A Lunch in Paris

The first order of business last Sunday in Paris was a visit to the Eiffel Tower, a structure which still has the capacity to astonish us today and must have done so by a factor of 10+ when it was first constructed. The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffel's was unanimously chosen. However it was not accepted by all at first, and a petition of 300 names - including those of Maupassant, Emile Zola, Charles Garnier (architect of the Opéra Garnier), and Dumas the Younger - protested at its construction.





Ecole Militaire seen through the base of the Eiffel Tower



At 300 metres (320.75m including antenna), and 7000 tons, it was the world's tallest building until 1930. It was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna - used for telegraphy at that time. Beginning in 1910 it became part of the International Time Service. French radio (since 1918), and French television (since 1957) have also made use of its stature. During its lifetime, the Eiffel Tower has also witnessed a few strange scenes, including being scaled by a mountaineer in 1954, and parachuted off of in 1984 by two Englishmen. In 1923 a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level. Some accounts say he rode down the stairs, other accounts suggest the exterior of one of the tower's four legs which slope outward.



However, if its birth was difficult, it is now completely accepted and is the iconic symbol of Paris itself. The tower has three platforms. A restaurant (extremely expensive; reservations absolutely necessary), the Jules Verne is on the second platform. The top platform has a bar, souvenir shop, and the (recently restored) office of Gustave Eiffel. From its platforms - especially the topmost - the view upon Paris is superb. It is generally agreed that one hour before sunset, the panorama is at its best.



The scale and audacity of its construction and the lifts accessing it in the four piers still astonish. However, for me it is the ascent from the 2eme Etage to the top is still impressive. Whereas modern towers seem hugely safe and secure there is a real sense of adventure ascending through the improbably spindly steelwork to the top and it is a great tribute to Gustave Eiffel, an Engineer and an Entrepreneur that it is still standing proud and strong in this, its 120th birthday.









10th arrondissement



After paying tribute to this symbol of Paris it was off to the meet our friend for lunch in the 10th arrondissement by the Canal St. Martin. The Canal Saint-Martin neighbourhood is nestled between Gare du Nord and République in North-eastern Paris, in the 10th arrondissement. The canal feeds into the Seine River in the South and the Bassin de la Villete and the Canal de l'Ourq in the North. Originaly an industrial area with warehouses and workshops it has gentrified over the past 10 years and morphed into an attractive residential area and lung for the city. Napoléon ordered the construction of the Canal Saint-Martin in 1802. It was originally built to link to the Canal de l'Ourq, further north, to supply fresh water to the city and link to the canal systems of Northern France. In the 19th century, the area was mostly occupied by working-class labourers. Only recently has it started to attract well-to-do professionals eager to snag apartments with views of the canal.









Canal Saint-Martin



Dimanche en Paris is special as swathes of the City are reclaimed by pedestrians and cyclists as the police close off whole areas (including the traffic tunnels) to cars. This is an example of what strong joined up city government can do and contrasts with the shameful spectacle in London when snow fell recently and roads to bus garages and ambulance stations were not cleared resulting in no buses running (this didn’t even happen during the Blitz!) and emergency services only transporting life or death cases. On Sundays, two streets running parallel to the canal, Quai de Valmy and Quai de Jemmapes, are reserved for pedestrians and cyclists—perfect for renting a bike and seeing the city from a fresh angle. Another possibility is to take a tour of the canal by boat.









Le Chaland



Our destination today was a Bistro called Le Chaland (which means "the barge") on the Quai de Valmy. This is the type of unpretentious neighbourhood establishment found throughout France with a compact menu featuring tried and tested dishes and where you stroll in without booking for a coffee, drink, a read of the paper or as in our case Lunch or Dinner. Le Chaland was typical with 5 starters, one of which is always a very good lentil soups, 3 classic French salads, 4 meat dishes, a pasta and a couple of fish dishes. The menu is brought to you on a four foot high blackboard (pardon; 1200 mm!) and everything is prepared fresh in house, woe betide the chef who uses a packet sauce in such an establishment! Generally starters are 7 euro and Mains 12/14 euro. The produce and style of cooking is always of the locality. This is why the Food Critic of Le Figaro recently criticised Gordon Ramsay’s establishments as “photocopier restaurants” with the same formula replicated across the world.







Speaking of reading a paper in a Bistro Ireland had conquered “Les Bleus” in Rugby Football the previous day at Croke Park in Dublin and I noticed with amusement the headline in the French sports paper L’Equipe “Croques en Croke Parques” which means chewed in Croke Park! Inside there was four pages of analysis on how the French Squad could not beat the referee!









Now for the serious business in hand, a white wine was chosen for the starter and a red for the main course. For starter myself and our host chose Croustillant de chèvre; this is good goat’s cheese encased in millefeuille pastry and deep fried and served hot on a simple green salad (normally small romaine leaves) with a dressing of vinaigrette, capers and herbes de province. The contrast between the warm, salty cheese in its very light pastry case and the crunchy salad makes this a very satisfying dish. The present wife chose a plate of Assiette de Charcuterie, a selection of freshly sliced cold meats served simply with cornichons or miniature French gherkins. She pronounced them excellent.





Boeuf Tartare



For the mains our host ordered the Boeuf Tartare with frites. This is finely chopped top quality steak (normally rumpsteak) served with raw egg on top and with capers, chopped onions, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and freshly ground salt and pepper on the side. You then mix it yourself at the table to taste. The Sage has not ordered it for some time since he eat it in Bertroli’s in Floral Lane, London many years ago and his companion decided there and then that she could not have babies with a man who eat raw meat. There were no such considerations today but I ordered the Magret de Canard. This means Duck Breast in French where a breast filet (including the fatty side piece) is pan fried with pepper, put to one side and the pan deglazed with cognac which is flambé and then cream is added to make the au poivre sauce. The Magret (which is still pink inside, “au point”) is then sliced and served with the sauce over and in this case with Duchesse potatos. Classic, simple and delicious. Mrs. Sage went for a veal chop with pasta with a fresh peppery tomato sauce which she pronounced excellent.



Satiated by our generous plats we shared a cleansing apple ice cream with our calvados and coffee’s before strolling along the canal to enjoy this relaxing day in Paris. Le Chaland is a Bistro Tenant and very much part of the neighbourhood. You rarely find places like this in England with the chains serving their standardised offerings or the Gastro-Pubs being overwhelmed by pretension and the Braying Chablis Swilling Classes loudly vying for attention.









Mr. Quiz



A word about our amiable and erudite host for he was none other than the famous “Mr. Quiz” of Paris! An Irish expat who is a long time resident of the 10th arrondissement. His bi-lingual Pub Quiz is a Parisian phenomenon as is his stern hosting of the Wednesday night Quiz at the Green Linnet near the Hôtel de Ville. Have a look at the website;



http://quiz.eblana.eu/



His fame has spread far and wide as Pub Quiz’s were not common in France before he launched them and here is an article from The Times no less on this cultural import to France;



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article675987.ece



Mr Quiz lectures at the prestigious Sciences Po in Paris and runs Eblana offering language training, translation and business support services in Paris;



http://eblana.eu/



Eblana is the name of an ancient Irish settlement believed by some to have occupied the same site as the modern city of Dublin. The earliest reference to Dublin is sometimes said to occur in the writings of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140 AD, who refers to a settlement in Ireland called Eblana. Like James Joyce and The Sage, It seems Mr. Quiz has left Dublin but Dublin hasn’t left him!



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/james-joyce-and-me.html



So if you are looking for authentic Bistro Fare in Paris you could do worse than roll up to Le Chaland (closed Monday) and if you do so on a car free Sunday you have the added bonus of seeing this charming quarter along the Canal St. Martin at its best. Bon Appétit as they say in these parts!







Le Chaland

163 quai de Valmy

75010 Paris



tél. 01 40 05 18 68



Métro : Château Landon Louis Blanc



fermé le lundi

On yer Bike in Europe!

Boris on his bike

On the recent visit to the City of Light I was impressed at the racks of smart bikes which are part of the Vélib scheme which makes it possible to cycle around Paris without worrying about having your bike stolen or indeed to get home late at night where there are few other alternatives. In August 2007, the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone ordered a feasibility study into a scheme which would see travellers hiring and dropping off bikes from street corners. The Mayor had been inspired by the Vélib scheme that was introduced in Paris in June the same year. The French initiative offers 10,000 bikes at 750 hire points every 300m around Paris. The bikes are available at any time of the day or night and cost just about 70p to hire for half an hour and it was claimed theft would be minimal because of the unique design of the bicycles, their highly secure parking facilities and because payment is via credit or debit card. If a bicycle is not returned the hirer faces a penalty charge.


Vélib

Mr Livingstone said then: "Cycling is a clean, fast and cheap way to get around London and we have seen an 83% increase in cycling since I became Mayor. I have seen the Paris freedom bike scheme, and discussed it with the Mayor of Paris. It clearly works and is highly popular."

Transport for London officials were to conduct a feasibility study to see how a similar system could be made to work in London. A popular bicycle rental scheme in Paris that has transformed travel in the city has run into problems just 18 months after its successful launch. Over half the original fleet of 15,000 specially made bicycles have disappeared, presumed stolen. They have been used 42 million times since their introduction but vandalism and theft are taking their toll despite the assurances at the launch.

The company which runs the scheme, JCDecaux, has now said it can no longer afford to operate the city-wide network. Championed by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, the bikes were part of an attempt to "green" the capital. Parisians took to them enthusiastically. But the bikes have suffered more than anticipated, company officials have said. Hung from lamp posts, dumped in the River Seine, torched and broken into pieces, maintaining the network is proving expensive. Some have turned up in Eastern Europe and Africa, according to press reports.

Since the scheme's launch, nearly all the original bicycles have been replaced at a cost of 400 euros ($519, £351) each. The Vélib bikes - the name is a contraction of velo (cycle) and liberte (freedom) - have also fallen victim to a craze known as “Vélib extreme". Various videos have appeared on YouTube showing riders taking the bikes down the steps in Montmartre, into metro stations and being tested on BMX courses.




Parisians in motion

Remi Pheulpin, JCDecaux's director general, says the current contract is unsustainable. "It's simple. All the receipts go to the city. All the expenses are ours," he said. The costs, he said, were "so high that a private business cannot handle it alone, especially as it's a problem of public order. If we want the Vélib set-up to keep going, we'll have to change the business model." The original contract gave the advertising company a 10-year licence to exploit 1,600 city-wide billboards in return for running the scheme, plus a share in the revenue, estimated at 20m euros for the first year of operation.

City hall has recently agreed to pay towards the costs of replacing the stolen or trashed bicycles but is refusing to bail out the company. Not all the bicycles receive rough treatment however. One Vélib repairman reported finding one of the bikes customised with fur covered tyres.

The scheme was modelled on one in Lyon, which appears to have been less troublesome, and has been extended to other cities in France. It is also being copied overseas with London, San Francisco and Singapore all intending to set up similar schemes.


Bicing Rack, Barcelona

Another scheme modelled on Lyon is the highly visible Bicing scheme I saw in Barcelona. The bicycles have a specific image, distinctive to Barcelona, as the City Council collaborated with B:SM on the design for the bikes. They have adjustable dimensions for youth and adultsand their reduced weight (they only weigh 16,5 kg) and the wide and ergonomic handlebar make driving easy. All bikes have three speed gears, a foot peg for the resting position, anti-slip pedals, a nocturnal lighting system and both front and back breaks. They are made from the resistant materials steel and aluminium since they are always in the street. A yearly subscription of Bicing costs 24€ a year, after which the first half hour is free and every other half hour costs 30 cents.


A Bicing Bike

London by comparison to Barcelona and Paris offers a poor and often dangerous cycling experience. There is no Citywide rent a bike scheme almost two years after it was to be investigated, there are few cycling lanes and in particular there are very few protected lanes with kerbs or barriers to separate them from motorists and particularly the trucks which are allowed into Central London at all times and often catch cyclists in there sweep when they turn. London also suffers from the Balkanisation of responsibility between TfL and the 32 Boroughs and the Police so initiatives like you see in Paris and Barcelona where whole swathes of the city at weekends are closed off to traffic and opened only to pedestrians and cyclists are out of the question. Indeed, on Sunday in Paris all the traffic tunnels through Paris are open only to cyclists and pedestrians.

As the current Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is a noted cycling fan would not the twin initiatives of area closures to traffic at weekends and a City rent-a-bike scheme not be two quick wins in the Greening of London?

Paris France

First Trip to Paris, France.... Eiffel Tower on my back!

The Louvre Museum...

The World's largest Labyrinthine

Inside Louvre...

Notre Dame...

AvEnUe DeS cHaMpS eLYsEeS-a LonG wAlK 2 aRcH dE tRiOmPhE


Panoramic View of Paris, The Arch de Triomphe

BaTeUx MoUcHe @ PoNt De L'aLmA, PaRiS

Chateau de Versailles

One of the most visited monuments in France is the Chateau de Versailles. The Chateau de Versailles has more than 2,000 windows, 700 rooms, 1250 fireplaces, 67 staircases and more than 1,800 acres of park. The paintings, tapestries , sculptures ,furniture of this fabulous castle, have been executed by the best Italian and French artists of the time, which makes it one of the largest castles in the world. And when I got the chance to visit Paris again, I never miss the chance of going there, to see the beauty of the palace in my own naked eye.

We take the 30-minute ride on the RER train, Line C, to Versailles Rive Gauche Station, the last stop on the line. This station brings you within just blocks of the famous Chateau of Versailles.

Lots of people want to visit the Palace of Versailles too but the queue is way too long and we're under the heat of the sun... Whew!

...and our patience has been rewarded, it surely is an amazing and beautiful place. By the way, that is the Grand Canal over there.

See that huge Maze behind me? It's been said that the movie 'The Wizard of Oz' was filmed there...

This is the Coronation room.

The Queen's Bedchamber. It was in the Queen's Bedchamber that the French Queen would give birth to heirs to the throne. Many people would crowd into this room to watch the event.

Welcome to the King's Chamber... :)

The Hall of Mirrors, completed in 1686, was a passage through which Louis XIV would go each day to get from the King's Apartment to the Chapel. There are magnificent views of the gardens through the windows. Mirrors are placed on the opposite wall to reflect the light, and a series of chandeliers hang from the ceiling. It was in this room that the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, formally marking the end of the First World War.

...and how I love looking at this painting... =)

Until then... I'll post more about my Travel escapades from different places soon. Just been busy with work lately...