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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 14:24:43 GMT
I made a photo report about the summer boat ride on this route, leaving from Stalingrad, which you can take in July and August for 1€ on Saturdays and 2€ on Sundays. It is completely subsidized by the department of Seine Saint Denis, which has the worst reputation -- possibly unjustified -- of all of France. The only reason there is a charge at all is because some of families would probably stay on the boats all day if they could ride free. Anyway, there is no problem at this time of year, because there is no tourist boat on that route. And even though the bicycle path goes along the Canal de l'Ourcq all the way from Paris to Meaux, I don't have a personal bike to make such a trip. The municipal Vélib bikes start costing money and then more and more money after the first 30 minutes. The weather was cool but quite good, so I decided to see if I could walk the route this time. I took the tramway to the Ella Fitzgerald station which is the closest to the canal, and I headed out of the city.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 14:37:07 GMT
I'll get back to the rest of this report a bit later.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 16:59:12 GMT
Okay, I know -- so far nothing exciting. However, I hope you noticed that it was forbidden to continue at the big building. I kept going anyway. I am so daring.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 19:27:33 GMT
Across the canal is the SNCF maintenance centre for the eastern sector. The eastern rail tracks run all along the canal for quite some time. To my dismay, there were signs -- a bit difficult to read -- telling me that the path was closed ahead. So I walked up a lateral street to get back to the bridge to the other side. And on a perpendicular street, I saw that civilisation was very close -- the RN3 highway to Reims and Metz. This house was clearly built without ever consulting an architect. What an odd place to live! As I crossed the bridge, I saw there was a canal service station. I also wondered if I was soon going to be drenched, because the sun was gone. This is the path I had left. On the other side of the canal, things were looking up.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2014 16:27:50 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 5:24:51 GMT
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Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2014 6:11:21 GMT
As much as I like street art and appreciate the painting by many of them, I get really annoyed at the mindless tagging of information and things like the photograph of the vegetable farmers.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 11, 2014 13:59:07 GMT
Great walk so far Kerouac - I do agree with bjd. When I saw the mindless scribble on the old photo ( the people in it long dead and buried) I felt sad. Maybe because I love old-time photos.
I hope there is more to come.
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Post by mossie on Apr 11, 2014 16:01:07 GMT
I agree with the remarks about defacing the old photo.
It really hit me in your first shot of the barge Atlantis that it was really struggling up hill.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 18:02:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2014 10:43:17 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Apr 12, 2014 14:40:45 GMT
Ah yes, the wonder of spray paint! When I look at some of the artists work my mind goes to an immediate place with some of them - for instance: The one with what looks like Super Mario - In the corner written in English "In Loving Memory of My Friend" and many other places lots written in English - sort of strange to me. The photo of the tarred pathway with signs of a truck or car tires made in the mud - must be service vehicles.. The graffiti sprayed onto the inside of the canal wall - some aquatic kid I guess The photo of the African in a blue peak cap - I know exactly how they do those straight hairline on his head - with a sharp razor blade held between two fingers and gently scraping the hair away. They do it lots here . Kerouac the route looked very pleasant with those trees in bloom, the green grass, and men running in tights
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2014 18:46:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2014 20:15:01 GMT
There were numerous school groups at the park. I don't know what special experience they were supposed to be having. A new pedestrian bridge is being built, but I was already on the correct side of the canal. Maybe I should go up these steps? Good call, but the park pavilion is closed right now. I kept looking down at the canal since I was now going to be leaving it. The departmental fleet of official cars is electric. Excellent! This willow tree seemed to smothering the object of its affection in too much love.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2014 6:36:49 GMT
Not knowing exactly where I was going, I crossed several huge parking lots. They clearly gave a certain profession ideas, because every one of them had this "no driving schools" sign at the entrance. I finally made it over to the main street leading to town. Here's proof of being in the rougher suburbs: a sign about dangerous and forbidden dogs with all of the rules and régulations. I determined that these rails were for a garage spur of the T1 tramway, so all I had to do was follow it. Civilisation: the local police headquarters still following the rails I recognised this as the metro/bus/tram hub that I was looking for. a mosaic to honour Picasso Of course, I peered at the canal again as the metro took me back to Paris. Next time, probably this summer, I'll try to take the metro to Bobigny and then walk to at least Noisy-le-Sec to see what is along the canal there...
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Post by bjd on Apr 15, 2014 7:25:45 GMT
What, no tourists there? "Your" traditional canal trees are poplars. "Ours" are plane trees. Actually, I'm surprised at the poplars -- they aren't very solid trees and lose their branches in high winds. (Spoken from experience, our neighbour used to have a huge one.)
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Post by patricklondon on Apr 15, 2014 16:51:08 GMT
For all that it looks somewhat anonymous and off-the-peg, I can't help thinking I've seen that police building in one series of Engrenages - the one with the mad bombers. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by tod2 on Apr 18, 2014 15:35:09 GMT
That was a brilliant walk with brilliant photos to match!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2014 16:57:20 GMT
Thanks. When I first moved to Paris, there were very few canal areas accessible except for the picturesque area with the humped bridges in the 10th arrondissement. The Bassin de la Villette and the whole area where the Parc de la Villette is were completely fenced off industrial zones. As for the suburban areas in Pantin and Bobigny, forget it! While some people lament about the de-industrialization of France, there are certain welcome aspects to the concept of a post industrial society.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 8, 2019 12:44:39 GMT
My recent mystery cruise on the Canal de l'Ourcq convinced me that I needed to walk along the canal again to get a better look at the changes of the last couple of years. While quite a bit of Pantin and Bobigny are still run down, the apartments along the canal have clearly become a prime area.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 8, 2019 13:24:04 GMT
So I put on the goggles and instantly found an erect penis being shoved into my face. However, turning in other directions I was able to explore the intricacies of a vagina and could observe any manner of interesting activities taking place all around me. Porn is clearly the future of VR. There was a Marc Dorcel sex toy shop at the exit. I just peered over the threshold without going in, but I recognised almost none of the devices on sale. Most of them were in bright and shiny fluorescent colours and could probably be left on the coffee table without arousing suspicion from one's children or parents. Anyway, I learned a few things. As I continued along the canal, I saw that the ground floor flats in this section had glassed-in terraces but with a secure rolling shutter on the back side so that the residents can have privacy when they want it and also be protected from unwanted visitors. Most people were away at the moment, but there was a group at one apartment having a meal, half in the terrace and half outside, with a barbecue set up on the canal. It looked extremely appealing, but also the kind of thing that you will never use as often as you think you will when you see it on a sunny summer day.
Perhaps I will start my next walk from this point.
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Post by bjd on Aug 8, 2019 14:12:16 GMT
Are they planting trees in these newly-built areas? It looks a bit sterile for the moment.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 8, 2019 14:26:01 GMT
I fear that there are not really a lot of possibilities for trees along the edge of the canal there, but since the building codes always require green areas, I would imagine that the backside of those buildings has plenty of greenery.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 10, 2019 4:59:25 GMT
I dunno, I think it looks awfully good for how new so much of it is. It will be interesting to see in a year or so what kinds of planters & possibly trees in tubs will be installed. This is a great report, Kerouac, not least because of how much good architecture is shown. I particularly like that white building just under where you say you reached the area of new construction.
Did you wash your face and your eyeballs after having that mask on?
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