Polluted Paris

[mossie]

Not another trip to Paris, I hear you cry.
Well this time I was both lucky and unlucky, the first morning dawned quite foggy and cold so walking around wasn't pleasant. however I did snap one of Kerouacs sharp ended buildings



But some things were not so clear



However one of the places I wanted to see was another enclave of 'normal' size houses built on the site of old gypsum quarries. this is in Charonne and called La Campagne. Part of another of Paris's mountains, one needs to be a mountain goat to appreciate it



It is not really any easier going down



But I had come to see the building style which differentiates these areas from most of Paris



The rubbish bins do add a splash of colour to a dull day



Job done I caught the tram to meet Kerouac for lunch near to the imposing Mairie of the XXe



Faced by the church



Which I had paid a brief visit



Enough guff, I'll return later.

[htmb]

You climbed those steps, Mossie? Impressive!

[Deleted]

mossie, I just walked down rue Irénée Blanc in Google Streetview and I love it. Thank you for letting me know about it. Definitely going there on my next visit.

[Deleted]

And of course everybody here has recognised the Mairie of the 18th rather than the 20th arrondissement.

[mossie]

Sorry, brain fade. The bus was going in the wrong direction, silly b's must drive on the wrong side of the road.

[mossie]

To continue....
We had lunch in a pleasant bistro



Where the manageress was struggling to fix a wonky table



Little did I realise when I arranged to meet Kerouac that the old slavedriver would make me hike all the way from the Mairie of the XXe to the top of the mountain of Montmartre

"Are we nearly there Dad?"



But at last



here some ladies were enjoying the weak sun and their lunch



A busker was entertaining the crowds who always seem to gather on the steps in front of Sacre Coeur like a flock of birds



But the city below was still shrouded in the pollution which was of course yet another invasion from Germany



It did have a great bonus however as I discovered the next morning. In an attempt to lessen the pollution caused by cars the Metro , buses, RER, and the trams were all free, and remained so until after I had left on Monday. I took the opportunity after lunch to wander a little and saw the well fondled bust of Dalida



I also spotted this reminder that the Butte Montmartre was an excellent site for windmills



I can never resist seeing what the Bassin de la Villette and just caught a sightseeing boat charging up the canal



I was on my way to see this house, the builder must have seriously overordered on the parquet flooring



I can never resist street art and saw that the garage door to a block of flats was tastefully decorated





other examples were in the area, this poor lad being bottom of the class



While I loved this elephant



Taking the free RER to La Defense I had a wander round, it has been many years since I last visited and it has grown enormously, with a cheap copy of the London Gherkin thrown in



There is yet another strange art installation



It was rather misty and cold out there and I realised that Line 1 would take me direct to St Paul, where this little restaurant is.



I have used it a few times in the past and it did not fail me this time, both for food and company. You have no option but to share a table and, being in the heart of the Marais, character abounded



As you may be aware, I am particularly attracted to little Parisiennes, this pair shared my table



While this charmer sat on the next one



I will have, hopefully, a concluding installment to come

[htmb]

Very nice pictures, Mossie. Too bad about the smog during your trip. Your photos certainly a sense of how bad it really was.

Did you enjoy going out to La Defense?

[mossie]

I did and didn't enjoy my trip to La Defense, I wanted to revisit it to see the changes but the misty cold morning was not conducive to the pretty pictures I was hoping to get. I, if anyone, should know full well that the weather is female and cannot be controlled. Also it did give me the happy experience of revisiting l'Elephant du Nil.

One evening I walked across to Belleville to take in the view from the last parc constructed in Paris from an old gypsum quarry, the parc de Belleville.



On the way I had passed these works of art





And how cheeky to bend a car and then 'tag' it



Best approached from the Pyrenees metro and walking down the rue de Belleville from where I snapped one of many millions of photos taken each year of the Eiffel Tower



From the rue turn into rue Piat and a short climb brings you to the belvedere with the beautiful panorama of the city spread out before you. The parc is now well established and well used





A great place to hang out whether old or young



The church of Notre Dame de la Croix shelters among the social housing off to your left. At its West front is the tiny Place Maurice Chevalier in memory of another famous past inhabitant



Some talented person with an odd sense of future has laid out a guide to viewpoints old and proposed



The cat and the canary are also entombed in broken ceramics on one of the columns, I recommend any visitor to Paris to include this place in their itinerary



Someone has added a Charlie memorial on one of the columns



I concluded my visit with a meal just up the road at another brasserie that I have used in the past, Le Mistral. A very good place to enjoy the sunset.



Another evening was spent around a place I always visit, the Bassin de la Villette



The daylight had just gone, I was amazed at the detail my compct camera could resolve , but the Mk2 cinema shone out



The columns of the Rotonde are unmistakable



But I cannot end without a plug for the best parc in Paris, Buttes Chaumont, another essential for a Paris visitor. For a year or so they have been redoing all the roads and walkways to smoothe the way for the hordes of joggers who will trample you underfoot.



I saw a smart young crow practising collecting nesting material



While one of the Egyptian Geese posed for his mate out on the lake



Which is its old peaceful self



Teatime, and the end of another wnjoyable visit to my favourite city

[htmb]

Mossie, you introduced me to Parc de Belville and I especially enjoyed our walk there. It's nice to see your up-to-date pictures.

I think you've done a fantastic job of getting around Paris and showing us a little collection of the places that interest you. Too bad the weather wasn't very pleasant, but lucky for you there's another trip coming up before too long.

I don't recall ever seeing an Egyptian goose. Are these geese in the Parc BC year round, do you think?

[mossie]

Somewhere in my thick head ISTR that the local authority had purchased the Egyptian Geese and possibly some other waterfowl to populate the lake. How they prevent them from flying off back to Egypt I have no idea. On second thoughts of course, no one in their right mind would swop Paris for a grim dusty dump like Egypt.

[Deleted]

I think that absolutely all of us who have ever been to the top of the Parc de Belleville have zoomed in to take that Eiffel Tower photo, which is totally irresistible no matter what the weather.

I have never seen Egyptian geese either.

[tod2]

A lovely concise report Mossie! I am curious to know whether you returned to your usual hotel?
The cafe` for your lunch date with Kerouac at Place Jules Joffrin had a really beautiful old pressed iron ceiling. Was it Cafe de la Place by any chance?

[lugg]

Such a great report Mossie, again introducing parts of Paris that are not usually seen by the average toursit. I would never have guessed that your Charonne/La Campagne photos had been taken in Paris.

The only disappointment was no selfies of you and K2

[Deleted]

Lugg, La Campagne à Paris is one of the most amazing sights in Paris for people not just looking for monuments. I have seen it in French movies as a setting that is not even supposed to be in Paris.

[nycgirl]

Nice report! La Campagne looks absolutely charming. Good for you for braving those stairs.

I like the street art you photographed. I recognize Da Cruz; his work immediately caught my eye during my trip to Paris.

What a surprise seeing Egyptian geese in Paris. I myself have been trying to spot some exotic birds in Central Park. I read that owls and wood ducks are seasonal regulars, but I have yet to see them. One day...

[mossie]

Sorry Tod, that cafe was somewhere halfway between Jules Joffrin and Sacre Coeur that Kerouac and I happened upon during our ascent of Montmartre

[Deleted]

That was miserably after I couldn't find the place I was looking for.

[tod2]

I really like those old zinc bar, pressed ceiling, old stove in the room kinda places. What place were you looking for ? I bet it's got good inexpensive food
I'm staying in Montmartre for 8 days so need a few Anyport recommendations.

[anshjain97]

I found out the hard way how fog can hinder good pictures but great you still explored and took great shots regardless.

[Deleted]

After the pollution episode, Paris finds itself classified among the least polluted cities of Europe. Copenhagen, Vienna and Stockholm are the least polluted cities, followed by Paris, Helsinki and London. The most polluted cities are Dublin, Madrid, Rome, Lisbon and Luxembourg.

[bixaorellana]

Sorry to be so pokey in getting to this stellar, beautifully illustrated report, Mossie. I kind of liked the fogginess of some of the pictures, as it added to the illusion of accompanying you on your tour up and down stairs, through parks, and across town. Yes, the Egyptian goose is an impressive sight, but your photo of the crow is dynamite. Looking forward to your next 'nother trip to Paris!