La Campagne à Paris through the 20th

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Today I was led on a walk, starting in a gorgeous little neighborhood with lush greenery and flowers, then traveling through very interesting sections of Belleville. The word "picturesque" kept coming to mind, over and over, no matter the street or location.

[bixaorellana]

Ooooooo ~ picturesque, yes, also darling and pretty as a picture and absolutely charming! I love all the leafy abundance of course, but am also crazy about that very French use of color, as in the gate in the bottom picture and the blue of the pots & the front door in the photo above the cat. The trumpet vine is incredible. I know that vine well, but have never seen one with such large, wide-open flowers. More, please!

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. I first became enchanted with this neighborhood when reading an interesting thread of Kerouac's started in the summer of 2009. it may be found HERE














I almost think I should have put these pictures in the gardening section!







Here are some of the killer stairs. Fortunately we hadn't come up this way.

[Deleted]

A really excellent update! One thing that proves that these areas need to be visited more than once to see what has changed is one of the photos that I posted on the original report (reply #4). It seems incredible now, but seven years ago people used to be allowed to park on the street.  

i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq228/kerouac2/Campagne%2020e/Mouzaia2038.jpg

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I noticed that difference, too. Perhaps they've just all gone on vacation.

[Deleted]

Ha ha, it's a myth the Paris is empty in the summer.

Just imagine fire trucks and the daily garbage trucks.

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Surely a lot of residents have departed the city, leaving behind you, me, and many, many of my tourist buddies.  

Speaking of which, I read an article this morning about tourism being down, especially among the Chinese.

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Continuing our walk...







Beautiful, healthy foliage everywhere the eye can see.


















After exiting down a set of steep stairs,





we were able to view some of the buildings from a very different angle.







The outer fringes are just as lush.







Here's another way up for anyone who wants to take the stairs.

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What a wonderful setting for this rooftop.




Many of the houses outside the streets of "La Campagne" still have a lot of charm.










I find well-painted murals like this quite impressive.







Of course, not everything can be completely interesting to see.







It was fun to wander up and down various streets, looking for different types of landmarks.

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The great thing about Paris is being able to find something different around just about every corner.







We came across a small, Sunday morning market.




I think this was the point where I realized my four year old compact camera was becoming tired.










This little enclave might be worth investigating sometime in the future.













I was very pleased with myself for recognizing this as an area I'd seen a few years ago when out for a walk with another Anyporter.

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With still more interesting, out-of-the-way places to see, our walk continued.
















Now skirting the edge of the Parc de Belleville.







École Primaire des Garçons

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While I've seen various photos of rue Dénoyez, and have visited while on a walk with Mossie a few years ago, much of the art seems different to me this time. We've been hearing for awhile that some of the building will soon be demolished. Social housing will be taking their place, so a lot of the art we photographed yesterday will soon disappear.

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Just a few more steps down a lively and colorful section of rue Faubourg du Temple into what I believe is the 10th Arrondissement to finish up this thread. What a difference a few blocks makes.

[bixaorellana]

What a feat of reporting! I responded way up at the beginning of this thead, little realizing what beauty and variety you still had in store. I feel as though I've been dipped in Paris.

In the penultimate photo of reply #8, are those concrete stairs which have been fashioned to look like logs? In reply #12, which you say is an area awaiting demolition, it seems as though it was thriving then abruptly shut down. Any idea if that is what happens to areas slated for re-usage? It's heartening to see the pleasant, if non-ritzy, area in #13 so vibrant.

[htmb]

Bixa, in the link Jazz posted in Kerouac's thread, the stairs are described as "concrete with a wood grain look."

I'll defer to those who know more about plans for rue Dénoyez. I believe Kerouac and/or Mossie have commented on the proposed changes in threads, but I'm too lazy to go look.

The whole walk was interesting and, as you can see, each location varied from the others. There seemed to places good for people watching and shopping and other areas good for more quiet reflection.

I didn't take photos of the last few blocks, as we walked to Place Republique, but certainly the walk could be divided into portions and bigger chunks of time spent in each place.

[mossie]

Rue Denoyez is always a work in progress. Very often you will find "artists" hard at work with their spray cans.

[breeze]

bixa, you are a hard complimenter to follow! What more can I say that will tell you, htmb, how wonderful these photos are. This residential area has charm to burn and your photos showcase the best of the area.

Just how many cameras have you worn out on this trip?

That first photo in #9--is that an exterior curtain on the facade? I'm trying to see how it would work.

[htmb]

Thanks, breeze.
That's a very tall building. I'm sure what you see is a facade, but it certainly does look like a curtain. The eyes are tricked.

I have a 4 year old compact camera that I think is ready to be passed on to my granddaughter. It's nice to use in crowded settings because it's not as easily noticed as my one year old, largish bridge camera with a zoom. They each have their advantages. Knowing me, though I hate to spend the money, there will be a new small camera purchase made before my trip to NYC. I just need to do some research (and talk myself into justifying the expense).

[tod2]

Oh what a lovely walk! I've spent the best part of an hour with these wonderful photos, all the while following your footsteps on my trusty Plan de Paris. It's tattered and worn but I'm still making notes all over it!
I have so many things I want to do next month - I hope a visit to some parts of Belleville will be possible.
Thanks for posting your photos Htmb!

[mossie]

Many thanks for another tour of my favourite area

[fumobici]

I never made it to La Campagne so it's nice to see it again vicariously. Paris has so much to see that there will always be difficult decisions to make in a limited span of time. I love the walk down the hill from La Jordaine and colorful Belleville towards either Ménilmontant or down Rue de Bellville towards République, either way is a multicultural feast for the eyes.

[bjd]

I find the 20th a mixture of lovely little houses and squares (like Campagne à Paris and the little lanes of former workers' housing) and huge blocks of boring apartments. It's a strange combination. A good Michelin guidebook suggests walks in the area, but you end up going past lots of boring and/or ugly to see the house where someone famous was born, for example, or a famous singer lived in.

Whatever the area though, it's all recognizably Paris and so much more lively that the bourgeois areas of the 8th or the 16th.
And one of my favourite activities is going to the marché de Montreuil on a weekend morning -- some official stuff, some the kind the sellers roll up in a blanket as soon as they see the police arrive.