Who knew Paris has its own High Line?
That's the fabulous garden planted on top of an abandoned train line in NYC's Chelsea.
I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know- and I'm rather obsessive about my sightseeing.
So last Sunday I hightailed it over to La Coulée Verte René-Dumont before anyone discovered this gaping hole in my knowledge.
This above-ground garden promenade in the 12th arrondissement is built on a portion of La Petite Ceinture, a "little belt" of a train line around Paris built between 1852-1870.
It was transformed into this garden between 1987-2000 - and boy, am I embarrassed again! The 1st part of the High Line didn't open until 2009.
So I should say that New York has it's own version of La Coulée Verte.
SIDEBAR: France invented a lot of things we assume America got to first. The airplane, the parachute (good to have with that new airplane), the automobile, bleach (blondes, are we grateful?), the bra as we know it today (for which I'm not so grateful), the internet ("minitel").
Again - WHO KNEW?
Back to the Coulée Verte - which means the Green Flow. That name doesn't immediately scream to me what it is, exactly - but everyone here seems to know (there's a big one in Nice that looks nothing like this one).
This one is 4.5 kms long, stretching from Bastille to La Villette. It's an homage to René Dumont, a pioneer in ecology. The easiest way to access is a set of stairs behind the Opera house in Bastille.
The first part is beautifully manicured, with roses and benches and trellises (oh, my).
Not a bad way to get an appetite going for Sunday lunch.
The Green Flow flows through a couple parks - including this one, where I checked another item of my must-see list: a JO fanzone (JO = Jeux Olympiques). Pronounced GEE-OH.
And Oh Gee!
Another SIDEBAR: on one of my major French language pet peeves. You pronounce the letter G "jay." And you pronounce the letter J "gee." Almost as confusing as "quatorze heures" - which makes me think quatre, 4 - so 4 pm. But no. It's 2pm.
Back to the Fan Zone. We happened onto a real Paris experience, sitting in beach chairs and watching the women's wheelchair basketball ("le basketball en fauteuil-roulant").
Since we opted out of tickets for the closing ceremony (how long does it take hundreds of athletes to walk in? A LOT) - this was ou JO experience. OR SO WE THOUGHT - stay tuned...
In the meantime, the next stretch of the walk took a turn to the "sauvage" - more like a meadow. Or even the vacant lot I used to play in when I was a kid.
And then, looming ahead: a chainlink fence. Beyond it, tents and make-shift shelters. For "sans abri." People "without shelter." I wonder how they were able to wash these clothes?
A very sobering end of the line. But one that suited us - we'd been walking about 90 minutes in paradise by now, and it seemed right to come back to earth.
When we returned to the man-icured part (vs sauvage) it was just as lovely - but felt different (note the clouds...)
Rain was indeed threatening - we found our own shelter in Bastille in time for tea.
More than a shelter - it was Aladdin's Cave! Chock-a-block with costume jewelry - everything for 5 euros. My kinda place. Plaisir Equi-Thé - the Pleasure of "Equity." As in charity, not stocks. Maybe it all went to a good cause? I was too busy trying on necklaces, bracelets, rings to find out.
After the clouds had finished dumping, I paid for the one item I allowed myself (turquoise-esque earrings).
Then we wended our way to the Hôtel de Ville to see the cheval en fer - the iron horse- that rode up the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
We didn't find him - but did see the French version of Blue Man Group. I'm pretty sure NYC was first with this idea.
Then: dinner. We wanted to watch the closing ceremony, and a restaurant near us advertised they had screens. They also had the worst grilled vegetables I've ever eaten and a rather perplexingly obscenity-laden menu and interior design (the F word and bullsh*t were all over the walls and ceilings).
I do give them props for "Jon Bon Anchovy."
By the time we got home, we'd clocked 24,000 steps. And a lot of 1sts - the French High Line, the Fan Zone, Tea and Trinkets. And lasts - for the Olympics, and those grilled vegetables.
AND THIS WAS JUST DAY 1 OF OUR FALL TRIP TO PARIS!
6 MORE TO GO.
STAY TUNED ....
Coulée Verte – photo CV; photo BB roses; manicured; wild; squatters
Thé/Jewelry
Olympics – Blue Man (video) + Mairie/Fanzone
Worst meal – video/obscene menu and ceiling
24,000 steps
Marvelous my friend