Friday 20 December - Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie

I went to the Porte de la Chapelle tram stop via Saint Lazare where there were still huge line ups to get into Burger King.  The tram quickly took me to the Porte de la Villette stop for the Cite.  The whole place is enormous.  I only wanted to see the building rather than any of the exhibits.  I would think the concourse area could hold the entire Canada Science and Technology Museum and this is purpose built rather than a converted 50 year old bakery.

Even the concourse is large

North facing side

South facing side

Not only is the Museum very, very large but the grounds are spacious and contain a number of striking red follies.

The canal has been well integrated into the grounds even though it is still used commercially

This folly includes a submarine in front.  There were several pairs of magpies working the grass

Tram T3b just south of Porte de la Villette

From Porte de la Villette I took the tram on to Porte de Vincennes and changed for Charenton to take a look at the TGV/STIF maintenance sidings.  There was a very dirty Poste TGV as well as the normal assortment of single and double deck trains.  There are 35 sidings in all of which about 20 are devoted to TGVs.  There is another bank of sidings closer to Gare de Lyon.

I returned through Porte Vincennes but there was trouble on several metro lines, including line 2 which I had intended to use, so I changed to line 14.  I came rapidly across town to Saint Lazare and walked the rest of the way, even though line 3 was functioning normally.

Thursday 19 December - Bois de Boulogne

We saw a piece on the TV news last night about a new museum wbich is being built to the design of Frank Gehry on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne.  It had rained heavily overnight but we decided to investigate. Turns out we took the long way around to see the new building which will be opening some time next year.  It is an impressive structure which echoes the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao although it is built using transparent panels rather than the titanium of Bilbao.

Coming at it from the rear I had to take a picture through the fence of the equestrian area.

This is really an impressive structure.  One problem is that it will be difficult to see it in its full glory because of the closeness of the trees.

We then set off into the Bois de Boulogne which is very large indeed and it is easy to get lost. We finally found the head of a very large lake but it had become colder and heavy clouds began to appear.  

 

We passed the Porte Dauphine and walked down the Avenue Foch to the Arc de Triomphe.

Several areas have been set aside for Christmas trees to be recycled.

 Having just missed a no. 30 bus there would have been a 10 minute wait for the next one so we took the Metro instead. Talk about being spoilt for transport choices.  Walking down the rue de Levis there was quite a heavy shower.

Wednesday 18 December - Rambouillet

The Metro to Etoile was as full as it can get.  We had to force our way in and were packed in like sardines.  One good part about this is that it was not necessary to hold on as we were in so tight.  Rambouillet is on the line to Chartres at the end of the Paris suburban zone.  Some trains are served by the SNCF Grande Lignes while others are run by Ile de France (STIF).  They all leave from the same platform group in Montparnasse yet they are shown separately in the departure boards so one just has to know.

It was cloudy and cool today and the views from the top deck of the train were not impressive, especially as the railway cleaning machines do not do a good job.

Rambouillet is very much a provincial town which has a bad parking problem, particularly on market days which is today.

The Musee du Train, is located in the centre of town in a large house.  It is built around the collection of Jacques Visbecq who also owned the house.  The musee celebrates its 30 year this year.  There is a collection of models, mostly working, on the ground floor while the first floor houses a collection of toy trains and traces their history and development.  The real prize is the O scale model railway on the second floor.  The models are all hand made and the attention to detail in the scenery is amazing.  It is built around a heavily reduced Gare de l'Est which bears a surprising resemblance to the original.  For the most part we were the only visitors around and so it was possible to  walk around and take video unhindered.  http://youtu.be/ua-5yxAU_P4

Paris Gare de l;Est

Today was market day and one of the stalls only sold horsemeat in spite of the current scandal.  A couple had a small box with a goat in it. They invited people to pet the goat then broke into a sales pitch on candies. The Napoleon bistro served a very good lunch soup/terrine then pork loin with ratatouille.  It was all very good and extremely filling.  It was fortunate that we went in early because people were waiting for tables when we left.

The pork loin was very thick indeed and well cooked

The Chateau de Rambouillet is set close to the centre of town.  We walked along part the extensive artificial lakes watching the coots and Canada geese.  The coots seemed to be walking on water and then we realised there was a thin coating of ice.  We watched their antics trying to land on the ice and then walk along, occasionally breaking through.

The chateau is relatively small compared to other chateaux but the lakes are extensive.  The only way to see the interior is by a guided tour.  There was a group of mentally challenged also waiting so we were given our own private tour.  The lady spoke a very clear french and was interested in her subject.  The most impressive part was the decorative carvings on the large wooden panels.  The sheer size and number and the exquisite attention to detail were amazing.

The second part of the chateau visit was to the Laitterie de la Reine and the Chaumiere aux coquillages.  It was a walk of about a kilometre to the Laitterie.  I kept wondering why Marie Antoinette would want a dairy.  It is a very elaborate couple of rooms in marble, housed in a nondescript shack. The there is a waterfall over simulated rocks at one end and two fountains on each side from which milk was played so the queen and her guests could come here, marvel at the expense and take a cup of milk.

Our guide spoke expansively and also asked us about the price of parkas and the state of hockey in Canada. He walked with us to the Chaumiere, after introducing us to his small dog.  The Chaumiere is a thatched roof small building with an interior decorated entirely with sea shells of various types (oyster, scallop, mussel, mother of pearl, and a few exotic ones).  It is ostentatious in the extreme and was built to demonstrate how rich the monarchy was.

Ox bones were set into the walls to facilitate climbing plants and drain water.

It was a half hour walk back to the station but the clouds were breaking up and the views towards the chateau were pleasing.
Click here to see all pictures taken at Rambouillet:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/sets/72157638723870263/
Click here to see all pictures atken at le Musee du Train:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/sets/72157638835340674/

Tuesday 17 December - Blazons and Brassai

I took a short walk down to Saint Lazare this morning. There was a roped off line-up to get into Burger King which was supervised by tough looking bouncers in black uniforms and red arm bands. It turns out it was the opening of the first Burger King in France.  The company quit the country about 15 years ago over sanitary problems. They plan to open some 400 outlets here.  Quite a performance just to get a Whopper.  All the while a pianist was bouncing around while playing Gershwin on the SNCF communal piano.

A number of locomotives and trains still retain cast metal blazons or coats of arms.

This is on both ends of an electric unit working to Versailles

This is on one side of electric locomotive 115051

We went to City Hall to see the exhibition of photographs, mainly by Brassai who was active in the 1920-50 period. A Hungarian by birth, he fell in love with Paris and expressed his feelings through his photographs. He covered the way of life at all levels, particularly the Montmartre night clubs. He became a close friend of Picasso and took pictures in his ateliers. One picture that impressed us was of "Le roi des coiffeurs" sitting at an organ console in his salon. The organ seemed incongrous in this setting.

This is on the wall of a boutique in the Marais.

We walked into the Marais and had lunch - a dégustation of various fillings, meats etc with black bread and rye bread.

This was for the two of us but is was a lot anyway. Olives, hommus, creme of herring, stuffed vine leaves, tsatsiki, mushrooms, tabouli, pastrami, falafel, beef ball, pepper tomato.

The Place des Vosges was as impressive as ever and from there we took the Metro back.

On the way back we called into Diva et Chocolats to buy a baguette and came out with these two additional pastries, that on the right is a tarte au citron.  As we left the lady behind the counter said "À très bientot".

Monday 16 December - Riding Paris Trams.

I had intended to get out fairly early this morning.  However, Mary decided to wash the shower curtain and, in an attempt to speed up the drying, finished up repeating the entire wash cycle.  I had visions of the shower curtain being locked in the washer for the duration.  In the end I showered without the benefit of a curtain.

Today, being a Monday when many places are closed, I decided to ride Paris trams.  One interesting feature is the number of times I crossed the Seine which meanders through the Paris area so there are many bridges.  It was a  bright sunny day and each crossing was interesting and different. Armed with a zones 1-4 Mobilis ticket, I took the metro to Asnieres to ride tramway T1 to Marché St. Denis.  This is an extension that was opened about a year ago.  The trams are small and heavily over crowded, the up side being that the journeys seem to be quite short.  Threading this line through a fully developed suburb was quite a planning triumph - there is one section where the two lines part to pass either side of a church.  Some grass is used on the right of way and at one location there were signs that someone had attempted unsuccessfully to drive down the grass.

Tramway T1 at Asnieres

At Marché St. Denis I transferred to line T5 which was opened this summer and runs to Garges Sarcelles.  This is a rubber tired tram using a single guide rail with the propulsion being via rubber tires, four on each side.  The roadway is concrete throughout which seems to be wearing in places giving a poor ride.  This may be cheaper to construct but the trains are short and the cars are cramped. I think the RATP will regret having taken the decision to use Translohr rather than a conventional two rail tramway.  On the way back to Marché St. Denis we were treated to an emergency brake application and then the driver omitted to open the doors at one station - much to the chagrin of a large number of the passengers both on and off the tram.  This system is not much of an improvement on the existing buses which are much more flexible and probably more comfortable.

Tramway T5 at Marché St. Denis

Tramway T5 at Garges Sarcelles

 At Marché St. Denis I boarded another very full tram to ride to the end of the T1 line at Noisy le Sec.  There was some congestion at the end and we were let off a little before the terminus while the returning trams sorted themselves out. The T1 trams are over ten years old and were designed 15 -20 years ago. They need to be replaced with newer higher capacity vehicles.

Tram congestion at Noisy le Sec

Tram waiting to leave Noisy le Sec

The RER took me one stop to Pantin and I set out to find the tramway T3b.  A lady crossing guard told me it was a long way to walk but it turned out to be about two blocks.  I was consulting a local area map when I was waylaid by an old man who asked where I was going.  It turned out that he was going on the tram as well and dragged me across several road crossings against the light and got me on the tram in one piece.  He was going in the same direction so he told me about how good the trams were in particular and the French transport system in general. As a pensioner he was able to travel cheaply and asked about Canada - he definitely would not like the cold winters.

Tramway T3a at Porte de Versailles.

I changed trams at Porte de Vincennes, had a pn break in a McDonalds and went through to Porte de Versailles.  This is an interesting route, most of the way being in a grassed centre reservation.

At Porte de Versailles I transferred to tramway T2.  Here the trams bear more resemblance to railway trains and all were running in multiple, making up six car trains, something that the other trams cannot do.  This line is built over a former railway right of way and the original stations can be seen. In some places the signalling is railway type.  I went all the way through to the end at Pont de Bezon and then returned to La Defence.  The newest section, from La Defence to Pont de Bezon, is almost entirely in a centre reservation among recent plantings of grasses and shrubs - some of them being almost two metres high.

Tramway T1 at Pont de Bezons

From La Defence I caught an ancient electric train into Saint Lazare and the metro back to Villiers.  A long but interesting day.

Sunday 15 December - Longueville

I decided to go back to Longueville to see the steam locomotive used on the Santa specials. Gare de l'Est was not very busy and I had a little time to see people enjoying the pianos the SNCF has installed in its main stations.

This little girl was practicing her scales under her father's supervision

Heaters have been placed in the area where people wait until their train is announced.

The weather was completely different from yesterday with a clear blue sky all day and just a few Simpson clouds in the afternoon.

At the Longueville roundhouse a few parents and children had gathered in a two stall area that had been cleared but the access was uneven over half buried rails, puddles and slicks of oil and grease. 

In the roundhouse was this upright boilered 0-4-0 tank engine

This engine was used on the Santa Special.  It is here running round its train.

I was able to get some pictures of the suburban tank engine running around its train and decided I didn't need to follow it to Provins and back.

The ride back to Paris Est was in bright sun and the #30 bus was pleasantly full.

We had thought about going to Le Train Bleu this evening then took a look at the prices and decided to look around here. We ate at Le Bistro D'Id, the closest to the apartment and had two two-course meals and wine for the price of a formule at Le Train Bleu. A very satisfying meal soup/terrine and chicken. We tried a red Sancerre for the first time. It turnrd out to be a good light red.

Saturday 14 December - Provins

When we visited Provins last December it was raining heavily and we came back early.  Today we left Paris in a clear blue sky but there were patches of heavy fog.  Was Provins going to be in the fog or in the sun?  Unfortunately the town was heavily fogged in.  The three car train was full with mostly tourists. Leaving the station there was a line of yapping people, including a particularly loud group of Spanish women.  We deviated from the walking route into the town which was also busy on a Saturday morning but at least these were locals. We noticed that there is a very provincial feel here. People will think nothing of blocking the sidewalks to chat while others struggle to get past.  There was a Christmas market in the medieval town square which was quite attractive and a little different.  Most of the local people were dressed in period costume or wore a suit of armor.  It was a festive occasion and people were having fun being photographed with the locals. There were a couple of log fires with a few hay bales on which people could sit while eating roasted chestnuts and drinking mulled wine. One could buy a suit of armour and leather bra and panties and watch an arrow being made.

Some came up from Paris on the train dressed like this.

 

The restaurants in the old town were either creperies or fairly expensive as they catered to the hoards of foreign tourists (Japanese and Spanish mainly) so we decided to seek out the restaurant where we ate last year (The Estaminet).  It took a lot of searching only to find that it was closed.  In the end we found a second rate place which had only a fixed menu.  The first course was an excellent crustiant of brie - a thin pastry pocket filled with hot, runny, ripe brie.  This was placed over a fairly substantial salad which soon became engulfed in a lovely gooey mess of cheese. The meat was quite good but a little over cooked for our taste.

The main reason for going to Provins today was to see the Santa Clause special steam train which was running from Longueville.  I waited for the scheduled arrival but no steam train.  It turns out that while the trains were originally scheduled for today and tomorrow this was later changed to Sunday only.  So we took the train back to Paris, starting in the mist although Paris was in bright sunlight. The #30 bus back from the Gare de l'Est to Villiers was heavily overcrowded.  It was quite an adventure getting down the aisle to the exit.
Click here to see all pictures taken at Provins:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/sets/72157638723870263/