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Post by onlyMark on May 23, 2020 10:59:57 GMT
Tod, you have to wear a mask on public transport but usually in a car you are with those you've been with mostly anyway - but taxis and fresh air? No idea. Same with buses, I'll have to look at the next one I see but I'm certain the driver won't be wearing a mask.
K2, anything mooted about the ending of the necessity of the attestation and travel declaration paperwork? Travel restrictions? I'm hoping in July we'll be able to drive to Spain. France shouldn't be a problem as we are in transit through it though I do wonder if our reason for the transit - which is a bit iffy in effect - just to check the house in Spain and stay there for a while - would be accepted as good enough. The major problem though currently is that we wouldn't be let into Spain anyway, unless the provisions for only allowing residents to enter changes.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 23, 2020 11:26:58 GMT
The form for just going outside to do things ended two weeks ago in France and was replaced by a form for people wanting to travel more than 100km with a valid reason. Here is the link to the new form: attestation de déplacement. With any luck, it won't even be necessary in July in France. Of course, Spain will have its own rules...
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Post by onlyMark on May 23, 2020 14:37:36 GMT
Thanks. Bookmarked the link and we'll see what happens.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 24, 2020 12:14:51 GMT
This morning I walked through Gare du Nord, the busiest train station in Europe. I took the RER to Cité Universitaire on the very small chance that the grounds would be open, since they are just like a park. Of course it was closed. Not all of the student residences are empty (open windows, laundry...), but they must have alternate discreet and controlled entrances at various places. Walking along the boulevards des maréchaux, I saw lots of proof that nature is taking Paris back and that the city will soon disappear. These boulevards are often among the busiest in Paris. Parisians who fled the plague while leaving their cars behind might be in for a surprise if and when they return.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 25, 2020 2:37:46 GMT
Of course Paris is a much bigger city, but I find that I'm okay walking around Oaxaca in the evening & not seeing many people. But when I go to the places which are usually crowded and lively, I find it really depressing. Are any parts of Paris affecting you that way?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 28, 2020 18:50:09 GMT
A family of foxes has moved into Père Lachaise cemetery. Apparently the two adults came from the Bois de Vincennes 5 kilometres away, and the three pups were born just when confinement started. Everything they need to survive is there (mice, birds, insects…). The authorities have already decided to allow the adult couple to stay in the cemetery if that's what they wish. The pups will be moved out (probably back to the Bois de Vincennes) when they grow up.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 28, 2020 20:35:08 GMT
Took the metro again yesterday. Something about the ambience has changed a bit since three months ago. I was going to Décathlon, but next to it is the downtown Ikea, which had a queue of at least 100 people waiting to enter. Funny, I saw on the TV news later in the day that it was the longest queue in Paris. The only other thing I saw on this outing was that a few cafés had the necessary equipment to serve people out on the street.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 28, 2020 22:50:16 GMT
Seeing parrots in Père Lachaise was a peak moment for me. I'd probably die of ecstasy if I saw foxes there. It's good to see that people in Paris are still mostly being cautious. I wonder what made them suddenly need to go to Ikea. For that matter, what made you need a sporting goods store? (sorry -- nosy)
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Post by onlyMark on May 29, 2020 4:29:00 GMT
I've been to our Ikea a few times and found the sweet spot to be 10:45. It opens at ten and many get there early thinking they'll beat the queue, but they don't. Many realise if they get there too early there will be a queue so wait an hour or so for it to calm down. All that happens is they end up then in their own queue with all the others of the same mind.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 29, 2020 4:38:53 GMT
I doubt if there is any waiting at the suburban locations of Ikea in the region, but since this is one of their only downtown stores, it is a magnet to all of the non-motorised Parisians (66% of the population).
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Post by bjd on May 29, 2020 6:09:02 GMT
Tod, you have to wear a mask on public transport but usually in a car you are with those you've been with mostly anyway - but taxis and fresh air? No idea. Same with buses, I'll have to look at the next one I see but I'm certain the driver won't be wearing a mask. K2, anything mooted about the ending of the necessity of the attestation and travel declaration paperwork? Travel restrictions? I'm hoping in July we'll be able to drive to Spain. France shouldn't be a problem as we are in transit through it though I do wonder if our reason for the transit - which is a bit iffy in effect - just to check the house in Spain and stay there for a while - would be accepted as good enough. The major problem though currently is that we wouldn't be let into Spain anyway, unless the provisions for only allowing residents to enter changes. Mark, you should be able to drive through France by July. Most of the confinement rules will be lifted by June 2 and borders will be open to other European countries.
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Post by onlyMark on May 29, 2020 8:42:19 GMT
I'm looking at that also bjd, thanks. We should be ok but I'll be happy when it is officially declared as open.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 30, 2020 12:50:42 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 30, 2020 13:00:27 GMT
I never knew you could see the Sacré Coeur from the Léopold Sédar Senghor (Solférino) bridge. Probably too many people were in the way before. The esplanade prairie des Invalides has been where a lot of people missing the parks have been congregating in the evening. The alignments of trees on the sides do not appear to have benefited from the usual gardening trimming. I think these flower beds have just been planted. Hard to tell from their currently dismal state, even though the slow drip watering system was working. i.postimg.cc/KcLPdh6S/P1030203.jpgi.postimg.cc/3xr244dY/P1030204.jpgThen I crossed the ultra calm Seine again. i.postimg.cc/VLWjkBsK/P1030207.jpg
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Post by kerouac2 on May 30, 2020 14:12:18 GMT
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Post by tod2 on May 30, 2020 14:24:57 GMT
After crossing the Pont Alexandre III, I was in the wilds surrounding the Petit Palais (Paris municipal museum of fine art). Is that old Winston Churchill in the background striding forward in his heavy trenchcoat? The Seine looks magnificent - I'm only sorry I'm not sitting under that lovely Willow tree on the end of Sq.Vert Galant….
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Post by kerouac2 on May 30, 2020 14:32:21 GMT
Yes, he used to be on the Champs Elysées side, but I think he was moved to the other side when the statue of Charles de Gaulle was installed just across from where he had been for many years. I don't know why, since it is not the same place -- they would have just been across the street from each other.
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1NCFoodie = Tom
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Post by 1NCFoodie = Tom on May 30, 2020 14:39:03 GMT
Kerouac2, simply marvelous pictures and commentary.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 30, 2020 15:19:05 GMT
Thanks, Tom -- and the rest of you. How could I not make a visit to the Buttes Chaumont today since this was the day that the parks of Paris reopened? "Hydroalcoholic gel" at every entrance. The flowers have been neglected, but I'm sure that it will motivate the municipal gardeners. People were already staking out their claims to the grass this morning. The city has said that it will ripost if it becomes too crowded. I just wanted to circle the lake at least once. I wonder if this painting will show that the park is shaggier than usual. I always take a photo of the belevedere perfectly framed, so it amused me today to take a shot of it obstructed. I was there this morning before the park filled up, but I can imagine what it looked like in the afternoon. It is still a lovely place to walk. On the bus back home, I wondered if Mossie would be shocked by a major change at his favourite hotel. The restaurant on the ground floor (not associated with the hotel) has been gutted and the name removed. There are large sacks of rubble out front, so it appears that they are changing everything. I guess Mossie will have to return and inspect what has happened.
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Post by patricklondon on May 30, 2020 15:41:58 GMT
Yes, he used to be on the Champs Elysées side, but I think he was moved to the other side when the statue of Charles de Gaulle was installed just across from where he had been for many years. I don't know why, since it is not the same place -- they would have just been across the street from each other. I seem to remember being amused at the sight of de Gaulle, Churchill and Clémenceau all seemingly striding away from each other.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2020 16:07:25 GMT
How ironic that the chronicling of the effects of a pandemic on a major city has resulted in one of the loveliest threads ever. It is of course interesting and illuminating to see the residents emerge and begin to use their city again, surely grateful to have it tourist-less for a while. The shaggy expanses are pretty but rather poignant when considered as a badge of all that has changed. But it's nice to think of the air of the city refreshed by all that greenery and the lack of traffic. In terms of sheer beauty, the photographs of the Seine and of the Buttes Chaumont are wonderful. More irony in thinking of how the city and the world want to return to normal, meaning that you won't be able to bring us many more of these beautiful views.
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Post by htmb on May 30, 2020 16:47:23 GMT
Lovely walks! It’s sure great to see these photos and has been interesting how this thread has developed. I’m very envious, but grateful, too.
When I was over by the Jeff Koons’ statue last fall, the nearby shrubs were full of colorful birds that looked like parakeets or small parrots. I’ve never seen anything like it in Paris and wondered if the birds were similar to what Bixa had seen in Père Lachaise.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2020 17:09:49 GMT
Oh, thank goodness and thank you for remembering, Htmb! For so long I've felt like one of those kooks who was the only one to see the ufo.
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Post by bjd on May 30, 2020 17:51:47 GMT
I can imagine how happy Parisians must be to be allowed to go back into parks. It seemed so stupid to close them up when it is easier to stay apart from others in a park than on a sidewalk.
It is indeed unusual to see the parks and green spaces of the city so unmowed, unweeded, so un-French!
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Post by mossie on May 30, 2020 18:55:44 GMT
Re Le Laumiere, at my last visit I noticed that the restaurant gone downhill and spoke to the hotel people. they told me the owner had retired and that the Accor group had bought it. they were going to incorporate it into the hotel as a new ground floor breakfast room and reception and turn the original reception/breakfast room floor into further bedrooms. I had hopes of retuning to sample this new setup wnenever it is complete, so it is good to hear some progress is being made.
As for the park it is a very useful lung for that area, as was Haussman's original intention, Nice to see it being put to its proper purpose again, as here it seemed a ridiculous move to close the parks.
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Post by lagatta on May 30, 2020 21:17:05 GMT
Yes, and that was a much-needed lung in a largely working-class district back then. I spent long periods in that area in the 1980s and remember arbiters of taste declaring the Buttes-Chaumont was overgrown and needed to be restored to its original "minéral" concept. Remember, it was "Bald Mountain!"
Mossie, I do hope that restaurant wasn't the one with the kind and comely waitresses where you like to hang out during forays to Paris!
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Post by kerouac2 on May 31, 2020 16:06:17 GMT
Many of the bus stops are now equipped with dispensers for hand sanitizer.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 31, 2020 16:54:29 GMT
Yesterday, after picking up after my dog during their walk, I applied some sanitizing gel and walked along rubbing it into my hands. It occurred to me that you read about people "wringing their hands" in distress, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually do that. But now we all walk around as though we're wringing our hands and no one thinks anything of it.
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Post by Sansu on May 31, 2020 19:21:33 GMT
Thank you K2 for these wonderful walks and photos.Paris is my dream destination and 2020 was supposed to be my dream vacation...how ironic it turned to be such a nightmare.Ive been seeing nothing but patients and the hospital with long 12 hour shifts for the past 3 months.Your journey provided me with some much needed hope..ive started dreaming again.God bless.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 2, 2020 17:43:22 GMT
And so today outdoor café and restaurant terraces were allowed to reopen, with everything spread out of course. The Jardin Nelson Mandela is still growing wild. Looks pretty good to me.
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