially thought were timbers waiting to be assembled into something else turned out to be already functioning as they were intended. They are meant to be used as benches. But they do resemble timbers waiting to be barged somewhere. So clever! One of the most unique additions is called Zzz. It is an area where solarium-like cabanas can be rented so that you can have a gathering or picnic with friends in your own rented space, for privacy from the passing masses. We did check out the places to dine. But since they are all outdoors, they all allow smoking everywhere. At every table, there was an ashtray. Also, there was just enough breeze to make dining out perhaps a bit challenging, and we found ourselves wanting the comforts of a fine brasserie as we worked up an appetite, walking so far. So we when we reached the end of this stretch of former highway, now pedestrian wonderland, we walked up the ramp just past the Musée D’Orsay and went into Le Frégate, an old favorite. It is a beautiful, classic Parisian brasserie, convenient to the Orsay and the Louvre. And the berges (riverbanks). Tom ordered a mushroom omelet and fries, and I had a chicken Caesar salad. All was good, except for Tom’s coffee after the meal. He’d ordered a double espresso, and received a yucky allongé (coffee diluted with hot water) instead. I am sure the server understood him, because she repeated une double, espresso after he said it, but she or the bartender wrongly, very wrongly, assumed that he really wanted what they wrongly call a café americain, or café allongé. Even with this serious strike against Le Frégate, we still like the place very much. We walked on toward the Île de la Cite, where the cobblestones begin on the left riverbank. By then, we were getting to be quite footsore. The Six Huit, a barge/bar where we used to stop for a drink only because the view was so good, is now gone. It isn’t a great loss, but in its place is a houseboat with a little ice cream terrace on top. I’m sure Paris can do better than that, for such a prime location! Next to it, however, is now Maxim’s barge. That’s more like it. We kept on walking until finally the cobblestones gave way to smoother pavers, but we didn’t last much longer. At the Pont de la Tournelle, we went up to the street level and walked down the rue Cardinal Lemoine to the grand boulevard Saint Germain. From there, it wasn’t too far to our metro line 10, the Maubert Mutualité station. We stopped briefly at the wine shop and the bakery upon exiting the Émile Zola station. When we entered the door of the apartment building, it was probably about 4:30PM. We’d started out that morning at 9:30AM, so we’d been walking for a long time (with a lunch break in the middle somewhere). Something was different about the elevator. I initially decided it was simply that the basement stairway door behind it was open, and the workers had lights on back there. But no, a worker was working on the elevator. It was not in service. Wow. After all that walking, we walked up to the 5th floor (what we’d call the 6th floor. One of the neighbors who came in behind us said not to worry, it was just for today. But the worker seemed to think it would be for the entire weekend. We haven’t gone out yet
today, so we don’t know yet. On va voir . . . .
Le Frégate. |
Saturday, July 13, 2013
On
the archipel,
on the left bank near the Pont de l’Alma.
Weeds
told the landscapers what to plant:
wildflowers.
What
look like stacked timbers waiting to be shipped on a barge are actually meant
for sitting upon.
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