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12th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 19th centuries, a stroll in the History of Paris with Aveen and David

Aveen and David - "Jardin des Plantes" (Garden of the Plants)

8:05 AM - With Aveen and David, confirmed runners from Dublin (Ireland), we explored Paris, by running and stopping in front of various buildings or places which restore the city such as it was in the previous centuries.

Discovering "Le Marais", the Left bank (Latin Quarter et "Saint-Germain des Près"), the Louvre and "Ile de la Cité" is a journey through the time and a way of feeling the History of Paris.

Paris was damaged, bombarded but never totally destroyed as were London (Great fire of 1666) or Lisbon (Earthquake of 1755). In Paris, all the layers of History are represented (since the Roman Lutetia).

Our route thus led us:

• in the 12th century with Notre-Dame,

Aveen and David - Notre-Dame seen from the Bridge of "La Tournelle" (the first stone was put in 1163)

• in the 14th century with the magnificent "Hôtel de Sens",

Aveen and David - "Hôtel de Sens", built in 1345, formerly Hotel of the Archbishops of Sens 
(Paris depending on the archbishopric of Sens until 1622).
On the left part of the building, look (below and to the right of the roof) at the cannonball pulled in July, 1830, always stuck in the wall. The date in July 28th, 1830 is registered under the cannonball.

• in the 16th century with the Carnavalet Museum (formerly "Hôtel de Carnavalet" and "Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau")

David and Aveen - Carnavalet Museum. Look at the magnificent blazon of Paris above the door (1889). 
Carnavalet is the Paris museum (go there and discover the History of Paris through numerous exhibitions).

• and the place Dauphine, also created at the end of the 16th century,

David et Aveen - Place Dauphine.
Notice the buildings with the red bricks. Do not they remind you those that we see "Place des Vosges"? Look at the photo Place Vosges below. These two squares were created at the same time, Royal Places!

Let us admire now four beautiful places appeared in the 17th century:

• The "Jardin du Luxembourg" (Garden of Luxembourg),

David and Aveen - 
The "Jardin du Luxembourg", created in 1612 by Marie de Médicis with the Palace of Luxembourg (now the French Senate).

• The "Jardin des Plantes", initially Royal garden of the Medicinal Plants created in 1626 (see the picture at the beginning of this article),

• The "Place des Vosges",

David and Aveen - "Place des Vosges".
Compare the building with the ones of "place Dauphine" (see the photo above).

• The "Hôtel de Sully".

David and Aveen - The Hotel of Sully, magnificent Mansion in the "Marais", the residence of Duke of Sully, Minister of Finance of Henri IV (among others!).

Our road also passes in the 19th century with the "Place de la Contrescarpe", created in 1852 in the location of a counter-scarp of Philippe Auguste's surrounding wall (12th century).

David and Aveen - "Place de la Contrescarpe" 
In the back, the street Mouffetard which dates of the roman time.

Merci Aveen ! Merci David !


The route of the tour:

In front of the invisible pyramid with Molly and Saul

Saul and Molly in front of the Pyramid of the Louvre

9:00 AM - With Molly and Saul from California, we crossed by running Paris from west to east to make an attractive tour of more than 16 km (10 miles).

We made a small stop in front of the Louvre and, what a surprise, the Louvre Pyramid seems to have disappeared by leaving a grey halo!
Is it a photomontage? No, not at all, the pyramid was made invisible by the artist JR by a astonishing anamorphosis.

A look aside makes us understand a little better the trompe-l’œil effect:

We began our race near the "Palais de la Découverte" to join quickly the river Seine at the level of the "Pont de l'Alma" (bridge of Alma). A important number of photographers had assembled near the Zouave, who has become again an attraction because of the important flood of the Seine, this June 2016:

"Pont de l'Alma"

Find the zouave and the usual level of the Seine here.
This flood is impressive and offers surprising views:

"Zouave - Pont de l'Alma" - Lizard of the "Pont Alexandre III" - Passage towards the banks (footbridge Senghor)

By the way, let us take back the photography of the Bridge of the Alma and the Eiffel Tower, don't you notice anything new in this Parisian landscape? The new Russian Orthodox Church in Paris:

Russian orthodox spiritual and cultural center

From the "Pont de l'Alma", we climb the avenue of President Wilson to join the hill of Chaillot and the beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower since the Trocadéro:

Molly and Saul - Eiffel tower from the Trocadéro
Notice the ball above the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, it is the ball of the Euro of Football/Soccer 2016 (during the Roland Garros tennis tournament, we get a tennis ball)

Later, we cross again the Seine by the bridge Alexandre III:

Molly and Saul - "Pont Alexandre III"
See the completely flooded bank (usually, we can run there)

We alternate then the beautiful routes, right bank and left bank with the pleasure of running in the Latin Quarter in the street Rollin, lined with buildings of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries where lived, in particular, the philosophers Pascal and Descartes:

Saul and Molly - Rue Rollin

Merci Molly, merci Saul !


The route of the tour:

On the "new Pont des Arts" with Laura

Laura - Pont des Arts ("Bridge of Arts")

8:03 AM - With Laura, from Chicago, we made a long running tour of Paris, a pleasant sporting stroll on a beautiful sunny morning of March.

Do you recognize the "Pont des Arts" ("Bridge of Arts")? Where are the famous padlocks of love?
Until 2015, we could see the "Pont des Arts" overloaded with "padlocks of love".
You probably know the story: two lovers write their names on a padlock, hang it on a bridge and throw the key in the river, thus sealing their love. 

This tradition would come from Italy, from a movie adapted from a novel "Ho voglia di te", where two lovers place their padlock on a lamppost of the bridge Milvius in Rome. Inspired by the movie, the lovers in Rome decorated in their turn this bridge with their own padlocks.
The fashion quickly spread in Europe and mainly in Paris, ideal romantic city. The "Pont des Arts", attractive pedestrian footbridge, was the main target of these padlocks. Transparent panels recently had to replace these padlocks, too heavy for the bridge.

The story of the "Pont des Arts" padlocks in some images of our blogs:

• The beginning of the love padlocks fashion on the "Pont des Art" (some padlocks) 
• The fast growth of the love padlocks on the "Pont des Arts"
• The replacement, summer 2015, by temporary artistic panels

Then, no more padlock on the "Pont des Arts"? No, some smart ones find solutions:

Having left the Pont des Arts, with Laura, we explored "Saint Germain des Près" and the Latin Quarter, the left bank, then the island of "La Cité" and the right bank, the Louvre, the Palais-Royal and the beginning of the historic axis of Paris. A sport visit for sure but with numerous stops to be able to appreciate magnificent Parisian landscapes: :

The Medicis Fountain at the garden of Luxembourg,

Animal statues in the Jardin des plantes,

The "Pont Neuf" and its beautiful view on the Seine,

The pond in the Garden of the "Palais Royal"

In the Garden of the Palais Royal, we found Michel Goulet's new chairs, inspired by the metallic chairs which we usually meet in the Parisian gardens (to know more about it => here):

We returned at a good pace to take advantage of the pedestrian part of the Seine left bank.

The new pedestrian banks between the "Pont Alexandre III" and the "Pont de la Concorde"

Merci Laura !

The route of the tour:

Very happy new year 2016!

The Parisian running competitions in 2016

For fun                                    or                      for performances

A new year for the running competitions in Paris

It is always a great pleasure to run on the Parisian roadway freed of cars, to be able to run on the avenue of the Opera or at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the woods of Boulogne and Vincennes (which belong to Paris), to go down the Champs Elysées running the first kilometer of the marathon...
As every year now, we propose the 2016 list of the Parisian competitions, all those which take place in Paris.

DISCOVER THE LIST => HERE

In the Latin Quarter with Erin et James

Erin and James - "Pont des Arts" (Bridge of Arts)

10:17 AM - Last June, we visited the Latin Quarter with Erin and James from Texas. At the end of the route, we passed by the "Pont des Arts". But where are the famous love padlocks? 
Too heavy for the bridge, Paris replaced them temporarily by panels painted by artists (while waiting for the definitive transparent panels).
Look at the photo above. The Arms of Paris were represented in a funny way, a banana for the boat and a bone for the mast!

A journalist of the Swiss Television accompanied us and realized this report:



A beautiful stroll in Paris.

We actually studied the pediment of the Pantheon. Here is the photo taken in the video:

Erin and James - The Panthéon

"AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE"
"TO GREAT MEN THE GRATEFUL HOMELAND" is displayed on the Pantheon, monument to the glory of the great Men of French history. The crypt welcomes a large number of famous persons, Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Jean Moulin... Many men but only four women: Marie Curie, Sophie Berthelot (wife of the chemist), Germaine Tillion and Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, both last ones entered the Pantheon last May. One day, maybe we shall see another inscription: " TO GREAT WOMEN AND GREAT MEN... "

Let us look closer at the pediment (in the report, we present the French Cock):

The Panthéon - On the left of the Nation, the civil society, on the right, the military representation (even if the high-ranking military figures rest in the Invalides like Napoléon or Foch)

After the Pantheon, we continue our route in the Latin Quarter (Cf. meaning of the name Latin Quarter), after the beautiful "place de la Contrescarpe", we join the Arenas of Lutèce going through a pretty flowered staircase (in harmony with the running wear!) :

Erin - "Rue Monge" (Monge street)

In the video, we evoke Montaigne's foot which gives luck:

Erin - "Rue des Ecoles" (Street of the Schools)

The story is funny. The students actually come to caress the foot of the philosopher Montaigne and formulate a wish (success in the examinations thanks to the knowledge of Montaigne?).
Before the current bronze statue, was a marble statue. This statue was created in 1933 by Paul Landowski. Here is the photo of its inauguration:

"Rue des Ecoles" - Statue of Montaigne - 1933

Made with a nice white marble, the statue attracted graffitis, paint, ink, lipstick... The right foot touched permanently and unceremoniously, was broken numerous times.
The statue had to be so often restored that Paris preferred to replace it by an exact copy but with a more robust material, bronze!
Robust, well, look at the patina of the shoe...

For another story about a bronze then marble statue, look this at this article where we speak about the Statue of Louis XIII "place des Vosges".

Merci Erin ! Merci James !
And thank you Michel from the Swiss Television!

The route of the tour: