Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Parisians are masters of
the promenade. They love to walk, and
they are good at making fine places to walk.
When an opportunity arises to make another great new place to walk,
they seize it. An elevated train track in
the eastern part of central Paris’ right bank was abandoned in 1969. Parisians turned it into the place which
now seems to have three names: Viaduc
des Arts, Promenade Plantée, and now Coulée Verte. As a promendade/park, it was inaugerated in
1993. The designers were landscape
architect Jacques Vergely and architect Philippe Mathieux. I guess the name Promenade
Plantée (and Coulée Verte) includes
more than just the elevated stretch from behind the Opera at Bastille to the
Jardin de Reuilly. It inclues the
Allée Vivaldi, and then a green stretch beyond that which almost reaches the
Periphérique beltway. What we like is the
elevated part, over the Viaduc des Arts, between Bastille and Reuilly. So that’s where we walked yesterday,
starting at mid-day. We took the line
8 all the way over to the Ledru Rollin stop to begin. Before we walked down the
avenue Ledru Rollin to climb the stairs up to the Promenade, we walked a very
short distance from the metro to a park I’d noticed on the map -- one which
we’d not visited before. It is called the Square
Trousseau. The neighborhood park,
which reminds me much of the park at the Place du Commerce in the 15th,
was the site of the ancient Hospice des
Enfants Trouvés. That’s right –
the place for abandoned children.
Foundlings. That’s what the place
became in 1674. About a 1000 children
were abandoned each year in Paris in those days. This institution received about 600 of
them. It became the Sainte-Marguerite
hospital in 1839, and then the Trousseau hospital for enfants malades (sick children) in 1880. Then in 1902,
the hospital was demolished and the name transferred to the Hôpital Trousseau that is now on the
avenue du Docteur-Arnold-Netter. So the Trousseau and
Commerce parks are about the same age, and their gazebo/bandstands are very
similar. Square Trousseau is known
for some of its specimen plants, including a contorted/weeping locust tree, a
goldenrain tree, hawthorns, and a “philodendron
de l’amour.” After visiting the Square
Trousseau, we walked down the tree-lined avenue Ledru Rollin, which reminded
us of the 15th arrondissement before it became so chic and
trendy. Well, parts of the 15th
are still like the avenue Ledru Rollin, I suppose. I particularly liked one
jewelry store window. It appeared that
jewelry was made there, although some of it seemed to be old. I smiled at the woman sitting inside. I decided she was the proprietor, the
jeweler. I later checked out her web
sites. That was her, most
definitely. She reminded me somewhat
of Glenn Close. Her business
specializes in buying old jewelry. One of the places I’ve
wanted to visit for a while is the church of Saint-Antoine des Quinze
Vingts. I’d see it from the Promenade
Plantée , but that was always inconvenient – to have to leave the Promenade
and then climb back up. But there we were at last,
on the street level with the church.
We went in for a visit. Tom was curious about the
significance of the name “Quinze Vingts.”
It is also the name of the old hospital behind the Bastille
Opera. “Quinze Vingts” is a
reference to the old vigésimal
numbering system, used in much of Europe during the middle ages. Its predominant use pre-dates the rise of
the decimal system. “Quinze Vingts” is
300, of course (15x20). The system was
used in commerce because it was practical in that it limited the number of
units necessary and didn’t require knowing how to count in large numbers. Vestiges of the vigésimal (also called vicésimal) system remain in the French
language, including the way the French say 80: quatre-vingt, or 4x20. The neighborhood called
“Quinze Vingts” takes its name from the Hôpital
Quinze Vingts, the old opthalmological hospital whose address is on the
rue de Charenton (behind the Bastille Opera). The hospital originally had
300 beds. Hence the name, in the old
numbering system. The original goal of
this hospital, founded in 1260 by
Louis IX, was to receive blind Parisians who were in a state of extreme
distress. Can you imagine being poor
and blind in Paris in the 13th century? After our visit to the
church, we climbed up to the Promenade and had a thoroughly enjoyable
walk. We noted the wear and tear on
the Promenade’s infrastructure. It’s
been there 20 years now. One problem
with adding all these amenities is the additional maintenance they
require. But it is worth it. Speaking of maintenance,
we’ve noticed that the water features in the parks are in need of much work,
throughout the city. So many fountains and pools
are empty and under repair this year!
Such was the case with the beautiful, long pool of water on the
Promendade Plantée . No matter. Here are my photos from my journal entry of
June 25, 2003,
that show you what it should have looked like yesterday. Some photos of the lower
part of the Promenade Plantée , called the Viaduc des Arts, has art galleries
and workshops in the arched spaces of the arcade. We didn’t go down to that level yesterday,
but here are some photos from my journal entry of August 17, 2001,
that shows what this part looks like. Work
on the arcade under the Promenade started in 1989. We ended our walk on the
Promenade with a stroll through the Jardin de Reuilly and then refreshments
on the Allée de Vivaldi, at a place now called O Cantina, but also still called
Bella Tavola, which is how we remembered it: as an Italian Restaurant. Now it is both Italian and Tex Mex. Actually, this place was
called the “Tex Mex Grill” when we first went there in August 2001. We still remember with great fondness a black
kitten that we met on the terrasse
there. Scroll down to the bottom of my
journal entry for August 17, 2001,
and you’ll see that little charmer, who must be an old charmer now. As you’re scrolling, you’ll see photos of
similar things in the Jardin de Reuilly, but taken 12 years ago. Bella Tavola/O Cantina
looks small on the outside, where we sat.
But when I went inside to use the restroom, I was reminded how big it
is. Its dining room stretches way
back, like a cavern, in its modern building.
I noticed a stage with a piano and stage lights in the middle of an
atrium, and an upper level of dining overlooking that. Later, I noticed a poster
advertising a grande soirée to be
held there on Friday night. There was
to be a 3-euro cover charge per table.
I asked our server what kind of music would be played at the grande soirée. He explained that there would be no music,
but instead, card games! Tom asked if
it was poker. The server said no, not
poker, but instead these would be games to challenge the mind. I thought that was kind of funny, but Tom
thinks it simply means that the purpose of the games is not gambling. If that huge bi-level
dining room is filled up, that really is a grande soirée. I’d love to
see it, but I do not want to participate.
I don’t like card games. We came home and rested
briefly, then I went out to see what daily special was posted at Le Café du
Commerce, and to check out a restaurant that La Fourchette claims exists on
the rue Frémicourt. The daily special
at Le Café was indeed travers de porc,
as we’d hoped it would be. The
restaurant called Gaby which is promoted in LaFourchette.com does not exist
on the rue Frémicourt. I wonder how
many people make reservations there via LaFourchette.com, and then arrive in
the ugly construction zone on that block, only to find that the resto does
not exist? On my way back, it was
about 6:50PM, so I just stopped in at Le Café du Commerce and made a
reservation for 8PM. When we arrived, we were
cheerfully greeted and given a nice table upstairs. We began our dinner by
sharing an appetizer called a crumble
d’aubergines au chèvre frais (photo below). This is an “eggplant and goat cheese
crumble,” but it sure sounds better in French, doesn’t it? That starter was delicious
and more than satisfying. Then the
barbequed pork ribs were terrific. The
puréed potatoes were uninteresting, and so we pretty much ignored them. Then Tom ordered the baba au rhum, which was fun and very good, as usual.
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Thursday, August 1, 2013
The
gazebo/bandstand in the Square Trousseau.
We
stepped through a doorway off the avenue Ledru
Rollin and found a network of little streets with furniture and upholstery
shops and workshops.
On
the avenue Ledru Rollin, a jewelry shop, whose
jeweler looks like Glenn Close.
The
church of Saint-Antoine des Quinze Vingts.
The
Promenade Plantée . |
