Paris: the last tango? I think not!
Jun 17, 2009 23:34:48 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2009 23:34:48 GMT
Tonight was extremely balmy, so I felt it was necessary to report on a peculiar Parisian activity which is endlessly fascinating to the tourists who get a glimpse of it. The great majority of the tourists who see this are on the Seine cruise boats after 21:00, so they see it but have no idea where it was happening and generally can't find the place again.
So I will tell you: this is Quai Saint Bernard, just below the Institut du Monde Arabe. Another way to qualify the location is: "just behind the tail of the Ile Saint Louis."
I made a point of approaching the location from the right bank tonight. I took a bus to Gare de Lyon and walked from there. The first thing I saw were the central Paris picnickers.
I arrived in the area at 21:00 and the temperature was still at least 25°C.
The tip of Ile Saint Louis was also quite popular. That is where I crossed the bridge to the Left Bank.
Meanwhile, the evening sky was strangely filled with A-330's on the verge of disintegrating above Paris.
I glanced at the Right Bank expressway as I crossed over it (the 'voie Georges Pompidou' named purposely after the man who desecrated Paris). This is where the 'Paris Plage' central Paris operation takes place for a month (this year from July 20th to August 20th). It is pretty much a done deal now that within a few years this expressway will be closed forever and turned over to leisure activities.
The Quai Saint Bernard gardens and quay were also filled with picnickers.
But this isn't what I had come to see. You can find picnics in every Parisian park, bridge, square, canal, etc., all through the summer. It is not really a big deal.
I was after the nightly dancing.
The Quai Saint Bernard is the location of a nightly outdoor dance party from May to September. There are different areas for salsa, jazz, tango, rock, etc. On the weekend, it gets so crowded that people must fall in the water. But this was just Wednesday, no problem.
The first place I visited was the salsa zone. This place has real disc jockeys and a sophisticated sound system.
But the most impressive area is often the tango zone.
I rapidly noticed that the tango ladies have a definite shoe fetish. Okay, ladies. Don't expect me to ever do this again, but I have decided this one time, and one time only, to give you a display of tango shoes for ladies.
God, I just hope you realize how painful that was for me to do.
The dancing in the various zones became more and more frenzied.
Some of the latino males were shedding some of their clothing.
Yes, they know exactly how they are going to spend their night.
Meanwhile, the immigrant community crept in with fuel for the dancers.
Hey, it's a work night, so it was time for me to leave.
I went back up to street level and briefly admired the IMA in the encroaching darkness.
I jumped on a Vélib and pedaled my way home.
18 minutes from the center of Paris to my neighborhood. I will never understand why so many people want to pay double just to be by the river.
Oh, obviously you can see Notre Dame from the Quai Saint Bernard as well, so here's a monument for once.
So I will tell you: this is Quai Saint Bernard, just below the Institut du Monde Arabe. Another way to qualify the location is: "just behind the tail of the Ile Saint Louis."
I made a point of approaching the location from the right bank tonight. I took a bus to Gare de Lyon and walked from there. The first thing I saw were the central Paris picnickers.
I arrived in the area at 21:00 and the temperature was still at least 25°C.
The tip of Ile Saint Louis was also quite popular. That is where I crossed the bridge to the Left Bank.
Meanwhile, the evening sky was strangely filled with A-330's on the verge of disintegrating above Paris.
I glanced at the Right Bank expressway as I crossed over it (the 'voie Georges Pompidou' named purposely after the man who desecrated Paris). This is where the 'Paris Plage' central Paris operation takes place for a month (this year from July 20th to August 20th). It is pretty much a done deal now that within a few years this expressway will be closed forever and turned over to leisure activities.
The Quai Saint Bernard gardens and quay were also filled with picnickers.
But this isn't what I had come to see. You can find picnics in every Parisian park, bridge, square, canal, etc., all through the summer. It is not really a big deal.
I was after the nightly dancing.
The Quai Saint Bernard is the location of a nightly outdoor dance party from May to September. There are different areas for salsa, jazz, tango, rock, etc. On the weekend, it gets so crowded that people must fall in the water. But this was just Wednesday, no problem.
The first place I visited was the salsa zone. This place has real disc jockeys and a sophisticated sound system.
But the most impressive area is often the tango zone.
I rapidly noticed that the tango ladies have a definite shoe fetish. Okay, ladies. Don't expect me to ever do this again, but I have decided this one time, and one time only, to give you a display of tango shoes for ladies.
God, I just hope you realize how painful that was for me to do.
The dancing in the various zones became more and more frenzied.
Some of the latino males were shedding some of their clothing.
Yes, they know exactly how they are going to spend their night.
Meanwhile, the immigrant community crept in with fuel for the dancers.
Hey, it's a work night, so it was time for me to leave.
I went back up to street level and briefly admired the IMA in the encroaching darkness.
I jumped on a Vélib and pedaled my way home.
18 minutes from the center of Paris to my neighborhood. I will never understand why so many people want to pay double just to be by the river.
Oh, obviously you can see Notre Dame from the Quai Saint Bernard as well, so here's a monument for once.
