If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
This post is dedicated to 127.XXX.XXX in an effort to develop
his cultural background. We first came to Paris to live in 1965-1966 and lived in Montmartre. The term "Mont" for Mountain is used as such in English, so we native English speakers understand that Mont Blanc is indeed a mountain. But when the word if fused with another and becomes a location we can become confused. As least I did since I did not conceived of Montmartre as more than a high hill. Worse, Montparnasse is barely perceptible rise in the Parisian landscape. I live in Montparnasse and it took me about 20 years to recognize that the streets in my neighborhood slanted. I only caught on to that with the big metro strike in the early 1990s and the use of bicycles. People coming from certain directions in our neighborhood had to peddle, and in the opposite direction coasted. The "mountain" at Parnasse is no biggie. Other minor mountains exists around Paris, like where the Pantheon in the 5th. I assume that a Roman temple existed at this spot at one time. Parc Mont-Souris gives an indication of another hill. The landscape rises in the east of Paris in the Belleville area. The hanging platform (gibet) of the Parisian middle ages existed in Belleville at Montfacuon, which no longer exists by name in the same area. A picture of a painting of the Gibet itself is on the front of a classic book by Hillairet, "Gibet, Piloris and Cachots du vieux Paris". It had about a dozen places to hang people. They were hung until the rotted off the ropes. The smell of the rotting executed would some times drift down into Paris when the winds were blowing in the wrong way, reminding thieves of their fate if caught for a "major" crime. There are no statistics on the deterrence effect of the Gibet but judging by other historical studies, the death penalty has no on homicide or crime in general. Anyway, the only Mountain of Paris which presents a climbing problem for the unexercised is Montmartre. As any guide book will tell you the Mont was named after Saint Denis who was martyred around the 4 or 5th century when Christianity was not popular or powerful. Some of the heathens of the time did not like the "holier-than-thous" (certainly a lesson for 127.XXX.XXX) and took to dispatching them (we live in gentler times). The story goes that they cut his head off at the bottom of Montmartre, he then picked it up and climbed to the top before really dying. Certainly a medical first, and last since I have heard of no similar incidents. The skeptics of our time (some of us also did not believe in WMDs) do not believe this story and I am not sure the Church does either. Early saints were saints for a variety of reasons and some of them were reclassed pagan deities, or merely "popular saints", uncertified by the Church. Our own dachshund, Gaston, is named after Saint Gaston (St Vaast) of about the same period as Saint Denis. Our Gaston is anything but a Saint, a little devil incarnate. Of all the mountains of Paris, only Montmartre is worth a real climbing expedition. During 1965-66 we lived in Montmartre, although down at the edge near the cemetery (cimetière de Montmartre) which is just above Place Clichy. Parisian buffs will remember the name "Clichy" because of Henry Miller's fictional biography (all biographies are fictional but Miller tried to make his stories look authentic, a consummate liar) "Quiet Days in Clichy". Clichy is a suburb town next to Paris and the 17th. Low rents forced him to live there, coming to the Place to search for his prostitutes. He frequented the Café Wepler which is on the Place Clichy, a placed we frequented too before we had read that Miller had also. It is still there. It is a large brasserie and one eats there although coffee only is permitted! Anyway, one way to "climb" Montmartre is walk up Caulaincourt (off of Place Clichy) about 300 meters and then up rue Junot which will eventually lead you to the top and the famous Place du Tertre, which is nearly adjacent to Sacre Coeur. This latter church is pretty from a distance but more of a monstrosity up close. The place before the Church does give a view of Paris. This view attracts amateur photographers who click, develop and put aside the photos in some drawer at home never to be seen again. The hill top at the Place du Tertre is loaded with restaurants and is one huge tourist trap. On any sunny Sunday afternoon the place has the highest density of foreigners in the world. If one starts out from Place Clichy around 11 AM, one can climb to the top, see Sacre Coeur, roam the tourist shops and eat lunch around noon and off the hill by 2PM. Leaving down the rue du Mont will take you by the only vineyard in Paris and the famous cabaret "Lapin-Agile". The area on this side of Montmartre has some individual houses, rare in Paris (there are also some off the rue Junot). Montmartre was one a true village town at the edge of Paris so it retains some of the character. Another walking route up to the top is walking up the rue Lepic which begins at the Place Blanche. Rue Lepic has an open air market in the mornings and just above it around Abbssess is the café where Amélie (of the film) worked her charms on the rest of us. There is a old wind mill somewhere up rue LePic, or used to be. The hill top was covered with them. When looking for an apartment to buy at the end of the 1970s we returned to Montmartre and looked for a place, but found nothing to our liking. 40 apartment searches later we found something we are still in. Anyway, Montmartre is worth a climb. Earl PS for mountain climbing materials you can drop by one of the many Au Vieux Campeur stores in the 5th, around the rue des Ecoles. They will have regular walking gear too. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
a écrit dans le message de news: ... The "mountain" at Parnasse is no biggie. But the name is a classical rather than a geographical reference, surely? Or so I had always imagined... It's a classical reference, for sure, but it is geographical too. Actually, the parisian "mont parnasse" used to be steeper, until they leveled the top of it to create large boulevards, in the end of the 18th century (I think the top used to be where Bd Montparnasse and Bd Raspail intersect). JPh |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
I remember climbing up a rather steep hill when we visited
Belleville-Menilmontant. It was one of those guided walking tours and we scaled a pretty decent hill at the end. My memory is in lock-down mode and I can't remember the name of the spot. What sticks in my mind is Edith Piaf's house and the very different ethnic mixtures of the quartiers. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
What inane drivel, Earl. You really are a pompous old fool. Why don't you do
the world a favor and go off and die somewhere. Capitalist Pig "Earl" wrote in message om... This post is dedicated to 127.XXX.XXX in an effort to develop his cultural background. We first came to Paris to live in 1965-1966 and lived in Montmartre. The term "Mont" for Mountain is used as such in English, so we native English speakers understand that Mont Blanc is indeed a mountain. But when the word if fused with another and becomes a location we can become confused. As least I did since I did not conceived of Montmartre as more than a high hill. Worse, Montparnasse is barely perceptible rise in the Parisian landscape. I live in Montparnasse and it took me about 20 years to recognize that the streets in my neighborhood slanted. I only caught on to that with the big metro strike in the early 1990s and the use of bicycles. People coming from certain directions in our neighborhood had to peddle, and in the opposite direction coasted. The "mountain" at Parnasse is no biggie. Other minor mountains exists around Paris, like where the Pantheon in the 5th. I assume that a Roman temple existed at this spot at one time. Parc Mont-Souris gives an indication of another hill. The landscape rises in the east of Paris in the Belleville area. The hanging platform (gibet) of the Parisian middle ages existed in Belleville at Montfacuon, which no longer exists by name in the same area. A picture of a painting of the Gibet itself is on the front of a classic book by Hillairet, "Gibet, Piloris and Cachots du vieux Paris". It had about a dozen places to hang people. They were hung until the rotted off the ropes. The smell of the rotting executed would some times drift down into Paris when the winds were blowing in the wrong way, reminding thieves of their fate if caught for a "major" crime. There are no statistics on the deterrence effect of the Gibet but judging by other historical studies, the death penalty has no on homicide or crime in general. Anyway, the only Mountain of Paris which presents a climbing problem for the unexercised is Montmartre. As any guide book will tell you the Mont was named after Saint Denis who was martyred around the 4 or 5th century when Christianity was not popular or powerful. Some of the heathens of the time did not like the "holier-than-thous" (certainly a lesson for 127.XXX.XXX) and took to dispatching them (we live in gentler times). The story goes that they cut his head off at the bottom of Montmartre, he then picked it up and climbed to the top before really dying. Certainly a medical first, and last since I have heard of no similar incidents. The skeptics of our time (some of us also did not believe in WMDs) do not believe this story and I am not sure the Church does either. Early saints were saints for a variety of reasons and some of them were reclassed pagan deities, or merely "popular saints", uncertified by the Church. Our own dachshund, Gaston, is named after Saint Gaston (St Vaast) of about the same period as Saint Denis. Our Gaston is anything but a Saint, a little devil incarnate. Of all the mountains of Paris, only Montmartre is worth a real climbing expedition. During 1965-66 we lived in Montmartre, although down at the edge near the cemetery (cimetière de Montmartre) which is just above Place Clichy. Parisian buffs will remember the name "Clichy" because of Henry Miller's fictional biography (all biographies are fictional but Miller tried to make his stories look authentic, a consummate liar) "Quiet Days in Clichy". Clichy is a suburb town next to Paris and the 17th. Low rents forced him to live there, coming to the Place to search for his prostitutes. He frequented the Café Wepler which is on the Place Clichy, a placed we frequented too before we had read that Miller had also. It is still there. It is a large brasserie and one eats there although coffee only is permitted! Anyway, one way to "climb" Montmartre is walk up Caulaincourt (off of Place Clichy) about 300 meters and then up rue Junot which will eventually lead you to the top and the famous Place du Tertre, which is nearly adjacent to Sacre Coeur. This latter church is pretty from a distance but more of a monstrosity up close. The place before the Church does give a view of Paris. This view attracts amateur photographers who click, develop and put aside the photos in some drawer at home never to be seen again. The hill top at the Place du Tertre is loaded with restaurants and is one huge tourist trap. On any sunny Sunday afternoon the place has the highest density of foreigners in the world. If one starts out from Place Clichy around 11 AM, one can climb to the top, see Sacre Coeur, roam the tourist shops and eat lunch around noon and off the hill by 2PM. Leaving down the rue du Mont will take you by the only vineyard in Paris and the famous cabaret "Lapin-Agile". The area on this side of Montmartre has some individual houses, rare in Paris (there are also some off the rue Junot). Montmartre was one a true village town at the edge of Paris so it retains some of the character. Another walking route up to the top is walking up the rue Lepic which begins at the Place Blanche. Rue Lepic has an open air market in the mornings and just above it around Abbssess is the café where Amélie (of the film) worked her charms on the rest of us. There is a old wind mill somewhere up rue LePic, or used to be. The hill top was covered with them. When looking for an apartment to buy at the end of the 1970s we returned to Montmartre and looked for a place, but found nothing to our liking. 40 apartment searches later we found something we are still in. Anyway, Montmartre is worth a climb. Earl PS for mountain climbing materials you can drop by one of the many Au Vieux Campeur stores in the 5th, around the rue des Ecoles. They will have regular walking gear too. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
Adella wrote in message ink.net...
I remember climbing up a rather steep hill when we visited Belleville-Menilmontant. It was one of those guided walking tours and we scaled a pretty decent hill at the end. My memory is in lock-down mode and I can't remember the name of the spot. What sticks in my mind is Edith Piaf's house and the very different ethnic mixtures of the quartiers. This is a long climb up. Even driving up Oberkampf which turns into Menilmontant is a long haul. We have a friend who lives just above Pere Lechaise. This is area is the 11th = 20th, quite mixed and interesting. The other "Chinatown" in Paris (the main one is in the 13th) is in the Belleville area. One sees Muslim and Jewish butcher shops next to one another. When we first came to Paris in the 60s, a colleague, a Sephardic Jew, tooks us to a North African Jewish restaurant in the area and I had a very firey hot pepper which is burned into my memory! The last time I was up there was searching for some "Mecca Cola", some Islamic's anwser to Coca-Cola. I did not find it. One now has Chinese markets full of oriental food. It is a "fun" area to visit but most tourists will avoid it as they do the Goutte d'Or in the 19th. Earl |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
In article ,
(jph) wrote: a écrit dans le message de news: ... The "mountain" at Parnasse is no biggie. But the name is a classical rather than a geographical reference, surely? Or so I had always imagined... It's a classical reference, for sure, but it is geographical too. Actually, the parisian "mont parnasse" used to be steeper Interesting, thanks. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
"Capitalist Pig" wrote in message ... What inane drivel, Earl. You really are a pompous old fool. Why don't you do the world a favor and go off and die somewhere. Capitalist Pig Ah, Capitalist Prick strikes again. Like the senile old man in the nursing home, throwing little balls of **** at passers-by. So sad. Tom |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Climbing the Mountains around Paris
"Capitalist Pig" skrev i meddelandet ... What inane drivel, Earl. You really are a pompous old fool. Why don't you do the world a favor and go off and die somewhere. Capitalist Pig Don't be so selfish. The post was dedicated to mr. 127.XXX not you "Earl" wrote in message om... This post is dedicated to 127.XXX.XXX in an effort to develop his cultural background. We first came to Paris to live in 1965-1966 and lived in Montmartre. The term "Mont" for Mountain is used as such in English, so we native English speakers understand that Mont Blanc is indeed a mountain. But when the word if fused with another and becomes a location we can become confused. As least I did since I did not conceived of Montmartre as more than a high hill. Worse, Montparnasse is barely perceptible rise in the Parisian landscape. I live in Montparnasse and it took me about 20 years to recognize that the streets in my neighborhood slanted. I only caught on to that with the big metro strike in the early 1990s and the use of bicycles. People coming from certain directions in our neighborhood had to peddle, and in the opposite direction coasted. The "mountain" at Parnasse is no biggie. Other minor mountains exists around Paris, like where the Pantheon in the 5th. I assume that a Roman temple existed at this spot at one time. Parc Mont-Souris gives an indication of another hill. The landscape rises in the east of Paris in the Belleville area. The hanging platform (gibet) of the Parisian middle ages existed in Belleville at Montfacuon, which no longer exists by name in the same area. A picture of a painting of the Gibet itself is on the front of a classic book by Hillairet, "Gibet, Piloris and Cachots du vieux Paris". It had about a dozen places to hang people. They were hung until the rotted off the ropes. The smell of the rotting executed would some times drift down into Paris when the winds were blowing in the wrong way, reminding thieves of their fate if caught for a "major" crime. There are no statistics on the deterrence effect of the Gibet but judging by other historical studies, the death penalty has no on homicide or crime in general. Anyway, the only Mountain of Paris which presents a climbing problem for the unexercised is Montmartre. As any guide book will tell you the Mont was named after Saint Denis who was martyred around the 4 or 5th century when Christianity was not popular or powerful. Some of the heathens of the time did not like the "holier-than-thous" (certainly a lesson for 127.XXX.XXX) and took to dispatching them (we live in gentler times). The story goes that they cut his head off at the bottom of Montmartre, he then picked it up and climbed to the top before really dying. Certainly a medical first, and last since I have heard of no similar incidents. The skeptics of our time (some of us also did not believe in WMDs) do not believe this story and I am not sure the Church does either. Early saints were saints for a variety of reasons and some of them were reclassed pagan deities, or merely "popular saints", uncertified by the Church. Our own dachshund, Gaston, is named after Saint Gaston (St Vaast) of about the same period as Saint Denis. Our Gaston is anything but a Saint, a little devil incarnate. Of all the mountains of Paris, only Montmartre is worth a real climbing expedition. During 1965-66 we lived in Montmartre, although down at the edge near the cemetery (cimetière de Montmartre) which is just above Place Clichy. Parisian buffs will remember the name "Clichy" because of Henry Miller's fictional biography (all biographies are fictional but Miller tried to make his stories look authentic, a consummate liar) "Quiet Days in Clichy". Clichy is a suburb town next to Paris and the 17th. Low rents forced him to live there, coming to the Place to search for his prostitutes. He frequented the Café Wepler which is on the Place Clichy, a placed we frequented too before we had read that Miller had also. It is still there. It is a large brasserie and one eats there although coffee only is permitted! Anyway, one way to "climb" Montmartre is walk up Caulaincourt (off of Place Clichy) about 300 meters and then up rue Junot which will eventually lead you to the top and the famous Place du Tertre, which is nearly adjacent to Sacre Coeur. This latter church is pretty from a distance but more of a monstrosity up close. The place before the Church does give a view of Paris. This view attracts amateur photographers who click, develop and put aside the photos in some drawer at home never to be seen again. The hill top at the Place du Tertre is loaded with restaurants and is one huge tourist trap. On any sunny Sunday afternoon the place has the highest density of foreigners in the world. If one starts out from Place Clichy around 11 AM, one can climb to the top, see Sacre Coeur, roam the tourist shops and eat lunch around noon and off the hill by 2PM. Leaving down the rue du Mont will take you by the only vineyard in Paris and the famous cabaret "Lapin-Agile". The area on this side of Montmartre has some individual houses, rare in Paris (there are also some off the rue Junot). Montmartre was one a true village town at the edge of Paris so it retains some of the character. Another walking route up to the top is walking up the rue Lepic which begins at the Place Blanche. Rue Lepic has an open air market in the mornings and just above it around Abbssess is the café where Amélie (of the film) worked her charms on the rest of us. There is a old wind mill somewhere up rue LePic, or used to be. The hill top was covered with them. When looking for an apartment to buy at the end of the 1970s we returned to Montmartre and looked for a place, but found nothing to our liking. 40 apartment searches later we found something we are still in. Anyway, Montmartre is worth a climb. Earl PS for mountain climbing materials you can drop by one of the many Au Vieux Campeur stores in the 5th, around the rue des Ecoles. They will have regular walking gear too. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Yep, When Good Americans Die, They Still Go to Paris | Earl Evleth | Europe | 2 | April 18th, 2004 12:54 PM |
RER and bus tariffs in Paris and around | Giovanni Drogo | Europe | 2 | February 23rd, 2004 09:18 PM |
Climbing Stores in Paris? | Bill Ellison | Europe | 4 | February 20th, 2004 06:04 AM |
American Restaurant in Paris | Earl Evleth | Europe | 387 | December 22nd, 2003 08:59 PM |
Paris metro: Carte Orange Vs Paris Visite | Eugene | Europe | 27 | October 17th, 2003 02:32 PM |