Metro in Paris

Metro Le Louvre, Photographed June, 2009, in Paris.

I thought this picture of Paris Metro station photographed during an overcast day in Paris would be perfect for an overcast Monday in San Francisco ;)

When I lived in Paris, I used to have a love/hate relationship with the Metro.
I still do, but now with time passed, it's mostly love or is it nostalgia?

Love, because ...

The Metro takes you within walking distance of absolutely everything in Paris for a very small price, and fast. There is a train every few minutes, so just hop on and go. It takes on average 2 minutes to go from one metro station to another. In my opinion, the Metro is the fastest, most efficient transportation within Paris.

When I was younger and lived in Paris, I used to get on the Metro (subway) and get off some place I didn't know just because the name of the station looked pretty good and just walk around for a while, following the Metro line from above, until I was too tired to walk anymore, at which time I'd hop back on the subway and got home... Paris was much safer back then. Don't know if I would still do it today, but back then it was cheap fun and great exercise.

Eeach street, avenue or court has a name in Paris (as opposed to a number or a letter like in the States), and it's impossible to remember them all. Also, the little streets in Paris tend to wind around every which way for the most part (as opposed to the grid architecture seen in the States), so they're not always all that easy to find. So, when someone gives you directions, they will say "at [such or such] Metro station" because everybody can find a metro station.

Hate, because ...

The trip, during peak hours, when people are literally packed like sardines in the cars, is almost unbearable. Because the cars don't always show up when they're supposed to (the line is being worked on, there is a strike, whatever). Because to change line (correspondence) requires you to walk the longest tunnels (several hundred yards) and climb almost that many stairs (clearly the system was never designed for the elderly or the disabled). Because from time to time, you'll see rats cross the rails (ewww!). And finally, let's just say it, the underground *really, really* smells pretty bad.

Still, I can't imagine Paris without the Metro. It would be like a hamburger without a bun. A baseball player without a bat. A car without gas. Or a White House without a President.

The Metro was built in 1900 in Paris, just a few years after the New York subway. While some stations were renovated more recently and look a bit different, there are still many, many Art Nouveau stations like the one on the photograph above, in Paris.

I will update this post with more pictures of the Metro later on.

More information about the Metro at Wikipedia

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

Champs Elysées, Paris (June 2009)


Coming back from vacation is a always a little bit hard, but especially so when I come back from Europe.

There is a culture shock effect when I get there and the same thing all over again when I get back to the States.

Vacations are always too short, and after only a couple of days back at work, you start wondering if you really went anywhere because it feels like you never left!

Still, it was worth it.

What you see on the photograph is a piece of the Arc de Triomphe, seen from the top of the Avenue des Champs Elysees.

That day, I had met with my brother and we had a hot chocolate at the Pub Renault now called Atelier Renault on the Champs Elysées, at the exact same location where we used to go eat BLT's and banana splits with little umbrellas stuck in them, when we were much, much younger.

Paris

When I woke up this morning, I felt "homesick." It doesn't happen a whole lot anymore, but it still does once in a while. When that happens, I sometimes surf the net in hopes of finding something that will make me feel better. And this morning, I found this video, probably put together by an American (I'm making this assumption based on the specific areas of Paris they chose to display, but of course, I don't know that) and put out on U-Tube by some kind soul (maybe the same guy?) for the whole world to see. Whoever you are, out there, thank you, you sure made my day! Of course, I thought I'd turn around and share with you all. I know some of you will enjoy these images as much as I did.

Quand je me suis réveillée ce matin, j'avais le "mal du pays." Ca n'arrive plus très souvent, mais encore de temps en temps quand même. Alors des fois, quand ça arrive, j'allume l'ordi et je vais me promener sur le Net dans l'espoir de trouver quelque chose qui me fera passer le spleen. Ce matin, j'ai trouvé cette vidéo qui, j'imagine, a été faite par un(e) Americain(e) (je dis ça à cause des endroits de Paris choisis dans la vidéo, mais bien sûr je n'en sais rien) et retransmise sur U-Tube pour le plaisir du monde entier par quelqu'un de bien sympa (peut-etre la même personne?). Qui que vous soyez, merci beaucoup, vous m'avez fait bien plaisir aujourd'hui! Alors bien sûr, je vous en fait tous profiter, comme il se doit. Je sais que certains d'entre vous y prendront autant de plaisir que moi.

By the way, the first song you hear is "Hier Encore" (Yesterday, when I was young) and the second one is "Et moi dans mon coin" (And me in my corner). Both songs were written (music and lyrics)and are sung by Charles Aznavour.

Au fait, la première chanson que vous entendez est "Hier Encore", et la seconde est "Et moi dans mon coin". Les deux chansons ont été écrites (paroles et musique) et sont interpretées par Charles Aznavour.



And this video mix is for Otir. You can see the Latin Quarter in Paris, a neighborhood very close to my heart for a variety of reason. I wouldn't have chosen Edith Piaf to go with that video, though, but this old song instead, Quartier Latin, by Leo Ferré.

Le montage video ci-dessus est pour Otir. Vous pouvez voir le Quartier Latin de Paris, un endroit que je garderai toujours au fond du coeur. Moi à sa place, je n'aurais pas choisi Edith Piaf pour aller avec, mais plutôt cette vielle chanson de Léo Ferré, Quartier Latin.

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Additional Resources

Click here to see the video of the song "Yesterday, when I was young" interpreted by Aznavour, in English.