Bill Haymes: Your Man in Paris

Nuit Blanche September 30, 2016

(These views are solely my own.)

Nuit Blanche (White Night) is happening tomorrow evening in Paris.

In French, if you have a sleepless night, it’s called a nuit blanche.  So Paris basically will stay awake all night, tomorrow night.

Many museums will be open through night, and dozens of events, performances, films, etc., will be happening all over town. The weather looks to be warm and dry so…I’m looking forward to walking in the city and seeing what can be seen.

I watched workmen assembling a large stage in front of Hotel de Ville yesterday. The stage had huge, cut-down trees lying atop it.  Dead, bleached, big. Perhaps it will be something involving climate change?  The French actually believe in science, so there doesn’t seem to be a disagreement over here that climate change is — in fact — happening.

A Car-free Paris…for one day September 25, 2016

(These opinions are mine alone.)

It’s Sunday in Paris and the city is banning cars from almost half the city centre today, according to an article in The Guardian.  I’m going to head out soon to see just what it’s like to walk along the Seine without keeping a constant eye out for approaching cars and motorbikes.

I suspect it will also be much less NOISY downtown because of this. The motorbikes  are horrendously loud and add to the discomfort and cacophony of being in a large city. I was impressed, earlier this month, that London is — in fact– quieter than Paris, because there are fewer cars (and virtually NO motorbikes) in its city centre.

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So, yes, downtown was amazingly free of traffic yesterday. So unusual, to see the streets filled with only bicycle riders, and a few taxis and buses. One photo above shows Quai des Gesvres, a normally always-busy one-way street which runs along la Seine; one shows Place de la Bastille, also usually clogged with traffic in a giant traffic circle.  As you can see…pretty quiet.

And blessedly QUIET it was, downtown. It was so much nicer, walking around down there, without the noise of motorized vehicles. One could wish it were that way all the time…

Ticket to Ride September 22, 2016

(These opinions are solely my own.)

Part of my joy of being in Paris — I love NOT HAVING TO POSSESS AN AUTOMOBILE.  Not being tethered to a car.

It is *so* freeing, to just hop on any bus or any metro and go where you need to go. No parking, no tolls, no gasoline, no car insurance, no breakdowns. So EASY! A week-long bus/metro pass is about $25. Cheaper for the month pass, cheaper still for the 1-year pass. That’s for unlimited travel on those buses, metro trains or trams.

I rode one bus to its terminus at the Eiffel Tower last week, just to view all the arrondissements it passed through enroute there.

In Nashville last January, my Volvo burned a valve and it took nearly three weeks for me to successfully repair it.  I realized during that time that — if one doesn’t have a car in my neighborhood — one isn’t going anywhere. The nearest bus pickup was at the Green Hills Mall, nearly 3 miles from my house.  That left taxis or Uber/Lyft. I didn’t have a smartphone, so…that left walking or biking were the only alternatives. Biking in Nashville is far too frightening for me, so…walking, where most streets have no sidewalks. Or asking friends for rides. Or renting a car, while I worked on mine. Bleah.

I realized a second thing – if one were unable to drive, one would be stuck in my neighborhood.

I think Nashville is trying to improve its mass transit. But it is interesting to be in a large cosmopolitan city where mass transit works and is in place.  In EVERY neighborhood.

And Paris has many hindrances of its own to mass transit — narrow streets never intended for car & bus traffic, huge numbers of bike, moped, motorcycle riders, a large physical area to cover.  But Paris (and London) still make it work — they make mass transit timely, affordable and effective for all.

Paris even has Noctillien buses — special bus routes that run all night. So, if one is downtown until 3am and needs a ride home, one can take a Noctillien bus!

Mass transit which serves the people living in a place.  What a concept!

Promenade plantée September 18, 2016

(These opinions are mine alone.)

Just when I being to think, “yes, I know most of the special features of Paris, the special places,” then I happen upon something I’ve never seen before.

Promenade plantée (or Coulée verte) is an elevated park in Paris, built on an old railroad line. NYC has one as well, but this one in Paris predates it by years.

It begins right behind Bastille, my home-base for this trip. So, even though it was a cloudy and occasionally rainy day, I took a walk along the Coulée verte yesterday.

Full of greenery and gardens, it’s another peaceful oasis amid the tumult of a great city…and this one is 20 feet above the street, adding to the remove from traffic and other distractions.

It’s a favorite of joggers. A sign said (loosely translated) “We will tolerate joggers on this parkway, as long as they’re considerate of the walkers.”

Rainy night in Paris September 16, 2016

(These opinions are mine alone.)

Rainy night on the Place de la Bastille

Ah, the weather. One of the wild cards in travel. Several years ago, I came to Paris for 11 days and it rained for 10 of them.  Hard, soaking rain. Not my most enjoyable time here. Paris is a great city to walk in, but walking in a steady rain. With wet shoes and feet — Not so much fun.

This is another reason to take *long* trips.  Rain for 2 days during a 7-day visit is a very different equation from rain for 2 days during a 30-day sojourn.

I went out tonight, to try and walk a bit, enjoy the vibe of the 11th. But…too wet, too many people with umbrellas (like me) — it’s an intricate dance, to avoid bumping some else’s umbrella (or head) as you thread your way down narrow crowded sidewalks.  I gave up, decided on a quiet night at home. Listening to Annie Lennox, a person and voice somehow perfectly suited to a rainy night in Paris.

Inside / Outside September 13, 2016

(These opinions are solely my own.)

Street doors

In my experience, most of the older residential buildings in Paris are built on a courtyard system. A set of massive doors face the street. Through those doors is a passageway, often containing mailboxes and such, with yet another wall or barrier at the end of that hallway.  One key-code (or, less commonly now, one physical key) opens the outer doors, another opens the inner doors. Then, of course, there are keys to each apartment.

The building containing my apartment  is exactly so. One code to open the outer doors, another to open the inner ones, then two keys for my apartment.

Many apartments in such a building face into an inner courtyard area which is usually quiet and calm. Often there are ornamental plants growing there. Other apartments face the street and usually have double-paned glass in the windows, to block most street sounds.

My apt is a street-facing one this time, and has all-day light and cheerfulness because of that. The courtyard-facing apartments are, I’m sure, quieter but also darker.

For those of you who’ve ventured to New Orleans, it’s constructed this way as well.

There’s a sharp demarcation in Paris between “out there” — the street, the outside world of travel and business — and “in here,” the world of home, calm and family.

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A few further Paris observations.

Vaping (using electronic cigarettes) is dead here too, as I observed in London. Almost no one uses E-cigs, and nearly all the stores selling them — which were so numerous last year — are gone.

Most men I see on the street are carrying some kind of shoulder-bag or have a backpack. I guess men have more stuff to haul around than they used to.  (Hey, I walk around with a backpack too — water, ‘phone, light jacket, small umbrella, notebook, sunscreen, etc. Gotta have your items.)

EVERYTHING IS A STREET.  Anywhere a car, moped, motorcycle, bicycle can go, it WILL go. Which basically means, you are never safe as a pedestrian.  You can never lower your guard. This has been the case since my first trips to France.

Pedestrians – Attention!

My neighborhood September 10, 2016

(These opinion are mine alone.)

Boats on the Canal St. Martin

I’m living very close to the Opera at Place de la Bastille, and (almost) right next to the Canal St. Martin.  If the trees were shorter and not fully leafed-out, I’d be looking down on the boats shown above. The canal is right across the street, as is a small park. Excellent place for a picnic lunch.

Most folks are outdoors this Saturday, enjoying the sun and warm weather.  It’s 81 in Paris today. The cafes are full. However, the forecast for Monday & Tuesday = 91.  In NashVegas, that’s pretty normal.  In Paris…not so much.  As noted before, “Paris isn’t well suited for that kind of heat.”

Watched the world go by last night while sitting at a brasserie on the corner of rue de la Roquette & rue de Lappe. ( I’ll be writing more about that soon.) Drank my first French margarita.  It was cool-to-cold, but contained no ice — no cubes of ice, no crushed ice. No ice.  But…quite tasty. And no worries of it becoming ‘watered down.’  All good.

My apartment pantry is getting filled with my usual necessary items — bio (i.e., organic) blackberry jam, bio peanut butter, “American style” sliced bread (for sandwiches), French yogurt, Cantal cheese, apples, sardines with lemon and basil.  Eggs next, and a daily fresh baguette.

My tendency is to have breakfast at home, go out for a morning cafe creme at my “local” — le QG.  (The Headquarters)  Read the morning French ‘paper there. The off to walk, explore, and let the city come to me. Home mid-afternoon for lunch and the occasional nap. Back out in the city by early evening, to watch the world on parade.

Today I revisited my old haunts near Les Halles, which has been almost completely renovated. More open and spacious and also more modern.

Back home in Paris September 7, 2016

(These opinions are purely my own.)

Camels at the Place de la Bastille

Ah, back in Paris!!

I’ve been here fewer than 24 hours and — as usual — the City of Lights has already surprised me several times with unexpected sights.

(That’s the Bastille Opera House, behind those camels.)

As I look about me, I am remembering where I am.

Last night at dinner, I watched several diners casually douse their French fries with mayonnaise.  The falafel restaurant had soccer (futbol) on its big screen, the waiters glancing up to see how Les Bleus were doing. (final score: 0 – 0, FRA vs BLR).

Hard to express the feeling I have, just being here. It’s not euphoria. Paris is a giant city with noise and traffic and many problems — I see those as clearly as anyone.

But it just feels good to me to BE here.  As has always been the case…

Woke up today, spent a bit of time online, then out the door to my new local, for a café allongé, then off to find a grocery store. Even grocery shopping is interesting here. Who knew Nutella was so popular?  I checked out using the “self check-out” machines. Another learning experience.

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Further thoughts on London compared to Paris.

London has lots of joviality and geniality, to be sure.

But Paris has more kissing, embracing, hand-holding. I wasn’t on the streets more than 15 minutes before I saw my first couple exchanging a kiss, on rue St. Antoine.

And, I’d have to say, the conversations in cafes and brasseries, while perhaps not as filled with laughter, ARE filled with a certain intensity. The French love to talk, and those conversations mean something!

On a more prosaic note, London has TONS more buses than Paris and I didn’t experience any long waits for any of them. And nearly all are hybrid. As you’re riding, suddenly you feel the motor shut off. Then, it comes back on automatically a few minutes later.

Paris, fewer buses, often longer waits to catch one.

However, London buses don’t have maps of their routes *inside* the buses. ???  All Parisian buses have such maps.  If you’re riding bus 20 in Paris, you can see exactly where the route begins and ends, and all the stops each way. Helpful.

IT’S GREAT TO NOT NEED A CAR!   No searching for parking spaces.

Another comparison:  7-day travel pass for all tube lines & buses in London:  $43.00

7-day travel pass for all zones in Paris, buses and metros:  $24.75

Half-pint of ale at my local in London:  $2.50

Demi of Carlsburg , happy hour prices, Paris:  $4.20

Pre-Raphaelites September 6, 2016

(These opinions are solely my own.)

I came to London to look at paintings.

Oh, certainly, there were ancillary reasons. But my trip centered around seeing paintings — primarily, paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. The Tate Britain has several of those artists’ works, the other galleries, fewer.

Two of the most famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings are on display at the Tate Britain.

Ophelia, by John Everett Millais.

The Lady of Shalott, by John Waterhouse.

My first full day in London, I went immediately to the Tate, and spent the morning appreciating those, and other, paintings.  The Tate is a bit somber, rather hushed, but – suddenly – I heard classical music reverberating through the building. I walked to one of the main areas and saw … ballet dancers, filling the rather austere stone hall with their own movement and motion.  An added gift, free of charge, from the Tate to its visitors.

(All the national galleries are free of admission charge, by the way. As a Canadian woman I met said, “How cool is that!?”)

Fire on the Thames September 5, 2016

(These opinions are purely my own.)

So, here’s an odd thing.

The city of London built a 400-foot-long wooden replica of the 1666 London skyline, placed it on a barge on the Thames, and set fire to it last night.

Why?

In 1666, The Great Fire of London destroyed almost all of the city.  350 years ago.

The event last night was to — I’m having trouble finding the right verb, here —  “commemorate”? “remember”? “reenact”? (see the BBC’s word choice in their story) that conflagration.

I made my way down to the Thames around 6pm to see the actual model, resting on a barge between the Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridges. The photo above is only about 1/2 the model. (When I learned it wouldn’t be set alight until around 8:30, I opted for dinner instead. Elsewhere.)

It just seemed to me such an odd thing to do — to go to such trouble to recall/remember/reenact something that was a horrible disaster, a great tragedy.

Imagine San Francisco, choosing to build a model of its 1851 skyline, then setting it ablaze in the Bay. ???

Hey, I’m all about art, and I like some spectacle. I just don’t get why anyone would want to remember this event in this way. With real fire and all…