Heat wave in Paris

[mossie]

A couple of months ago I booked one of my usual Thursday to Monday trips, unluckily, or luckily, it coincided with the recent heat wave, temps over 80 each day except the Monday when it cooled off a bit. Fortunately my chosen part of the 19th offers two of Paris's best "lungs", Bassin de la Villette and parc des Buttes Chaumont. I made use of both and both were busier than I had ever seen.

Here is the Bassin



Some people were still active, the children's play area saw good use



and the boules were going strong



Also the nine pins type game, which I know Kerouac did give a name to when he did a thread on this last year?



as were the pleasure boats



Not all was sweetness and light, this young lad is being marched home by his bossy mama, no doubt he has outstayed his curfew



But the little parties were in full swing, note someone had even carried in their dining chair



But for some it was all a bit too much



One benefit to the heat is that it brings out the legs and other bits



I retired to a local bar and got my ardour thoroughly cooled off by this look



I'll give it a rest now before I dig myself a deeper hole

[mossie]

One of the objectives I had for this trip was to walk across the Alexander III bridge and visit the Petit Palais, so on Friday morning I set off for Les Invalides, taking a quick snap of that after I had exited the Metro



and then set off for the bridge taking the old Bedouin advice "Don't necessarily walk in a straight line, try and walk from shade to shade"



It would appear the statues at each corner of Pont Alexander III have been freshly gilded. Paris is being smartened up ready for inspection by the Olympics people, hoping to land the next Games.



This is cheating



Here is a contrast. Sampzon is carting off another load of muck right in front of the Grand Palais



While the street cleaning crew were hard at work



I admired this detail of the lizard chasing its tail round a bollard. When these monuments were built the craftsmen were real craftsmen



and the sightseers were taking good advantage of the sun



Can't resist a glimpse of the most photographed monument in Paris. And the locals were crying for it to be torn down as soon as it was erected, if they had it would no doubt have cost them millions of visitors francs.



and a glance in the other direction towards Concorde with the fountain and the big wheel



and a look back to the dome of Les Invalides shining in the sun



Didn't know I was going to see Winston, with a quote from his speech in which he galvanised the country into greater efforts in our darkest hour. How we could do with someone like him now, instead of the bunch of wimps and Marxists we are lumbered with.



Looking across the road at the arms of Paris on the Grand Palais



I climb the flight of steps into the Petit Palais



It is cool and spacious inside



And I head out to the cafe in the garden for coffee. Again admiring the workmanship of the builders



Then back to the metro to find lunch. Mobile phones are essential nowadays, however did we survive without them. Mine is very, very rarely used and hardly anyone knows the number, even if they did it is only switched on when I intend to use it. Call me an old fuddy duddy, but I much prefer it that way.



Stopping for coffee after lunch I couldn't help noticing this lady needlessly topping up her tan



On that note I'll give you another rest, I warn you there is more.

[bixaorellana]

Yes, more more more, please!

I so much admire your photographs, Mossie, and the enthusiasm with which they're taken and presented is inspiring. You're always a torch bearer for the anyport ethos of enthusiastic observing and sharing.

The heat must make walking around somewhat uncomfortable, but the resulting lively shots of the population out in droves around the canals are a wonderful benefit. Do pace yourself, though -- you need to be in fighting trim to return to Paris in June.

[mossie]

I try and stretch the capabilities of my camera as I find it remarkable what these little digital marvels are capable of capturing. I have shown before a night shot from the bedroom window of my hotel, but here is one from this trip.



At at odd times during the trip I had a drink at this bar.



And was rewarded with this snap of a charming vendeuse, who reminded me of someone I had seen on TV, you know I cannot resist a pretty face



Here is another test



And this is in a different brasserie, where I was surprised at how late this young girl was dining with her parents



Meanwhile, up the road in the parc des BUttes Chaumont, there were more sunworshippers



and, as along the Bassin, more mad joggers busily shortening their lives



Birds of a different species this time, surveying the parc from about the highest vantage point



For the first time I saw the pony ride in action



Odds and ends, and street art. Here is a very odd pairing



This craze for pierced tin buildings I find very strange, must be cold and draughty.



And here is street art with a difference



Especially for Bixa. Street art by an Oaxaca artist, on the same canalside building.



and some mobile street art



To get a real hit of street art I walked up Avenue Jean Juares until I came to the bridge where the Petite Ceinture railway crosses over. Here along the rue Ourq to the left, is a permanent display of street art alongside the old rail embankment



This cat portrait took my eye



a memorial



Wouldn't want to tangle with him



Little girl with pandas



They are huge



and the show goes on and on



Gets even bigger



until one comes upon a stretch planted out as a garden



with a play area for the local children, a marvellous idea in one of the poorer quarters of Paris



Reaching the canal finds this barge part of the show



I cannot escape the blasted asphalt. This is on the bridge where the Petite Ceinture crosses the canal.



Here is a local cafe where i stopped for a much needed drink



The side entrance is well decorated



as are the bridge supports, notice the rough sleepers quarters



There is more, the path along the canal is well used by dog walkers and for general exercise



I knew I hadn't spelt Ourcq correctly, but damned if i could remember



It can be taken seriously



but this cafe window shutter has not escaped



To get there I had passed the snails garden



That is not a mirror in the back of the shop, but is Avenue Jean Juares. The shop is squeezed into the shallow angle formed where the rue de Meaux merges into the Avenue



Across the road is a fine selection of poultry, ready for the oven



While next door is a Turkish butcher



Close by a nice selection of fancies



Followed by a massive tin Monoprix



That will do for tonight, I hope you have managed to stay with me

[kerouac2]

Your reports are endlessly amazing, Mossie. Obviously I see all of these same things, sometimes every day or at least once a week, but you manage to capture details that I would probably never think of photographing. I almost took pictures of all of those same street art items on rue de l'Ourcq probably at the same time you were in Paris. DaCruz with his rather cubic straight lines is the big star of the 19th arrondissement and there are all sorts of websites devoted to him. He is really faithful to the 19th and I am always surprised on the rare occasions when I see his work elsewhere. (I should mention that I lived on rue de l'Ourcq for about 12 years, but DaCruz was merely a child back in those days and not yet painting the walls.)

Keep going, Mossie. Your view of Paris street life is incredible, even more so since you continue to cover an area that most people miss.

[lagatta]

I've stayed in the 19th, and friends live there and in the northern 20th, so I'm quite familiar with the area. The Turkish butcher looks like he has nice takeaway poultry for picnics. Beautiful photos. Your first pretty bird looks as if she has a bit of a sunburn. I love Buttes-Chaumont, and have picnicked there and at Parc de la Villette.

One couple of friends there consists of a friend of south Indian origin (no, I don't mean Indigenous American) and his wife who is Mexican (and certainly has Indigenous American origins, and probably Spanish one). I only say friend and his wife because I've known him for 30 years and her much less; it is certainly not because I view women as appendices of men. Their daughter goes to one of those schools where there are kids from pretty much every much everywhere.

[breeze]

Mossie, your walk covered quite a range of Paris. I get a charge out of seeing the crowds along the quais enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Somehow I doubt I could bring myself--at my age--to sit on the cobblestones, but I was young once.

You've really honed your people-watching skills.

Is that ninepins game called molkky?

[kerouac2]

Yes, that is the name of that Finnish game.

[bixaorellana]

That is an extravaganza of Spring bulbs in flower where the jogger is. Love all your people-watching pictures and the street art gallery and the wonderful garden there in with the giant paintings. The way you've included the various shops and stores really rounds out a picture of how varied Paris is. And the shots of cool interiors interspersed with outdoors makes me want to fan myself, with how well the heat wave is conveyed. Another triumph from you, Mossie!

[bjd]

Another great set of pictures of "real" Paris, not just the central areas seen in most tourist photos. It's not an area I know particularly, so it's always good to see the details. How did you choose the 19th as your favourite area, Mossie?

[mossie]

Thanks for all the undeserved compliments, I am just a 'happy snapper'.

Incidentally the reason I favour the 19th is it was there that my niece was living when she had her first two girls. I had little interest in Paris, but my wife just had to go and see the first one soon after her birth. They were living in an apartment right opposite the hotel I use. While she cooed over this new baby all day, (she had limited mobility) my niece pointed me in the direction of rue Montorguiel and the Passages and I fell in love with Paris there. And have returned most years, sometimes three times a year, ever since. the hotel is very conveniently situated, cheap (for Paris), pleasant staff, so no contest. Now I can travel from home on autopilot.

Having said that, here is the last one that i took on this trip. Just by way of contrast from the crowded weekend, Monday morning saw the Bassin very quiet, I had just had a farewell cafe in the cafe on the left prior to picking up my bag and taking the Metro for the Gare du Nord and home.

[cheerypeabrain]

Excellent Mossie...I love the colourful street art...but the two ducks on topiary is a masterpiece brilliant, informative, interesting and fun. X

[lagatta]

That's not surprising; the people are at work or school. There are some tourists, but it is still not heavily touristed. I suspect that quite a few occasional tourists like you or me have ties to the area.