Sunday, December 12, 2010

A little pause on the Pont des Arts during our long run

On the Pont des Arts
 9:30 AM - With Lotte, from Brussels, Belgium, we did a two hours tour, having the opportunity to cross the river Seine six times to widely explore the left and right banks, running also on the two islands, starting near La Bastille going through the Luxembourg garden, crossing the Alma bridge far from La Bastille and coming back admiring many famous places (Champs Elysees, Opera, Notre Dame, Place des Vosges...)
Merci Lotte!

About the Seine, do you know how the Parisians measure the level of the Seine and the risk of flood?
They use the statue of the Zouave of the Pont de l'Alma as you can see in the picture below.
Le Zouave du Pont de l'Alma

Actually, the Zouave of the Alma bridge does not seriously serve to measure the flood level, the real scale is installed on the "pont de la tournelle".
See also the Pont de l'Alma in 1910 (old one) with the flood:
1910 - The flood at the old Pont de l'Alma (from the left bank)

By the way, you can compare the present level in the picture of the Arts bridge above with Lotte and the same picture last August here (see the tunnel left bank).

The route of the tour (21 km/~13 miles):

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Precocious winter in the Champs-Elysées with Karine

Champs-Elysées - Karine
7:30 AM - Minus 6°C (21°F) this morning! Paris is already prepared and ready to celebrate the end of year festivities, adding cold weather and snow to the program to be in the good mood... So, with Karine from Montreal, we started with the firm intention to do a quick warm up, running through the heart of Paris from the Palais Royal through the Champs-Elysees. Cold? Us? Never! As long as we run!

Alice, a journalist from RFI (Radio France Internationale) ran with us. Her radio report talks about all the original ways to visit a city like Paris. We think Paris Running Tour is definitely one! :^) You can hear the radio report here (in French).
Merci Karine, merci Alice!

About the Champs-Elysées:
The Avenue of the Champs-Elysées is called "The most beautiful avenue in the world", you know that, but do you know what "Champs-Elysées" stands for?
In the Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields ("Champs-Elysées" in French) were the place where the blessed dead, the heroic or virtuous souls go.
The nearby Elysée Palace is the residence of the French President, for which reason "l'Élysée" is frequently a metonym for the French Republic presidency.

The route of the tour: 
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