Château de Vincennes
Jul 2, 2013 13:59:41 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2013 13:59:41 GMT
I had absolutely no plans this morning so I decided to take a bus from my place to Gare du Nord and then just choose a bus there for a magical mystery tour, since it is a major transportation hub. I ended up getting on the #46 which goes to Château de Vincennes and went the entire length of the line with a bit of hesitation along the way, as I saw three or four other stop which gave me an urge to get off and explore.
In any case, it was a long and circuitous ride, which I very much like when I am in no hurry and open to just about anything. The weather was not as nice as the previous two days, but nothing to complain about. I don't think it has rained for almost a week!
Once I finally arrived at Château de Vincennes, it was time for me to decide that after 40 years of living in Paris, the moment had now come to visit the place. It is certainly an impressive structure.
I am not actually the worst Parisian in the world, oblivious to all of the great things there are to visit inthe city the near suburbs. I know tons of Parisians who never visit anything, often the same ones who claim they are bored with Paris and want to move away. The main reason that it took me so long to visit the château is because there was nothing to visit. Château de Vincennes is actually a military installation and most of it is still used for army business. It was even considered to be an infamously horrible place to young Parisian men before the abolition of conscription (so I guess they still have a reason not to be attracted to it) -- it was the place they had to go for the 3 days of evaluation that existed before the actual military service. This of course was like being in prison, beds in long rows in the barracks, all of that queuing up wearing nothing but your underpants, awful food, people in uniform ordering you around... not a nice memory for any of them. So, who would want to visit a place like that?
Actually, the place is still used for what replaced the "3 days." In this century (actually since the end of conscription in the year 2000), both men and women have a one day session, which started out as "journée de préparation à la défense nationale" and now has the name "journée défense et cityonneté" (defense and citizenship day). It now sounds like a pleasant seminar, but you should see the look on the face of any 18 year old the day the convocation arrives in the mail.
Here is the programme for that day:
-- welcome breakfast
-- speakers talking about the responsibilities of a citizen and the importance of national defense
-- a basic French grammar test
-- lunch
-- initiation to basic first aid procedures
-- a guided tour of the military installations
After "suffering" through this, everyone receives a certificate of participation, which is actually a pretty important piece of paper because it is obligatory to enter any sort of government job, civil service, medical or whatever...
Anyway, this explains why the Château de Vincennes is not a top tourist attraction, and even in July you have it all to yourself.
The moat is impressively deep.
Here are some of the military barracks.
In any case, it was a long and circuitous ride, which I very much like when I am in no hurry and open to just about anything. The weather was not as nice as the previous two days, but nothing to complain about. I don't think it has rained for almost a week!
Once I finally arrived at Château de Vincennes, it was time for me to decide that after 40 years of living in Paris, the moment had now come to visit the place. It is certainly an impressive structure.
I am not actually the worst Parisian in the world, oblivious to all of the great things there are to visit in
Actually, the place is still used for what replaced the "3 days." In this century (actually since the end of conscription in the year 2000), both men and women have a one day session, which started out as "journée de préparation à la défense nationale" and now has the name "journée défense et cityonneté" (defense and citizenship day). It now sounds like a pleasant seminar, but you should see the look on the face of any 18 year old the day the convocation arrives in the mail.
Here is the programme for that day:
-- welcome breakfast
-- speakers talking about the responsibilities of a citizen and the importance of national defense
-- a basic French grammar test
-- lunch
-- initiation to basic first aid procedures
-- a guided tour of the military installations
After "suffering" through this, everyone receives a certificate of participation, which is actually a pretty important piece of paper because it is obligatory to enter any sort of government job, civil service, medical or whatever...
Anyway, this explains why the Château de Vincennes is not a top tourist attraction, and even in July you have it all to yourself.
The moat is impressively deep.
Here are some of the military barracks.