Everyday Scenes In My Lovely Neighborhood

I better get going soon!  The striated sky is slowly turning a deeper shade of steel grey.  That dark cloud coming in seems to be settling lower.  Rain perhaps?

Halfway out the door, I realize that I forgot to fill out my attestation(authorization form) needed during our strict confinement.  I duck back in to complete the digital version.

My name, check.  DOB, check.  Address, check.  Reason for my sortie,(outing), check.  I usually do it on my cell phone but have some paper ones too.

It should be about 4:20 by the time I get the elevator and I’m out of the building! I press the magic button on the phone.  Voila! My  QR code is set to go!

The Petite Ceinture Gare, transformed into a popular restaurant and movie set is closed, as are all restaurants, except for takeouts.

All of France is back in confinement for several weeks. Masks have been mandatory even before.  Already, it is working, thank God!  New Cases are down.

The cool breeze mixed with a few raindrops feels surprisingly refreshing on. my face as I head out for my no more than an hour’s walk.

So what if there is no sun or it’s raining again! Paris is beautiful as is, even in the rain!

I have to stay within a kilometer radius of my place, though I sometimes go slightly beyond, like 1.2 kilometers, hoping that won’t matter.

Here are some of the scenes that I see quite often, depending on where I am going.   They are all from the 14th arrondissement where I live.  No Eiffel Tower, just residential Paris with some interesting history!

The 14 arrondissement sits right under the 5th and 6th arrondissements.  It has been called the green arrondissement because of the parks, squares, and green spaces.  It also has the most hospitals!

Several convents and monasteries and some of the best bakers in Paris; 4 recent winners Best Baguette de Paris!

The Montparnasse area is in the northern part.  I live in the southern part, so during confinement, I can’t stray too far or risk being fined 135 euros!

I can choose to go shopping, which doesn’t have the time limit or the exercise outing which does.  I try to do the exercise one each day.  The goal is to limit exposure, thereby reducing the caseloads of Covid.

Obviously, if I have chosen the shopping one, and I have been out a while without any groceries I risk a fine too!  Last confinement my attestations were checked three times!

Walking back from the Saturday Marché, my caddy loaded with vegetables and fruits, I generally pass by this memorandum on Rue Père Corentin to a fallen resistant fighter regularly decorated with fresh flower bouquets.

A solemn reminder that freedom comes with sacrifice.   How petty we are today to complain about confinement in comparison to others like courageous Gustave Pommier, who gave his life to free Paris from the Nazis in August 1944.

I vary my walks, depending on my mood and what I want to see.  Sometimes I go down General Leclerc towards Denfort Rochereau, mainly to walk along Rue Daguerre, one of the super great foodie streets of Paris.

Another walk I enjoy is down Tombe d’Issoire and René Coty, which is quieter along a pretty green-lined corridor that extends from Montsouris to Denfort Rochereau.  The grounds around Cité Universitaire. are nice too.

My most peaceful walk is going around Parc Montsouris.  There is a slight hill that affords me some cardio going up, which I like since my gym is closed.

On Rue Beaunier there is a plaque indicating that Lenin lived here in exile.  He reportedly installed his French mistress nearby and liked Parc Montsouris also, a rather unsettling thought.

I often rinse my hands in the lovely ornate fountain in front of the Paris reservoir.

Under the huge grassy mound, larger than several football fields are two tiers of a gothic cathedral-like blue lagoon that provides drinking water for 20% of Parisians.

The heavily guarded mound keeps the water at a constant cool temperature. A little fun fact is that many years ago there was a small compartment for trout who were closely observed as indicators of water purity.

A lovely old cobblestone path lined has multi-storied townhouses draped in overgrown vines on fire with rusted golden brown foliage.

 

 

 

 

On reaching Montsouris,  I start to ascend the little hill. It bothers me somewhat to have all these young joggers whiz by close to me huffing and puffing without a mask(authorized if jogging) from Cité Universitaire across the park.

Here is the old weather tower of France Meteo, the oldest in France since 1867,  that still transmits meteorological measurements every day.

The RER B suburban train that goes through central Paris into the surrounding towns slices through the park like a hotdog buried in a bun.  The northbound one will take you to Charles DeGaulle Airport.

 

 

 

 

 

The merry-go-round is quiet now since confinement waiting for better days.  Same for the ponies, who are probably happy for their extended vacations.

Swan family of Juliette et Julien, seen a year ago with their chick has sadly been reduced to only one lately.  I don’t know what happened, nor if the remaining one is Juliette or Julien.

There are signs posted not to feed the ducks, geese, and swans, but people scatter food out for them anyway, risking being reprimanded by park agents.

The annual Chopin In the Park concerts, which I enjoyed every August and drew large crowds was canceled this year due to Covid.

On the northern border of the park, across the street are some of the remnants of the Roman Aquaduct. Marie de Medici also used them to provide water to her fountains at Luxembourg and those in the 5th arrondissement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sometimes meander around the crisscrossed narrow streets where several bohemian artists and writers lived.

Henry Miller, Man Ray, Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso,  Utrillo,  Rousseau, Ernst Max, Dali, Miro, Gauguin and Zakine, amongst others also lived for a time in the 14th.

I love the colorful and fitting facade seen on Rue des Artists.

 

When I go towards Rue Daguerre, I pass by my church on Alesia and the crepes/churros stand seen on a sunny day.

 

 

 

 

On the grounds of old Hospital Rochefoucauld is one of several observation huts that The Romans built to check water flowing beneath from the Aquaduct.

Denfert Rochereau is a tourist hot spot for those wanting the go down into the macabre Paris Catacombs.  There are always huge lines.  Once is enough for me!

I live across one of the entrances to the huge maze of quarries that crisscross the 14th like swiss cheese!   I still catch cataphiles clandestinely invading down the dark bowels of Paris as I did recently around Halloween.  It is the black round manhole on the corner best seen on a snowy night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rue Daguerre is worthy of a whole post for gourmets.  The vegetable and fruit markets at Daguerre are first-rate as well as the wonderful fish market!

There are several butchers, a honey shop, foie gras, cheese shops and so much more too numerous to list. Some of the neighborhood’s best restaurants are there too.

I love to look at all the pretty pastries but rarely buy, preferring instead to make my own.  I do like Fred’s Merveilles though, a delightful confection offering bursts of crunchy meringue and clouds of cream with each bite, though I find them too sweet.

Alongside my building heading west, I go along the defunct Petit Ceinture railroad which now provides a peaceful immersion in nature.  It is lovely to walk along to listen to chirping birds and smell the sweet Acacias in Spring.

I like to check out what growing in the communal gardens alongside the railroad leased out to Parisians deprived of plots of earth to grow their own flowers and vegetables.

 

 

 

 

 

Hopital de Notre Dame de Bon Secours on Rue Jardin des Plants has a Convent of Augustines with a lovely chapelle.

I spied a large wooly sheep munching away on grasses yesterday.  What a wonderful way for the good Sisters to save money and preserve the natural ecology of the grounds!  Bravo Sisters!

Another beautiful residential cobblestone street, draped with canopies of vegetation is Rue Thermopyles, north of Rue Alesia near  Pernety.

Walking back there are other parks resplendent in rustic fall foliage.

By the time I make it back home, dusk has fallen around 5:15 pm.

 

It will soon be time to get in the kitchen.  A good dinner prepared with love is something I look forward to each day.

The confinement hasn’t dimmed my Sunday pastry-making in the slightest.

After all, it is up to us to create sweet moments and memories whenever we can!

 

 

 

 

Therefore, I leave you with some of my recent sweet creations I would love to share with you.  Bon appétit!