In and around Paris, part II
/Paris and its surrounds provide no shortage of things to see and do. Indeed, this is my second post of things in and around Paris. In addition to the sights one might expect, I also visited the Musée Jacquemart-André, a beautiful residence showcasing the life collection of Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart. I also took a trip to the fairy-tale Chateau de Pierrefonds and explored the medieval town at the end of the line, Provins. I later found out that Provins is an exceptionally popular place for grandparents to take their grandchildren, a trend that was well observed on my visit. Another passing year brought another set of journées du patrimoine, allowing visits some some of the cities greatest sites. But perhaps the best trip was saved for my last weekend in Paris: Versailles.
Unfortunately, this marked the end of my time in Paris; how quickly the two years have gone. I loved every minute of my time in Paris and will sorely miss living there.
Around Paris
Château de Pierrefonds
I cannot recall when or where I came across the Château de Pierrefonds, but once I did, it was clear that I was going to have to make a trip out there. The town of Pierrefonds is about 80 kilometres north of Paris and is home to a little less than 2000 people. The town itself is a sleepy regional community; however, it is host to an impressive castle. Construction started in the late-14th century, although there had been a castle previously on the site. Its history is not without turbulence, having been taken and attempts were made to destroy it, but it was simply too large. It eventually fell into the hands of Napoleon and later, under the rule of Napoleon III it was decided that the ruins should be restored. The task was given to the master of restoration Viollet-le-Duc (see Carcassonnne) which, whilst not without it issues, the momentous task was completed by the end of the 19th century. Now the castle is mainly a tourist attraction and the backdrop for many films and television shows.
Unfortunately, Pierrefonds is difficult to reach via public transport. My plan was to take the train from Paris (Gare du Nord) to Compiègne, from where one can take a bus (operated by Oise mobilité, line 27) however it runs rather infrequently (timetable). However, on a Sunday morning, it is possible to take a train out there a get a connecting bus, which will give you the day in Pierrefonds and then one can make the return journey in the late afternoon. A reasonable plan, and as I was explaining my intentions to some friends, they mentioned that they would be interested in coming along. This was surprising, as one of them is notoriously uninterested in travel, but very welcome as this same person owned a car and was happy to drive. So early on a Sunday morning, instead of heading north on the train, I made my way to Massy-Palaiseau (which felt too much like a normal work day) and from here we hit the road. Even though it was only a bit over 100 kilometres, it took some time thanks to the ever present traffic in and around Paris.
Arriving in Pierrefons, we parked the car in town and walked up to the castle and paid for entry (8 €/person). The grounds of the castle are impressive, as is the château exterior. The entrance is via multiple gates, crossing tall dry moats whilst the main towers do a great job of making you feel small. The interior of the castle is less impressive; however given the restoration history this makes sense. There were a few highlights, including the massive copper statue Lion ailé (winged lion), the chapel, the salon de réception with its wild wallpaper and the main room of the château, la salle des Preuses which whilst a bit rough around the edges oozed much charm. The visit took roughly 90 minutes and by which time we were ready for some lunch.
Back in town, we found service at what is basically the only restaurant in town before following the road out of town to the south east, from where I expected that we could get the best view of the château. There was a small track running behind a stable - with some very friendly and inquisitive horses - which provided some good views, but the castle was partially obscured by tall trees. It was still a nice place to explore.
Keeping with the exploration theme, we then moved a bit further south to find a geocache. I had heard of geocaching, but had never partaken. There was some hunting around through some old farming ruins, but we were able to find the cache and do what needed to be done. From here it was back into Paris, which once again thanks to the traffic and combined with an accident on the highway took a long time.
Despite the minor tribulations in organising a trip to Pierrefonds, I would rate it as worthwhile; although it would not make it on to my list of best attractions in and around Paris.
Provins
Situated some 80 kilometres southeast of Paris is the medieval town of Provins. Famed as the old capital of the comtes de Champagne but perhaps better known as the place grandparents take their grandchildren; with daily bird and horse shows and the completely over-the-top medieval fair in June. It was somewhat telling when I mentioned to work colleagues that I was planning to go to Provins on the weekend, the overwhelming responses were either "where is that" or "My parents (-in-law) to my kids there". In any case, the town is close, but more importantly it is stepped in history and home to some amazing structures.
Reaching Provins is a simple affair, with a direct train from Paris Est departing every hour. The trip is simple as Paris Est is the first stop and Provins is the last stop on the Transilien P line. Moreover, the trip is included as part of the Paris region (zone 5) which makes things easy, and in the case of someone with a yearly zone 1 to 5 ticket, no additional fare is required, which is pretty swell. The old part of town is about one kilometre from the station, but it is decidedly magical walking from a pretty grungy station and surrounds into a storybook medieval town over the course of 10 minutes.
The first stop was the Église Saint-Ayoul, a church and monastery dating from the 11th century. It has had numerous reconstructions and it a bit of a hodgepodge of styles. Being a Sunday morning, there was a service being conducted and consequently I did not venture inside, but I can only imagine it being dark! Just up the road, the thoroughly modern (by comparison) mairie overlooks la rue du Val, a living street which wends its way to the citadel. The fortified old town of Provins is a UNESCO world heritage site, listed as Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs. Walking up the hill, the citadel is essentially split in half, with the bigger attractions to the south and the residential area to the north. My plan was to walk to the north of town and make my way south, through the town and eventually back to the station. Consequently, I found myself at the northern entrance to the city, la porte de Jouy, beyond which are fields of wheat, and likely have been for quite some time. From here, one can mount or follow around the remarkably intact remparts de Provins. The best view of the area comes from the hill in front of la tour aux Engins where one is treated to a view of the largest sections of the ramparts. Following the walls around, one can reenter the town via la porte Saint-Jean.
The old town is centred around Place du Châtel which is largely equivalent to saying the souvenir shops and expensive restaurants are located around Place du Châtel; however some of the older buildings are beautiful. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and started to become wet, although this roughly corresponded with me heading to the main attractions: the Tour César and Église Saint-Quiriace. La Tour César is a 12th century donjon, with a claim to fame of being the only known donjon with an octagonal base. Obviously, the tower bears the name of Caesar, although it was not always the case, previously having been called la tour du Roi and la Grosse tour among other things. Legend has it that the town was founded in the Roman era and consequently, during the Roman conquest of Gaul (listen to a great podcast on the topic) the town must have been taken by Caesar. Evidence suggests that this is not the case, but the truth need not dampen the town's fables. In any case, it is a great place to get a view over the city and surrounds, although all the pigeons that call the tower home make the aroma of the upper levels something to savour.
Only a stone's throw from the tower is the Église Saint Quiriace, founded in the early 11th century and vastly expanded in the 12th century. Without going into specifics, this church is simply gorgeous. It was quite a surreal experience, I was dumbstruck to be in such an amazing building, and remain in there for quite some time and not see any other person the entire time. As it happened, my partner phoned me, and we had a chat and I relayed the experience I was having and contrasted it to anything one might experience in Australia. That is not to say it is better or worse, just very different. The gardens of the church seemed well maintained, but the weather was miserable and I did not get a chance to enjoy them. In a similar vein, I stopped in at the Église Sainte-Croix on my way back to the station, but it was closed and the weather was depressing enough that I made a bee line for the station and the next train back to Paris.
Provins is an easily accessible trip from Paris, is not busy and has no shortage of attractions. Consequently, I would recommend it to anyone looking to get out and see something a bit different to the standard Paris fare.
Versailles
It is well known that France is the most visited country in the world (source). It is depressing that the most visited site in France is Disneyland, with 13.4 million visitor in 2016, followed by le musée du Louvre (7 million) and coming in just behind that is Versailles (6.7 million) (source, page 60). There are few better-known monuments in France (and arguably Europe) than le château de Versailles so it might seem odd that I did not visit the site on my visits to Paris prior to moving, or earlier in my stint of living in Paris. I had planned on visiting over my first winter holiday after returning from Corsica; however, a snow storm came though and it was more fun playing in the gardens around the cité universitaire. When faced with my imminent departure from France, I locked in a Sunday to venture out to Versailles and see the château, but also a bit of the town.
There is endless quality information about both Versailles and its palace but since the town's creation by King Louis XIV and the upgrade of King Louis XIII's hunting lodge to one of the most opulent buildings in history, the town has been of major importance. It was centre of power for the Kingdom of France and world shaping treaties such as those of Paris and Versailles, ending the American revolutionary war and World War I respectively, were signed there. Unsurprisingly, the palace and grounds are a UNESCO world heritage site, with the surrounding area being essentially one of the wealthiest suburbs of Paris.
Getting to Versailles is a simple task, with one arm of the RER C terminating some hundreds of metres from the château. It is possible to buy tickets from the on-site office, but it is much easier to buy them online in an attempt to reduce the impacts of the sufferfest that is the admission line. It is famously long - clearly visible on satellite imagery - and slow moving. There are a few lines, some people buying tickets and most waiting to go through security, but it is a mess, in part due to the large number of organised tours and groups going through simultaneously. My plan to minimise that punishment was to go early. Upon arrival, I was surprised to see a line already formed some 30 minutes before opening, albeit a small one. Once the waiting was done, and we were moving through security, it became evident that most people ahead of me were part of some larger tour and a little useless, so did not actually head into the château, and it was then that i found myself at the head of the pack. As this was somewhat unexpected, I made the snap decision to hightail it to the château's most impressive feature, the hall of mirrors so I could have the place to myself. This meant blasting past many rooms and objects of interest, but once I had seen the hall I would simply return to them.
I arrived at in the hall to a lone worker just sitting on a chair and for about 5 minutes had the place to myself. The room is indeed impressive; however I maintain that le grand foyer in Opéra Garnier is more visually impressive, which perhaps is unsurprising as it was modelled from the hall of mirrors. In any case, I took some photos and then made my way back to the entrance and went through with the rest of the palace at normal pace.
Once I had taken in all I was going to absorb from the interior, I entered into the garden complex. The important things to know about the gardens are that they are immaculately maintained but also enormous. Consequently, in contrast to feeling claustrophobic during the château visit, the grounds are positively spacious. The only place where this is not true is Le Bassin d'Apollon which houses the impressive Char du Soleil fountain/sculpture. An interesting piece of trivia is that the Chimei museum in Taiwan commissioned an "exact" replica of the pond and fountain, which took 6 years to complete and was unveiled around the time of my visit to Versailles (2014). At the fountain, I look the liberty of setting up my tripod to get a long-exposure photo, but after some time a staff member approached me and said the use of tripods was not allowed. It didn't worry me, as I had already taken the photo that I wanted.
Once I had finished up in the gardens it was time to have a quick tour of the town of Versailles. As the day was getting on a bit, the line out the front of the château was impressive and my decision to come early was validated. As the town was essentially built around the palace, it does not have many other major monuments. To the north is the Église Notre-Dame which makes a lovely backdrop to the memorial of Lazare Hoche. To the south is cathédrale Saint-Louis which is impressive from the outside, but due to mass, access was forbidden when I was visiting.
A trip out to Versailles is more-or-less a given for any visitor to Paris. It was absolutely worthwhile, but I a few small manoeuvres - such as going early on a Sunday - made it a better experience that it otherwise might have been. Likewise, stopping in at Pierre Hermé on my way home to enjoy a hard earned treat was a pretty good idea.
In Paris
Les journées du patrimoine
In 1984, an initiative by the ministère de la Culture français was put forward to allow people to explore national monuments and buildings that might be otherwise off limits; the philosophy - and indeed the name - of the event was open days of historic monuments (journées portes ouvertes des monuments historiques). In 1991, after the idea has spread to other countries within Europe, the events united under a common banner, the so-called European heritage days (journées Européennes du Patrimoine). In Paris, the event ultimately boils down to a weekend whereby anyone can visit any historical monument in the city - many of which are only accessible to the public on that weekend - and the only price which must be paid is waiting in (long) lines.
In my first iteration of the event in 2013, the main building I visited was the Palais du Luxembourg, home to le sénat, along with water themed visits to the musée des égouts (the sewers) and le Pavillon de la porte d’Arcueil, an old chlorination facility which is the end of the aqueducts which still provide Paris with water, les aqueducs de la Vanne et du Loing. The latter was an unplanned visit, I actually wanted to visit the le réservoir de Montsouris, also known as le réservoir de la Vanne, which looked super cool; however visits are allocated and very few people get to go in. For the iron willed, the main attraction is the presidential palace (le palais de l'Élysée) where people will wait all day (and often longer) to get access, and also la tour Saint-Jacques: a tower in the centre of the city that is exclusive to say the least.
When les journées du patrimoine rolled around in 2014, I knew much better what to expect and in addition, some friends from Australia had recently moved to Paris, so we locked in a few places that we wanted to see and then got ready to stand in some slow moving lines.
Our day started at the pont Alexandre III the most gaudy, over-the-top bridge in Paris before starting our actual adventures with le Petit Palais, which is equivalently titled le musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris. The building hides in the shadow of its much larger relative across the road, but the building is exquisite. From the detailing of the main hall - done using motifs of Paris - to the interior garden, coupled with almost no visitors made it a great place to relax and enjoy what is something quintessentially Parisian.
Once we psyched ourselves up, we left the comfort of the museum, crossed the Seine and got in line for the nearby Assemblée nationale. In keeping with the theme of visiting the houses of Parliament and last year's visit to the upper house of Parliament, this years visit would be to the lower house. The tour provides access to Hôtel de Lassay and parts of the Palais Bourbon, two impressive buildings built in the early 18th century. Upon our arrival, there was a long line as we had expected, but to our surprise it was not that long, and it moved fairly quickly. This was exciting, until we realised that this was the line for security screening, not the line for building entry, which was not visible from the street and moved excruciatingly slowly. All in all, we waited for about 90 minutes before we started our visit of the Hôtel de Lassay.
The Hôtel de Lassay is home the the president of the National Assembly, but more relevant for a visit: it is a really nice building. The interior is lavishly decorated, and for the weekend, they pull out all the stops and put out the good dinner wear - quite literally. The visit is self guided, but you are ushered though at a decent pace. The main event of the visit is la salle des Séances which is where the lower house sits. It is perhaps most famously known for the political divisions of right and left which arose from where the deputies sat in the hemicycle relative to the speaker, with socialists on the left and conservatives on the right. The room is certainly grandiose, but not over the top (by 18th century French standards).
As the tour continued, we wended our way through countless rooms, with the most impressive being la salle des pas perdus, although I was most captivated by the mail room and the library, which was immaculately presented. Eventually we were funneled out into la cour d'honneur which has served as the primary entrance since the palace was constructed, and contains numerous sculptures thick with implications: universal suffrage, the law and human rights.
The visit was not long, but we were not in a position to try for any other visits so we called it a day. And by that I mean we went down the road to Pierre Hermé and had some treats. On my visit after Versailles I had seen the intensely indulgent 2000 feuilles and had to make it mine. In the end it was indeed indulgent, but it would not get a look in on the list of best mille-feuilles I had eaten - maybe not even on the best mille-feuilles I had eaten in the last month.
A new day brought new opportunities, and I had two places I wanted to visit: the hôtel de ville de Paris, which from the first time I saw was my favourite building in Paris, and somewhat specifically, la Salle Ovale at bibliothèque nationale de France: site Richelieu-Louvois which I had previously tried to visit limited success. I arrived at the hôtel de ville a little before 1000 and to my surprise, there were few people and before long, the tours started. The building is the seat of local government and administration, along with being a venue for events, so there is a real mix of things to see. For example, the first thing that we were greeted by was a life-size rhinoceros made from living plants. This was obviously a contrast to the Neo-Renaissance architecture of the building, but really neat none-the-less.
The hôtel de ville has existed in some form or another beginning in 1357. From humble beginnings, it was greatly expanded in 1533 by King Fancis I, who was well known for funding the construction of lavish buildings, for example the château de Chambord. He argued that Paris, which at the time was the largest city in Europe, deserved an representative building worthy of the city's status. The building remained unchanged until after the revolution, whereby it was expanded to allow for a growing city government. However, it would be la Commune de Paris who would leave the greatest mark on the building, burning it to the ground on May 24th 1871, complete with the historical records of Paris and the hall's library. Understanding the Paris Commune is a a bit complicated, but very worthwhile and the content is extremely rich. My interest in the topic grew during a tour of the Père-Lachaise cemetery, specifically with an in-depth discussion of le mur des Fédérés, which has a horrible history and the events and broader context are not so widely known. A good starting point for learning the basics is this entry along with this article, but there is no substitute for an well-versed and impassioned historian, one of whom I was lucky enough to know.
The tour of the building was thoroughly enjoyable, from wandering the dark marbled corridors of the ground floor to the bright upper halls lined with stained glass windows depicting the various corporations of Paris. Following on are the various rooms & halls, with the Renaissance style salon des arcades and the over-the-top salle des fêtes (inspired by la galerie des Glaces de Versailles) being the real highlights. As the building is also home to the municipal council, one can also visit la salle du Conseil de Paris, although after the assemblée nationale it appeared both small and tame. Once again, one of the most captivating rooms was the library, which was home to - amongst many other things - an exquisite globe. Once the visit had come to an end, it seemed that it would be a poor decision to miss an opportunity to enjoy a treat from what was reputed to be the best éclair shop in Paris, so I popped into the nearby l'éclair de génie and sample what was indeed a very tasty treat.
The next stop was the bibliothèque nationale de France. I had previously visited the library, both at site François-Mitterrand and site Richelieu-Louvois, and it was the latter to where I was returning. This is because on my last visit, the "main event" - la Salle Ovale - was not open to the public. As it is a functioning research library, one needs to have a purpose to visit. The librarian was kind and let me have a look around, but would not allow me to take any photos. So, given it is open to the public, I was going to return and take the photo that I wanted to take.
The French national library can be traced back to the library founded by Charles V 1358. More importantly, the library was opened to the public in 1692 and the collection grew enormously during the revolution as the private libraries of the elite were seized. Perhaps of more relevance, the then-called Imperial National library moved to the newly constructed site Richelieu-Louvois in the 2nd arrondissement during 1868. With the library being the largest collection of books in the world and growing, the facilities continued to expand and in 1875 Jean-Louis Pascal (no clear relation to Blasie Pascal) oversaw the construction of la Salle Ovale, the library's primary reading room. Since 1996, the bulk of the library's collection resides at site François-Mitterrand (a.k.a. la TBG) but site Richelieu-Louvois remains open and glorious. Whilst no longer the largest library in the world - that title belongs to the British Library, with some 150 million catalogued items - la bibliothèque nationale de France is one of the world's most well stocked and staffed libraries and absolutely worth a visit.
The final visit of the day and indeed the weekend was to the nearby headquarters of BNP Paribas asset management. Despite holding contempt for much the industry, banking is obviously synonymous with wealth and how better to show that you have too much wealth than have a very nice building? Well the Comptoir d'escompte de Paris and later the Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris certainly thought so. From humble beginnings in 1852, l'hôtel Rougemont slowly absorbed the surrounding buildings with the bulk of the impressive work carried out between 1878 and 1881. Indeed, the work was so impressive that the building was listed as monument historique in 1991.
The history of the Comptoir d'escompte de Paris can be effectively summarised as follows: a bank created to deal with some of the major financial problems after the third revolution which did really well until it collapsed but then was nationalised, reformed and ultimately merged with the Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie and form Banque nationale de Paris (BNP). For me, it meant that there was another interesting building I could see before time on the weekend.
The building could only be accessed on a guided tour, which is fine but also meant that there was much more talk of BNP than I cared for. Indeed, at one point we were shown inside a board room, which although it was pretty swish, I physically could not care less than I did during my time in that room. On the other hand, having access into the basement vaults - which are now offices - was cool, but the opulent staircase and the Islamic-inspired, gold-covered domed ceilings of the reception area was definitely a highlight. Whilst these areas are normally inaccessible, the main hall is as gorgeous as it is over the top and is open to the public during business hours.
Musée Jacquemart-André
Living in Paris as compared to visiting Paris affords great opportunities to see things that are lesser known, and one such place is the Musée Jacquemart-André. The private museum is located just down the road from the Arc de Triomphe on Boulevard Haussmann. It is a ritzy part of town and the museum is equally ritzy, being a mansion built between 1869 and 1875 for Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart. The couple amassed a large collection of Italian art during their lifetimes and these became available to the public in 1913 when the mansion and their collection were bequeathed to the Institute de France. I found it to be an effective way to part with 12 €, but also to have an enjoyable afternoon.
Tour Montparnasse
Perhaps one of the most noticeable building in Paris for all the wrong reasons is Tour Montparnasse (tour Maine-Montparnasse) which is located in the 15th arrondissement. Constructed between 1970 and 1973, the tower is the tallest building in Paris reaching 209 metres. Whilst this is over 100 metres less than the Eiffel Tower (324 m) it dominates the skyline of the city due to the monolithic design. Indeed, after its construction it was considered so out of place with the architectural style of Paris that shortly after its construction, a law was passed to prevent the construction of buildings taller than seven stories. Consequently, the tower provides fantastic views over the city, in large part because the tower itself is not visible.
Visiting is an easy task - albeit a bit pricey (18 €) - and I had decided I wanted to go in the late evening, so I could see the sunset and dusk, which is when the city tends to look the most impressive. I gave myself a bit of a buffer, arriving about 30 minutes before I wanted to be on the observation deck, which was about right. On the top, I think I was more-or-less the only person up there not with a partner enjoying the sunset and taking selfies. In any case, one does get an impressive view over the city, and being able to identify places from above carries a special kind of satisfaction.
As a humourous addition, I came across a survey that was performed by the now defunct VirtualTourist platform for the 10 ugliest buildings and monuments and whilst not the ugliest - that honour goes to the Boston City Hall - Tour Montparnasse comes in at number two.
An evening stroll
My time in Paris was coming to an end and it was my last weekend before leaving. In addition to frantically sorting out my affairs, I made a point of visiting some of my favourite spots one last time, and at my favourite time to see the city: the early evening and dusk. My first stop was la tour Eiffel, well more specifically l'Avenue de Camoëns, a spot from where one is treated to a fantastic view of the tower whilst being ensconced by buildings to provide scale. Whenever in the vicinity of Trocadéro I would always make a detour to walk in this area so it was nice to spend a little time there.
I made my way to another favourite viewpoint, a slipway below the pont d'Iéna situated on the port de Passy. I would take people here whenever they visited Paris as it is a great place to take in the environment, but also watch people and watch the sunset, which is exactly what I did. I went for a quick wander around the base of the tower; however this is not the most pleasant experience due to the extreme amount of tourists and people profiting from the tourists.
My next stop was la place de la Concorde, which captured my imagination on my first visit to Paris: I had simply not realised that cities could have such incredible monuments. It was created in 1772 and is perhaps most famed as a place for executions during the Revolution, but nowadays it is more notable for the large number of tourists - mostly from Asia - sporting wedding dresses taking ceremonial photos. During the day it is an absolute circus and best avoided, but by night, there are very few people around. I spent much time (perhaps too much?) enjoying one the prettiest fountains in town, the Fontaine des Fleuves but also the outrageous Obélisque de Louxor, which is indeed a real obelisk, over 3,000 years old which was "given" to the French in the early 19th century.
Following on from this were my favourite building in Paris, the hôtel de ville de Paris and the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. One a the great delights of living in Paris is wandering the streets late at night, with few people around and just being able to steep in the history and grandeur of the city. For whatever reason - I suppose due to their centrality - I would often pass both of these buildings on such late night adventures, and it is likely that these will be some of the strongest and most treasured memories of my time in Paris.
Le Dernier Jour
In addition to being a (reputedly average) film from 2004, the inevitable had arrived: my last day in Paris. I was not leaving Europe just yet, rather moving to Mainz, Germany. My train was booked for the afternoon and departed from Gare de L'est. My apartment had to be vacated early, and although they said I could leave my luggage there, I figured that it was easier to take it to the train station and put it in storage. Unfortunately, this meant crossing Paris during rush hour with a large bag. Still, it was with a heavy heart that I said goodbye to the la MEASE (maison des étudiants de l'Asie du sud-est) which took the physical form of saying goodbye to the receptionist, Marie-Françoise, and got on a northbound métro.
Arriving at Gare de l'est, I went to the baggage storage area which operates with a full security screening to get access to the lockers, but my problem arose due to requiring cash for locker but only having newly released, 9-day old 10 € notes. Obviously the machine that provided change did not accept these (despite the European central bank stating that automated machines would accept the new bills) and then trying to get change from a security guard who thought I had some kind a fake note. Eventually I was able to exchange it with somebody, but for the first time I was to use the note, it was anything but smooth.
My plan for the day was to visit places to which I felt some connection but also had not recently visited. Stop one was La Défense, an area I visited during my first trip as a tourist to Paris in 2011 and there was something about it that called to me. It is often criticised as soulless, as can often be the case with central business districts; however I find it to be rather charming. Most people visiting Paris are aware of its existence due to the Grande Arche which now marks the end of Axe historique, the principal axis which runs from the Louvre and extends down the Champs-Élysées, and is unmissable from the Arc de Triomphe. As it stands, La Défense is home to the tallest building in Paris - the Tour First (231 m) - and there are plans many more, including the highly contentious and problematic Hermitage Plaza, which would become Europe's highest buildings - although 1 metre shy of the Eiffel tower. The entire project is suspect and there have been many casualties left in its wake; I remember hearing grumbling about the towers, but it was this podcast that really gave me pause.
In any case, a trip down the Champs-Élysées is as close as most tourists will get to La Défense, but it is definitely worthwhile. It is home to a large open-air museum, which can be enjoyed on a walk between the La Défense and Esplanade de La Défense métro stations. My favourite piece is Le Moretti by Raymond Moretti, but I also find the Fontaine Agam pretty pleasing. On this particular trip, I also wanted to venture into the business proper business district to find the Place Ronde as I had recently seen a photo of it and thought it looked neat. Indeed it was.
Back in the city I had planned for what had become my traditional lunch whenever I had someone visiting: a baguette from la parisienne coupled with a treat from Sadaharu Aoki, both of which are a stone's throw from le jardin du Luxembourg, where one can take a seat amongst the flowers, next to the fountain overlooking the Palais du Luxembourg. Whilst the bakery is largely generic, Sadaharu Aoki would be my favourite pâtisserie (well, I guess pâtissier) in Paris and moreover, the Citron praliné was my favourite pastry, which I dutifully enjoyed. This experience was enhanced thanks to fantastic weather, which permitted me to follow my traditional walking route in the area: passing the Panthéon and then down the ever-charismatic Rue Mouffetard. As I was in the area, I could not resist popping into Carl Marletti and picking up another little treat. Given that I had recently indulged in a treat, I thought it would be a bit glutenous to partake in another so soon. Rather, I took a train into the heart of the city, where I set about taking some long-exposure photos of Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, which were punctuated by many couples - well, essentially women in wedding dresses - surrounding me and having their photos taken. It was amongst this farce that I enjoyed another treat, which visually was stunning, but did not hold up it the flavour department.
My next stop was to make a final visit to the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, specifically to climb the towers. This was something that I had put in the too hard basket for years, but given my time was up, and it was the afternoon on a working day I figured it would not be too busy. This is an optimistic thought given most of the people that climb the towers are tourists and tourists don't work, but in this case, there were not so many people so the wait was relatively short. The tour is anything but a surprise, in that you climb up one tower, enjoy the delights of the decorations, the façade and the views over the city and then descent via the other tower. The knowledge of what to expect is especially true given it is one of the most iconic sights of the city, and moreover, the view of the city in the background of one of the cathedrals gargoyles or other grotesques adorns every single postcard from Paris. That is not to say it is not worthwhile, in fact quite to the contrary, it was thoroughly delightful and served as a fantastic bookend to my time in the city. That is, except for the offensively rude Russians, which are abundant in Paris, but in confined spaces seem to ramp up their obnoxiousness and rudeness. Still, that wouldn't spoil my visit - but clearly left me sour!
With my time rapidly running out, a was on a general trajectory back towards Gare de l'est, but I was to have two major diversions. The first of which was pure hedonism - a third and final treat - and the second was a visit to Montmartre, where I had spent much time during my first visit to Paris and developed much of my affinity towards the city. The treat was to be purchased from Un Dimanche à Paris, a decadent treat house located on a cobbled lane in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Whilst the point of this trip was to get another treat, the secondary purpose was to stroll along Rue Saint-André des Arts where many a pleasant time were had. When it came time to choose my treat, there was no choice. The venue is known for its seasonal chou and the cold autumn had meant bumper crops of mirabell and blackberries. I have enjoyed many-a-chou, both from Un Dimanche à Paris and elsewhere, but this was undoubtedly the best. From a message I sent to Mia: "[it was] so intensely fruity that I could barely keep it all together".
Arriving in Montmartre, I had no real plan other than to walk around La Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre which offers a fantastic vista of Paris, but is always jam packed with tourists. Living in Paris, I rarely crossed the city to just spend time in the area because of this, but whenever anyone would visit I would always enjoy showing them the area, usually in the late afternoon or early evening when it is at its best. In any case, I arrived at the base of the hill of Le square Louise-Michel and as normal the area was rammed full of people, and as normal, also rammed with scammers. Being a tall person, I am rarely harassed by such people, especially when you can tell them firmly in French where they can go. However, on this occasion I had a particularly aggressive craftsman of friendship bracelets - the true classic arnaque de Montmartre - approach me and when I told him what was up he verbally abused me and I pushed past him and was quickly surrounded by a group 6 or 7 strong of some pretty intimidating dudes. There was little I could do other than tell them where to shove it and continue on my way though, which they eventually let me pass, but it was a genuinely unpleasant experience. It also makes me feel for people that cannot push back against that level of intimidation for whatever reason. It also perturbed the rest of my visit to the area, as I was just in a bad frame of mind and could not help but contrast that experience to my first experience many years beforehand, where everything was peachy - although that may have just been luck.
It was not long afterwards that I was once again at the station, loaded up with my bag and my standard train dinner (which consisted of a formule from Paul), that I found myself grappling with the reality of leaving Paris. From the present day, I look back on my time there, and whilst it was only two years, the personal growth I experienced during those years was immeasurable and I will be forever grateful for the experience.
À la prochaine.