Wednesday 10 December - Rue de Rome and Buttes Chaumont

I had a quick walk down to Saint Lazare this morning along the the rue de Rome with its many music shops and ateliers.  It is fascinating to see rows and rows of instruments for sale as well as experts making minute repairs to old instruments.

A large display of brass instruments

 

Nothing special in Saint Lazare. No vintage electrics were in evidence. Although a group of protesters got off a train and headed noisily outside.  A job for the Paris Flying Squad.

 

 I found these blazons on two trains for Versailles

It was cloudy and threatening to rain but we decided to see Buttes Chaumont.  The ride along metro 7 bis was very uncomfortable in spite of new equipment. The track needs a lot of attention otherwise the new trains will rapidly deteriorate.

Buttes Chaumont is showing the benefit of the work that has been done in the last few years. There were at least 20 people working on various tasks, including a project to reduce significantly the flow of water through the water fall. The park was opened around 1865 and has been well cared for by generations of city councils. The ducks, moorhens, geese and gulls were in their element but we didn't see any Canada geese. A heron was fishing in the shallows and we later saw it in a tall tree high above the lake.

Buttes Chaumont

Back at Levis we have found a high end chocolatier/patissier who claims to have won many awards.  We certainly enjoyed the two we tried from Pascal Caffet.

Christmas is coming - Rue de Levis

From Pascal Caffet

We had dinner this evening again at Le P'tit Canon.  We are getting to know Isobelle and Christian, the owners, and it is always a friendly experience.  The cooking seems even better than in the past, the soupe a l'onion gratinee had a good deep flavor while the confit de canard was excellent, as were the accompanying crispy fried sliced potatoes.  No room for dessert. 

Tuesday 9 December - Rue du Faubourg St-Antoine

We decided to go into a part of Paris we haven't visited before. We took the line 2 metro to Place de la Nation, walked to Porte de Vincennes and back, walked along the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine to the Bastille then along the rue du Rivoli with a side trip to the Place des Vosges. Line 2 is above ground on a brick arched viaduct between Barbes Rochuart and Jaures - the rest of the line has been put underground.

One of the columns at Place de la nation with a Wallace fountain in the foreground.  It proved difficult to get a picture of the two columns together as trees were in the way.

Place de la Nation is very impressive. The road to the Porte de Vincennes is very wide and flanked by two tall columns with a statue on each. It lines up directly with the Eiffel Tower. There were only a few clouds in the sky and the walking was pleasant. The trams on both routes (3a and 3b) were very much in evidence at Porte de Vincennes - both were well used. 

Tram 3b at Porte de Vincennes

 It was 1200 as we walked back towards Place de la Nation and the kids were coming out for their lunch - many of them were smoking.
Our route changed from grand boulevard to urban working street as soon as we entered the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine. The street is narrower and the shops much smaller. There is a proliferation of restaurants, many of them north African or middle Eastern. Some were very small holes in the wall but mostly well frequented. A couple were crowded with men sipping coffee, presumably Turkish, out of very small cups.

Two blocks of fruit and vegetable stalls.  Each vendor was trying to out shout his neighbour

We made a detour along an open street market leading to the Beauvau covered market. It was some two blocks long and contained only fruit and vegetables. It is surprising that so many traders can make a living yet the number of people living around is very large. Business was brisk.
The narrow streets and parked cars made it difficult for some vehicles. We watched a tractor and trailer make a ninety degree turn. It was driven by a lady truck driver with long black streaky hair and a cigarette in her mouth as her hands were occupied turning the steering wheel. To give herself room to maneuver she just advanced on the opposing traffic and forced them to back up out of her way.
The Bastille was looking good in the bright sunlight as was the Place des Vosges where an urban farm was being set up. A very large turkey was not looking very happy at the attention given it by a chicken which was trying to pull out its tail feathers.
We had lunch at a restaurant just off the rue du Rivoli in St. Paul. The duck was good but the Tarte Tatin dessert was extraordinary.  It was made with just one half of an apple. It was good but would not have passed the exacting standards set down at Lamotte Beuvron, the home of the Tarte Tatin.

Some four vans loads of Paris police were parked at a bus stop outside the restaurant -it seems normal to deploy them around the city like this so they can quickly get to developing trouble spots. There is a frequent bus service along this narrow street, three routes. Around 1430 a convoy of police vans with sirens sounding came roaring up and stopped. There was hand shaking all round and the original contingent eventually departed. As this change of shift was going on the cars and buses meekly waited to get by - no car horns here.

A very different Tarte Tatin

The final part of the walk took us past the Hotel de Ville, St. Eustache where a very fine cover over Les Halles is being built and rue Montorgueil which is always interesting. 

Elaborate street lights at Hotel de Ville

We found a store that specialized in rodent extermination. It had a window display of dead rats supposedly caught in Les Halles around 1925. They are hanging with their heads in traps. Unfortunately the glare from the window made it difficult to photograph.

These 90 year old corpses seem in remarkably good condition for their age. However, it makes an eye catching display.

Monday 8 December - Return to Paris

We were up early so that we could take breakfast at the hotel. The railway station is only some 5 or 6 minutes away and we were there before the train was posted on the Departure board. We went to the platform when the train was posted but there were traffic control problems and it took the controllers a long time to clear an empty train from our platform then thread our TGV out of the sidings. As it was, we left at 0814 some 3 minutes late. We stopped at Thionville where there were some functioning steelworks - there was a long, heavy train of steel billets ready to go. There was also a large park which had several large roller coasters.  At Metz we coupled on to a second TGV and good station work ensured an on time departure. We used a flyover to go from right hand running to left hand and ran left hand for some way on the regular tracks before entering the Meuse High Speed Line. Then it was 300 km/hr all the way to Paris. The weather was mild with sunny periods but we were running through thick fog at times - no problem here as the cab signaling takes care of things. The only item of note was a field of ostriches. We arrived at 1017, three minutes early and were through the Metro and in the apartment before 1100. Smooth, comfortable, effortless traveling.
It was an interesting visit. We found the locals far less friendly than Parisiens and they avoid making eye contact or smiling.  They are quick to use elbows and will barge you off the sidewalk.  It was very annoying to discover that restaurants refuse to serve tap water but insist you buy bottled water or none at all. Cheap buggers.

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Back in Paris we had lunch at Le P'tit Canon where the server, whom we have known for several years, mentioned that she had a baby, Lilla, in the summer and was just working the day period to have more time to look after the baby girl

Sunday 7 December - Luxembourg.

We woke up this morning to a clear blue sky. The first we have seen for a week or so. We took a quick look at the station which is a pleasant building recently restored.  

Main concourse of Luxembourg station

A CF de Luxembourg locomotive on home turf.  Push pull passenger train.

 The main objective today was to walk along the valley that separates the Gare area from the Haute Ville. The whole valley is a nature area with pleasant paths. It was well frequented by runners. Unfortunately the blue skies and warm sun caused mist to form in the valley which took a little while to burn off.

Curved road bridge with two differrnt sizes of arches.

A disused chapel carved into the stone

Set up to allow people to practice rock climbing

We climbed out of the valley under the western road bridge which is being rebuilt under an enormous scaffolding. There is a second series of well kept parks which go around part of the Haute Ville. There is a good children's adventure playground with an old boat and a series of walks and ladders leading up to a long circuitous pipe slide. The kids were having a great time.

This was quite an adventure circuit

In the city centre we found many of the restaurants were busy and several we tried were full.  We eventually went to restaurant Français which served local food.  The French onion soup and lobster bisque were very good as were the shrimp and pork second course. My pork shoulder came with broad beans (fèves de marais - swamp beans) cooked in a thick sauce with bacon bits. The local Luxembourg reisling was a good accompaniment.
More walking around this afternoon until the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped several degrees.
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Saturday 6 December - Luxembourg

We spent the entire day looking around the city starting in Place Guillaume II.  The  Christmas market here was supplemented by the Sarurday produce market. Several producers had decorative plants in pots or flats set out on the floor. A lady walked past with a dog which cocked its leg on a nice pot of heather. They will not smell too good. 

These are very pretty but they really should be off the ground - or at least away from dogs

This is the first weekend in December and the skating rink was formally opened by the Luxembourg bus company band. There was a tasteful display of ice dancing which was kept in sync by the big drum. The drum was the dominant instrument in the band and one wonders if this says anything for the bus company. We had some hot red wine and candied almonds.
We looked at the items of interest in this part of town then moved through the cathedral to look at views over the lower town or Grund. The cathedral was large, dark and cheerless. Many of the old fortifications have been taken down.
Lunch was at a restaurant in the Cercle. It was quite small but the staff made us very welcome.  The Maitre'd knew many of his customers and made a point of speaking to everybody. A lady, possibly his wife, came in later to look things over and again, made a point of talking to many of the regulars. Mary had petoncles while I had rognons. Both were very good as was the local reisling. 
There is an elevator which took us down to the river running through the Grund. The walks along the river were very pleasant and the views intriguing with the reflections in the calm water.

The Grund

The Grund.  Beautiful reflections and plenty of ivy

Back at Place Guillaume II the produce market had disbanded leaving a clear view of the Hotel de Ville, the steps of which had been festooned with flats of flowers. I wonder how many had been christened by dogs. A man was pouring spirit out of a bottle on to an open flame near the metal workers - probably better than pouring it down his throat. 

This metal worker was demonstrating how to make a metal angel,

The Grund

The Grund

There were lots of people in the Christmas markets and things promised to become lively later on. We were tired and purchased a couple of items at a delicatessen and came back to the hotel.
The central area and the Grund are all well maintained and there is little litter.  The buildings are in good shape and there is evidently a lot of money spent on their upkeep. It is almost a place for show rather than living and working.
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Friday 5 December - Travel to Luxembourg

It is amazing what the Paris garbage pick up will do. They come round most days. Yesterday they picked up an old chesterfield and today they picked up a toilet complete with tank.

As departure was at 1340 we decided to take food which we would eat while waiting to get on the train. I made myself a sandwich with Serano ham and the remains of the Langres cheese. It stank out the metro and the waiting room at the station. I resolved the problem by eating it. 

Monty Python 

"How do you defend yourself against a man armed with a ham and cheese sandwich?" 

"Eat the sandwich, thus disarming him."

We took the TGV from Gare de l'Est to Luxembourg.  SNCF say they will announce the platform number 20 minutes before departure. It is a stub end terminal so everybody has to enter past the buffer stops. It was finally announced 10 minutes before departure which caused problems for many as there were two TGVs joined together (20 cars) and the front coaches were a long way down the platform. SNCF doesn't care about its passengers.  No water in the wash basins again. None of the trains I have been in this trip have had washing water.
The trip over the high speed line was boring as usual. We changed from left hand to right hand running leaving the high speed line on the approach to Metz.There were several abandoned steel works in the Metz - Thionville area.
The hotel is conveniently situated to the station but it is about 15 minutes walk over a wide river valley to the interesting part of Luxembourg.  There is a big Christmas market in two parts. It has all the usual attractions - mulled wine, junk fast food and slimy Christmas music. We had dinner in this area, it included suckling pig in aspic with roast potatoes.

Suckling pig in aspic with roast potatoes.

Interesting store name

This is an interesting building when floodlit but we did not find out what it was.

Christmas market

Decorations outside the cathedral

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Thursday 4 December - New shoes and old locomotives

I found my street shoes had an unrepairable split in them so I had to go out first thing and buy some new ones. There is a shoe shop nearby so I was quickly able to become mobile again.
With time seemingly running out for the SNCF 170xx vintage (1965-1968) 25 kv electric locomotives I decided to take a ride out behind one to Pontoise. There were several in evidence on the line from Saint Lazare.  They were on push-pull trains with the locomotive at the Paris end. The train I took was a double decker set which included one of the refurbushed cars from the Versailles set decorated with items from  the chateau. Although there were frequent station stops 817061 managed a fair turn of speed when given its head.  Other locomotives of this class were working with the low single deck cars.

At Pontoise

I returned to Paris in one of the new comfortable trains that are replacing the 170xx locomotives. With wide vestibule corridor connections these trains are colorful, comfortable and quiet. Above all they can hold a very large crowd.

One of the new trains at Pontoise

The new trains have a very spacious interior

I walked across to the Gare de l'Est where I found a 17064 on carriage duties as well as diesel 72141 having just brought in a train from the Belfort direction.

Big diesel 72141 at Gare de l'Est

817064 on carriage duties at Gare de l'Est

The no. 30 bus brought me back home.