Parc de Bercy

Wednesday, September 26. The forecast today is for rain so I have my whole day planned out with indoor things to do (museums and such) when the sky turns blue and the sun comes out. So on to Plan B as in "Bercy." This was once a separate town (now part of the 12th) and one of the largest wine-trading centers in Europe (because it was exempt from Paris taxes) as well as a hot spot for night-life (because also outside the jurisdiction of the Parisian police!). Since about 1980, the whole area has been the target of a large-scale urban renewal project.

I decide to walk because I want to see the Port de Plaisance which is where the Canal St Martin emerges from its underground passage before joining up with the Seine. This took me through part of Le Marais where I have walked before so I had a chance this time to take some pictures with my new camera. One photo (on the r. de l'Hotel de Ville) was of a Creche Collective, a sweet little building with two small lawns for play areas. I'd be happy to live there! I stepped in dog doo on the tiny r. des Barres because I was focused (no pun intended) on getting a photo of the half-timbered building there. Merde (pun definitely intended). There are leaves now on the sidewalks, reminding me that autumn is definitely here.

For the first time, I notice a large "drop box" labeled Le Relais, like a Salvation Army drop box but don't know if Le Relais is state run or private. A sign on it says "Pas de vrac. Des vetements en bon etat dans des sacs, merci." I have to look up "vrac;" it means "sans emballage" or "without order." In other words, don't just toss things in here higgledy-piggledy; put them in a bag first.

I see two official looking men trying to open something that looks kind of like a fire-hydrant but it isn't for fire (I ask them). However, it is a water supply point for people watering the adjacent garden. I ask them what it's called and they tell me but I'll have to ask Camille how to spell it because I just wrote it down phonetically. So more on that later. They are checking the meters inside each one pour voir la consommation d'eau. I ask if I can take their picture with the "fire hydrant" and they are delighted. Naturally, we get into a little conversation because they have no idea why anyone would be interested in what they are doing. :)

I take a photo of the Hotel de Sens and its garden. A little further along, I cross the Blvd Henri IV, and there's a fabulous view of the Colonne de Juillet (Place de la Bastille) to the left and one of the Pantheon to the right from slap-dab in the middle of the street (I don't linger).

Also noted on walk:

-Port de Plaisance. your basic pleasure boat tie-up although it's interesting to see something like that in the middle of a city. There are tunnels and highways and a lot of concrete between where I am and the actual joining with the river so decide to pass on that.

-Le Cygne. Ecole de Navigation. Permis Bateau. I've seen lots of "Ecole de Conduire" but this is the first for boats. It's next to the Port de Plaisance, natch.

-Hotel Aurore/Best Western.

-Attention Pietons: Traversez a 2 Temps.

-The Gare de Lyon has a huge clock tower.

-Librarie Le Point. I find les rechargements pour des mines in the right size for the mechanical pencil I bought here. No throw-away ones like my favorite Papermate Sharpwriter, or at least I haven't seen any. I also see in here a really large Plan de Paris (not sold as large-print but could be). For future reference!

-Entrance to La Maison de la R.A.T.P with one of the Art Nouveau entrances forming the entrace to the building. photo.

-Smart Car dealership. I go in to look around. They cost about 12,000 Euros new.

-Maroquinier. Slippers and handbags. Is this a chain store?

-On r. de Bercy, a marble plaque:

A la memoire de Guy Tessier
Age de 25 ans
Assassine par les allemands
18 aout 1944

It's hard to forget WWII when you're walking around this city. It's heart-wrenching to think about how many mothers lost sons in this way.

I finally reach the Palais Omnisports Paris-Bercy. I have no idea how long it has actually taken me to walk here (or more accurately how long it would take to walk directly here) as I'm always poking around. Walking around Paris, I'm like a dog stopping to pee at every fire hydrant.

Palais de Bercy. This is a fascinating structure, not your typical civic center. First, it's huge (up to 18,000 spectators), and roughly pyramid-shaped; second, a lot of it is covered with lawn (yep, you heard that right: "lawn"). It's used a decorative element so the Palais "blends" to a certain degree with the Parc de Bercy. But it certainly is unusual. The lawns rise up at a 45 degree angle and apparently there are special lawn-mowers (not human) that run up and down the slopes to cut the grass. Would love to see those in action. Also inside is the Patinoire Sonja Henie. This is the site of major sports events and concerts. Outside (on the park side) is a sort-of inverted fountain, canyoneaustrate,by Gerard Singer.

Parc de Bercy. Across a wide open space with playing fields, then into the Jardin du Yitzhak Rabin where there are many different smaller gardens, including a rose garden, a vegetable and flower garden, a labyrinth and a small vineyard. In the Jardin des Senteurs, I see a sign that says"Zone WiFi" so you can bring your laptop to the park and work! A small ruin, a vestige of the little Chateau de Bercy. A tumulus that you can look inside where there is a semi-circular stone bench. (What is about the word "tumulus" that makes me think of C.S. Lewis and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?) A footbridge arches up and over the r. Joseph Kessel so you don't have to leave the park to cross the street. On the other side, more gardens (sign: Pelouse au Repos) and the Maison du Lac. In the lake, I see a male and female moorhen, swimming along the edges of the bullrushes. Exit the park, around a corner, and into the Cour St Emilion. The weather has begun to change again as I've been walking: sometimes windy, dark clouds moving around, scattered sun. It does seem as though it might rain again. I would have been warmer and more comfortable with a long-sleeved turtleneck under my sweater rather than a short-sleeved one but I'm basically fine (hey, I'm in Paris!).

Cour St Emilion. Also known as the Village de Bercy, this area and the neighboring r. des Pirogues-de-Bercy and the r. Lheureux is without a doubt my favorite part of today's expedition. (lgw - this is where I was when you called!) The Cour St Emilion is an outdoor shopping area where the shops are in cute little stone buildings (from the mid-1800s) formerly used to store wine. You can still see rails set into the paving stones. It looks like a little village. There are bowers with vines arching across the "street" and lots of boutiques and cafes. (No cars here.)

Most of the shops are "chain" stores but upscale ones, such as Oliviers and Occitane. I stop into FNAC: Eveil et Jeux. FNAC is a huge chain in Paris but this one carries only children's books, games, toys. I browse in the section for children ages 8-12 (about my reading level in French) and pick out Sans Famille by Hector Malot. As I'm paying, the vendeuse asks if it's a "cadeau" since most French stores automatically wrap something if it's a gift. "Uh . . uh . . oui, c'est un cadeau," I sputter. Should I admit I'm really buying it for myself?! Oh well. However, I should point out that in this section are many not-just-for-children books (Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas), and many in translation, such as Faulkner and Hemingway. And Sans Famille is a "children's book" in the way that "Little Women" is: a classic that was not originally written for children but has since become considered as one.

On the rue Lheureux, more of the old stone warehouses that have been renovated.
Interesting factoid: The r. des Pirogues-de-Bercy gets its name from some elongated wooden boats (pirogues) that were discovered during the redevelopment of the park site. Now displayed at the Musee Carnavalet, they are remnants of a former neolithic village on this site.

Metro "Meteor" Line 14. This is one of the newest of the metro lines in Paris and one of the shortest. It goes from the Gare St Lazare basically to the Bibliotheque Nationale, across the river from where I am now. I get on at the Cour St Emilion station and ride back to Chatelet as it is starting to rain. On this line, there are glass walls at the edge of the quais, separating them from the rails. There are doors in the glass walls that correspond to the doors on the train, so when the train stops in the station, both sets of doors open automatically. Also, there are no train conductors; it's all automatic. I change at Chatelet to get to the Hotel de Ville station so I can dash to apt without getting too wet but it has stopped raining while I was underground!
Pedometer: 12,562.

The News. This evening I watch the news from 7 to 8. Whenever there is an ad for some type of food, there is a message that scrolls across the bottom. I've seen three different ones:
1. Pour votre sante, mangez au moins cinq fruits et legumes par jour.
2. Pour votre sante, evitez de grignoter entre les repas.
3. Pour votre sante, pratiquez une activite physique reguliere.
Each message is followed by a web address: mangerbouger.fr So I just did a little research by going to the website and there's a fourth:
4. Pour votre santé, évitez de manger trop gras, trop sucré, trop salé.

Apparently, all food ads have to contain one of these messages, whether the ads are on TV, radio, print, Internet. It's targeted towards foods with added sugar, salt and food coloring, also processed foods. Some foods are exempt: (1) tea, coffee, fruit juice, milk (as long as they have no added sugar, salt or food coloring); (2) raw fruits and vegetables, eggs, spices; and (3) fresh meat and fish, also frozen fish and meat as long as they were frozen with nothing added except water.

Also on the news today:

-Taxis en greve.

-Myannmar (Burma) manifestations.

-Discussion of the French national budget for 2008.

-Exhibition: Leleu: 50 ans de mobilier et de decoration. At the Musee des Annees 30 (yes, apparently there's a museum here devoted to just the 1930s!) in Boulogne-Billancourt (a suburb of Paris).

-An interview with Phillippe Torreton, currently playing Don Juan (by Moliere) at the Theatre Marigny.

-A piece about cell phones possibly causing brain damage in children (moins de 15 ans). This was interesting because I haven't noticed a lot of people (young or old) using cell phones or text messaging, but then again, I haven't been hanging around any school yards.

You should see me watching the news: I sit about three feet away, peering at the screen, trying to lip-read the announcer/interviewee etc. I look like a complete moron, j'en suis sur.

I'm always excited when I go to bed at night, thinking about getting up the next morning and having my cafe au lait. It's a wonder I can fall asleep!