Les rues de Paris (The Streets of Paris)

Boulevard de Magenta

Le Boulevard de Magenta, whose construction began in 1855, has since 1859 borne the name of an Italian town in Lombardy where, on June 4, 1859, the French defeated the Austrians (4,500 dead on the French side, including General Gustave Cler (1814-1859), and 10,000 among the enemies). Patrice de MacMahon (1808-1893), who led the French troops, was made marshal and Duke of Magenta following this victory. MacMahon would also be the 3rd President of France from 1875 to 1879.

 

This trip to la Ville Lumière (the City of Light) was originally planned for Christmas 2020. I was to fly to Paris just before Christmas and stay there for five days before joining my wife in Verden (Aller), Germany where we would be visiting and staying with her parents. Everything was put on hold for almost three years.

Boulevard de Magenta

It was during the summer of 2019 that my wife and I vacationed in Germany when I suggested that we all go to Paris for four days. Everyone was onboard, including my wife’s parents. None of us had ever been to France. This French-Canadian was very excited to be going to Paris.

My wife is encouraging me to go to Paris after a co-worker of her’s told her how cheap the return flights were. This would be my first proper vacation in three years and first trip alone. Paris vous aime.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, June 12, 2022

This is no Big Lie, but I arrived in Paris during the French legislative elections which were held on June 12 and June 19 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth French Republic. The elections determine who becomes Members of Parliament, each with the right to sit in the National Assembly, which is the lower house of the French Parliament. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in April 2022.

Every morning started with a copy of Le Parisien. Once I had my newspaper, it accompanied me for le petit déjeuner. Newspaper kiosks, found on many avenues and boulevard across the city, are part of the daily life of Parisians… and tourists like me. These kiosks normally open at 8h:00 … 8h:30 or later if you are a lazy kiosquier (male) or kiosquière (female). With a 9-hour time difference between Vancouver and Paris, and a 10-hour direct flight, my body clock had me up around 5h:00 and so my only option was to walk to la Gare du Nord which was a 25-minute walk away from where I was staying in le 18e arrondissement.

My morning laugh always started with the editorial cartoon on Page 2. In this case, it was my nightly laugh. By the time I checked into my hotel at 14h:00, I was so tired that I had to take a nap before heading out and discovering the area and finding a nice restaurant for dinner.

Here you have Emmanuel Macron (in car) and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. I’m not here to talk politics (maybe I am), but remember I did arrive smack in the middle of an election.

Translation: There’s still this fellow in the centre of the roundabout, I’m going to have to bypass him.

 

Le Magenta (25 minute walk from hotel and a 5 minute walk from Gare du Nord) was the first Brasserie (restaurant) that I visited at 20h00. Le poulet de ferme (roasted chicken) was delicious. After dinner it was a café crème and a crème brulée. And no, I did not break the crème brulée with my teaspoon like Amélie Poulain.

The view across the street from Le Magenta.

 

Monday, June 13, 2022

With climate change, June 2022 was also a record-breaking month for weather in France. While in Paris, the temperature was constantly in the mid to high 30s and as high as 40 C on Saturday, June 18, the highest for this date in June since 1947.

Translation:

Macron: It’s really going to heat up this week.

Melanchon: It’s really the time to talk about the weather!

Macron: No, I was talking about the legislative elections.

 

Give it some time and you will see the tree-lined Parisian boulevards and avenues come alive. Tourists blend in with the spoken language. I was fortunate that I was out so early. It seemed like I had ownership of the Haussmannian boulevards at 6h:00 while strolling and enjoying the aroma of freshly-baked baguettes, croissants, and pains au chocolat as it enfolded the immediate surroundings. It was all about discovering what was on the surface, and not the metro names below from each passing station.

My morning started at 8h00 with le petit déjeuner (café au lait and a croissant) at Le Refuge, a 15-minute walk from my hotel.

 

It was still so very early and so from Le Refuge, it was the 15-minute walk to Amélie Poulain’s Café des Deux Moulins and enjoy another café crème, pain au chocolat, and jus d’orange. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001’s Amélie is one of my all-time favourites, and considered to be one of the greatest films ever made.

Avenue Rachel >>

 

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