Paris If You Please

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.11 ~ "Pont de Grenelle"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:51:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.11: "Ugliest" ~ Pont de Grenelle - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

Forget your most beautiful, forget your most romantic (with one or two notable exceptions), here I offer you an alternative take on the age old problem: how not to end up writing unpalatable, purple prose-tinted, nauseating gush when talking about Paris and its good old Mère Seine.

The approach I’ve taken for my Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges may not be new, for all I know, and I've certainly seen another list or two of the Top Ten Paris bridges, but the angle taken, bless them, is invariably eulogistic. Homages to hurl to, if you will.

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Whence the list below, where I offer you the most artistic, the most pretentious (go on, guess before looking, I’m sure you’ll get it) and yes, I couldn’t resist, the most romantic bridges in Paris, to name but a few. So go ahead and get out there; maybe I'll cross you on the Seine one of these days.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.11) "Ugliest" Paris Bridge – Pont de Grenelle

Late news just in: Despite what I said back in No.? about the Pont du Garigliano's striking inelegance, we have a late contender for Paris' ugliest bridge which I just know you'd want to hear about!

Of course, the two bridges taking the Paris ring road, the Périphérique, across the Seine are both officially still in the city, and if I counted them they’d probably collectively win the ugliest Paris bridge title arches down in a terrifyingly anaesthetic double whammy. I mean, there’s ugly, there's damn ugly, and then there's the Périphérique bridges.

So, leaving them aside for a moment, I’m forced to conclude, after careful study, that the prize for the ugliest Paris bridge has to go to… Pont de Grenelle. It’s a stinker.

Despite the funny little artificial Ile des Cygnes (Ile of the Swans) attempting to give it a semblance of elegance; despite the presence of one of Paris’ copies (or is that 'originals') of the Statue of Liberty; none of this redeems what is without a shadow of a doubt a capital eyesore, an ugly duckling, if you will, made all the more so by its elegant neighbours and not looking like it’s going to be influenced by the island it traverses any time soon. Go take a look. I guarantee you won't enjoy it.

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~ Sab's TOP 10 WAYWARD PARIS BRIDGES ~

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC

4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) SEXIEST
7) MOST EIFFELIST ~ 8) QUIRKIEST ~ 9) CUTEST
10) MOST ODDLY-NAMED ~ 11) UGLIEST

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* Sab Will runs Photo and Curios Tours in Paris, and also manages a variety of Paris and photography-themed sites and blogs. He writes an illustrated Paris Chronicle every day, runs a Meetup group for Paris lovers, interviews Paris personalities and reviews Paris books (on this blog), and even contributes to the city's street art (shh), so feel free to browse some of the links below and in the right-hand column to find out more about what he gets up to out there...

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:49:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Lists ~ Peculiar

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.1) "Shortest" Paris Bridge – Petit Pont

You might be wondering where 'the longest Paris bridge' is in my list, but the denomination isn't as simple as it seems. The longest would probably be Pont Neuf if it weren't for the dubious fact that it plonks its backside on the end of Ile de la Cité half-way across the river (and besides, it's already the star of another category altogether). Same thing for Pont de Sully on Ile Saint-Louis.

Read the whole article...

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No.2) "Most Smooch-worthy" Paris Bridge – Pont des Arts

OK, OK, I know I'm not supposed to be doing categories like 'most romantic', but after all, not only does it have possibly the best view of Ile de la Cité of all, with a sunset over the Eiffel Tower included in the price just by turning around, it is a legendary meeting / picnic / smooching and now tryst-sealing Paris landmark.

As a wooden planked pedestrian bridge in central Paris with the most fabulous views whichever way you look (try the Louvre at one end and the Institut de France at the other, never mind the imposing Musée d'Orsay, the gloriously backlit glass-roofed Grand Palais and the lis

Read the whole article...

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No.3) "Most Artistic (Yet Ugliest)" Paris Bridge – Pont du Garigliano

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No.4) "Most Pretentious" Paris Bridge – Pont Alexandre III

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No.5) "Oldest" Paris Bridge – Pont Neuf

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No.6) "Sexiest" Paris Bridge – Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir

Oooh, those sensual curves, that undulating silhouette a worthy complement to the most expressive of Rodin or Maillol’s voluptuous maidenpieces… although we're talking more top model sinuousness than podgy plump here. If you turned this thing on end we'd be reminded of Amazon Eve on a diet.

The bridge's elegance is accentuated by the architectural monstrosity of the Bibliotèque Nationale de France (BNF) on the 13th arrondissement end, which benefits greatly from its proximity to this infinitely more finely inspired structure.

Read the whole article...

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No.7) "Eiffelist" Paris Bridge – Pont de Bir-Hakeim

This isn't actually the bridge which leads directly to the Eiffel Tower itself, which would be the Pont d'Iéna, but it's a bridge I've crossed over many times, and I can never resist casting a glance over, just to make sure Lady Eiffel's still going strong.

I'm not alone, as numerous movies have used this bridge to place countless actors in scenes which needed a romantic view of the Eiffel Tower passing a train window, often which highly dubious logic, such as journeys supposedly heading for the south of France, whilst line 6 of the Paris metro, which the Pont de Bir-Hakeim enables to cross the river, does nothing of the sort. The sci-fi movie Inception with Leo Dicaprio is the latest to exploit this unique setting.

Read the whole article...

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No.8) "Quirkiest" Paris Bridge – Pont du Carrousel

Now why on earth would this bog-standard looking central Paris bridge, with nothing special to recommend it in particular, merit my 'Quirkiest Paris Bridge' title? Well, 'Ah-hah!', you see... That's exactly what I'm going to tell you now :-D

For, anodyne as it may seem (and in itself it is), there's one marvellous quirk which stands the Pont du Carrousel apart from all the others. Only having discovered this after nearly 20 years of fairly vigorous city scouring and curiosity seeking, I'm assuming I'm not alone in being delighted by the fact.

Read the whole article...

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No.9) "Cutest" Paris Bridge – Pont Saint-Louis

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No.10) "Most Oddly Named" Paris Bridge – Pont au Double

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No.11) "Ugliest" Paris Bridge - Pont de Grenelle

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COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.10 ~ "Pont au Double"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:14:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.10: "Most Oddly Named" ~ Pont au Double - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.10) "Most Oddly Named" Paris Bridge – Pont au Double

This one has history oozing out of its rivets, and has been the subject of many a Paris quiz question along the lines of: Why is the Pont au Double (Bridge of the Double) so-called? With possible answers including such fanciful fun as: it had a double row of houses on it; it was the first to allow two carriages to pass each other; you had to double back if you met a lady coming in the other direction and wait for her to pass.

In fact it's about rights of passage, in the literal sense. Back in those days, at the beginning of the 17th century, the Ile de la Cité was a more cloistered entity than it is today. Crossing over to it from the 'mainland' necessarily entailed using a bridge, and bridges cost money...

The Pont au Double was originally constructed to transfer patients between the old Hotêl de Dieu hospital on the island, and its annex on the left bank.

Interestingly, neither of these buildings are now in existence. The hospital on the island used to be right next to the river but is now on the other side of the square in front of Notre Dame and actually does include a hotel these days. On the left bank there used to be a building in front of where the famous English language bookshop Shakespeare and Company now is, if you can picture that, but which was destroyed by Napoleon III's pitbull, I mean chief city planner Haussmann as part of the road-widening schemes of the time.

Which brings us back to the burning question: why Pont au Double? It's simple, but exact accounts differ. The most common reason given is that people had to pay double for the honour of crossing this particular bridge (a two deniers fee instead of the usual one), which actually included part of the hospital itself too, such was the intensive use of space in those days. The extra funds raised may or may not have gone to the construction cost of the bridge itself.

There are other Paris bridges which could vie for the title of 'Most Oddly Named', such as the Pont au Change (just what was exchanged?), the Pont de l'Archevêché (why did the bishops need a bridge?) or the Pont de la Tournelle (if you're thinking 'turning', you'd be... wrong), but space does not allow, alas, and choices had to be made. Pont au Double and quits - that's all for now folks!

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~ Sab's TOP 10 WAYWARD PARIS BRIDGES ~

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC

4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) SEXIEST
7) MOST EIFFELIST ~ 8) QUIRKIEST ~ 9) CUTEST
10) MOST ODDLY-NAMED ~ 11) UGLIEST

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.6 ~ "Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:37:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.6: "Sexiest" ~ Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.6: "Sexiest" Paris Bridge – Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir

Curves to die for

Oooh, those sensual curves, that undulating silhouette a worthy complement to the most expressive of Rodin or Maillol’s voluptuous maidenpieces… although we're talking more top model sinuousness than podgy plump here. If you turned this thing on end we'd be reminded of Amazon Eve on a diet.

The bridge's elegance is accentuated by the architectural monstrosity of the Bibliotèque Nationale de France (BNF) on the 13th arrondissement end, which benefits greatly from its proximity to this infinitely more finely inspired structure.

Man meets metal

We can also escape the windswept planes of the library more easily than before to seek refuge in the interesting and relatively recent Parc de Bercy, along with its cutesy little Bercy Village at one extremity and the weirdly grass-clad Palais Omnisports at the other.

All in all, traversing or simply contemplating the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir (named after the French existentialist philosopher, intellect, author etc.) is a pleasantly uplifting experience. Perhaps all the more so if you consider you are on the newest of all the Seine's 37 bridges, built, none-the-less, by the Eiffel company and opened in 2006, which isn't, however, going to allow it to grab the title of 'Most Eiffelist Paris Bridge' in this very same series of articles. Another Seine-spanner merits that weighty accolade far more in my opinion.

When all else fails, sX sails...

P.S. If you're wondering what the blurry mess above is, well, ah hah, that's not blur, my friends, that's 'art'. It was back in 2008, you see, when the aforementioned BNF was desperately to invent itself some sort of avant-garde ex istence for itself, and the best it could think of doing was lighting up a few of its windows in an 'X' shape. Radical. I'm not sure if it was linked to some sort of erotic exhibition or not, but anyway, there it was. With our sexy Simone walkway in the foreground. I then Sabbified it, for what it's worth, because if there's something less photogenic than the bloody BNF in Paris, even an X-rated version, I haven't yet found it.What would Simone have thought?

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Discover all my wayward Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST
4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) SEXIEST
7) MOST EIFFELIST ~ 8) QUIRKIEST ~ 9) CUTEST
10) COMING SOON ~ 11) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Pictures: No.1 ~ "Election Time"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:39:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Pavements ~ Pictures

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Pictures
No.1: "Election Time" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

The creative undercurrents of this city are difficult to contain. Chic galleries and velvety vernissages serve a certain purpose, of course, but for me the simmering soul of Paris more often surfaces and boils over onto the actual streets themselves.

This Paris Pavement Pictures Top Ten is dedicated, therefore, to my favourite spontaneous sidewalk-side pavement paintings which you (almost) literally stumble over as you traipse around the trottoirs. No words needed. If you're looking for slogans, then my Paris Sidewalk Slogans Top 10 is the place to check out!

Whether the artistry is politically, subversively or humorously based, or simply an innocent attempt to brighten up our dreary days, I'll feature the best I've found on these pages.

As time goes on I may well have to divide them all up if there's just too much great stuff to contain in one humble little Top Ten, even if my definition of two times five is a loose one. Let the show begin!

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Pictures
No.1 ~ "Election Time"

Unauthorised political statement of one form or another has always been with us. And anyway, those who would 'authorise' it probably wouldn't be recognised as having the right to do so by most of the transgressors anyway. Such is the murky world of imposed rules and regulations which only have some sort of moral validity in as much as they are agreed upon by everyone...

Whether this cheeky pavement statement from Sarkozy's victorious election year of 2007 was for or against the then future president I've never been able to decide.

On the one hand, it seems to be a rather fun-poking caricature, and yet the flaming blue, white and red hairpiece is nothing if not patriotic, which is generally considered a positive characteristic for presidential candidates.

But that's one of the most pleasing aspects of non-verbal artistic expression: you make your own mind up.

So as election time comes round again I'll be on the look out for more visual political messages which are often worth, as they say, a ton of blah-blah, and my goodness won't there be plenty of that to suffer over the coming months. All the more reason to switch off the TV and just read funky blogs like this one ;~P

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Discover all my Paris pavement pictures...

1) ELECTION TIME ~ 2) COMING SOON ~ 3) COMING SOON
4) COMING SOON ~ 5) COMING SOON ~ 6) COMING SOON
7) COMING SOON ~ 8) COMING SOON ~ 9) COMING SOON
10) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Paris Sidewalk Slogans: No.1 ~ "Optical Illusions"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:45:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Slogans

Sab's Top Ten Paris Sidewalk Slogans
No.1: "Optical Illusions" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

In considering just how many 'Top 10s' I could drag out of the actual streets themselves, the more I thought about it, the more daunting a task it seemed.

In terms of what people are currently writing under out Parisian feet, there are artistic (and non-verbal) works, anarchic or political slogans, and more recently advertising from well-known high street brands. Not to mention lovelorn lads laying opening their souls on the cold hard concrete; I'm thinking of the plethora of 'Alice je t'aime's which surround the Denfert Rochereau RER station, presumably on the daily route to work of Alice herself...

So, although I'm tempted to specialise my street top tens, I'm going to create one for all verbal expression for the time being and see how long it takes to reach double figures. Another shall be dedicated to less wordy expression. Eyes down: here we go!

Sab's Top Ten Paris Sidewalk Slogans
No.1 ~ "Optical Illusions"

I've written more than once about the phenomenon of sidewalk advertising, and you can read the original words which went with this photo on the Paris & I iPhone blog if you wish. (I hope you wish.)

But for here I'm trying to keep it short and sweet, so I'll just present you with the picture and a few additional thoughts.

One thought is how funny it is that times have moved on, and advertisers have become so desperate to find new ways to reach people that they are willing to throw themselves down in front of us and be trampled on in a vain attempt to get us to acknowledge their existence.

This is for a chain of opticians, and I have to say I was surprised to see it because I can't imagine it's exactly legal to do this. And further more, it's quite funny to imagine bespectacled beavers sneaking out in the middle of the night to stencil subversive urban advertising all over the streets... with the name of the culprits written in bold for all to see, to boot!

This isn't the first of these I've seen, but it is the most blatant and surprising to date, almost legitimising the concept by its very presence. The problem is, the Establishment doesn't really have the 'right' to invade the last playground of the disaffected, and they may end up with egg on their face, or worse, if you see what I mean...

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Discover all my Paris sidewalk slogans...

1) OPTICAL ILLUSIONS ~ 2) COMING SOON ~ 3) COMING SOON
4) COMING SOON ~ 5) COMING SOON ~ 6) COMING SOON
7) COMING SOON ~ 8) COMING SOON ~ 9) COMING SOON
10) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Perplexing Paris Plaques: No.3 ~ "Rose Line Ramblings"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:36:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Plaques

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques
No.3: "Geocentric Genius" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

'Don't look down', the saying goes. Well I'm about to ask you to do exactly that, not once but ten times.

Maybe you already have, as you've wandered the streets of Paris, wondering at all the wonders and occasionally tripping over something somewhat strange underfoot without knowing quite what it's about.

Readers of the Da Vinci Code, and the inevitable film, may well be familiar with at least one of the curious metal plaques you'll find lurking down there on the pavement, or the sidewalk as our US friends might prefer.

It turns out that there are quite a few of these things, and I don't mean quite a few copies of the same plaque; there are quite a few completely different metal plaques on the streets of Paris, each with its own story to tell. So let's see what's been under our very feet all this time without our even realising it. If you know of any others which would fit right in to my Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques series, I'd be delighted to hear about them!

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques
No.3 ~ "Rose Line Ramblings"

This mysterious metal plaque has been part of my Parc Montsouris quiz for a while now, and we rediscovered a couple of them in that same park on a beautifully sunny autumn walk just this weekend, but I digress. So, just what is this strange little disk which crops up in a strangely linear fashion about 135 times throughout, or rather across the city in a singularly one-dimensional fashion.

You might have seen one or two of these even if you've never been to Paris actually. Think a little... If you've seen The Da Vinci Code film, you'll remember Tom Hanks running wildly through the city looking for these things which are supposedly laid upon something called 'the Rose Line', along with the bit of brass in the Saint Sulpice church leading up to the Gnomon itself, but if you don't have the slightest clue what I'm talking of I appreciate that and will get on with this Perplexing Paris Plaques article!

The 'N' and the 'S' are probably not too difficult to work out; the other members of that set would be 'E' and 'W', which is probably not news to you ;~S

Because, of course, this fictitious line these plaques lie along is indeed a north to south meridian which used to denote zero hour and is also supposed to be punctuated by the genuinely intriguing mire du sud just a few metres hence in the aforementioned park and another such obelisk to be found in a private garden in Montmartre in the north of the city. Curiouser and curiouser.

There's even one of them right next to the Louvre pyramid - the big right-side up one - see if you can find it next time you're passing through the Cour Napoléon.

Who was this Arago anyway, you may well be asking, and by what right does he have his name cast under my feet 135 times as I wander the streets of this plaque-paved city.

François Arago was a 19th century astronomer, mathematician, physicist and politician. He was into all sorts of things actually, from the pressure of steam and the velocity of sound to the banning of naval flogging and the abolition of slavery in the French colonies.

The aspect of his work referred to inherently in these plaques, however, is his valuable studies relating to measuring the earth and longitude in particular. The plaques themselves are a work; the work of an artist; the Dutch artist Jan Dibbets.

Dibbets decided to distribute plaques exactly along the north-south Parisian meridian to honour the great man, whose original statue had been melted down by the Germans during the second world war. All that was left of it was a small pedestal on... Boulevard Arago.

As the base stood on the imagined line already the sculptor decided to eschew the request to reproduce the original statue and resolved to try something different. Hence what we can all have fun spotting all over town today. How many can you find?

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Discover all my perplexing Paris plaques...

1) WHEN THEBES RISES ~ 2) CENTRIC GENIUS ~ 3) ROSE LINE RAMBLINGS
4) COMING SOON ~ 5) COMING SOON ~ 6) COMING SOON
7) COMING SOON ~ 8) COMING SOON ~ 9) COMING SOON
10) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.9 ~ "Pont Saint-Louis"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:56:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.9: "Cutest" ~ Pont Saint-Louis - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.9: "Cutest" Paris Bridge – Pont Saint-Louis

Why the cutest? Coz it's tucked away so sweetly between the two central Paris islands, has no traffic, is always full of street entertainers at the weekend, has great views of Paris, Notre Dame, the Panthéon, Hotêl de Ville, the impressive Eglise Saint-Gervais, is ideally situated next to legendary Paris ice-cream shop Berthillon... need I go on?

Oh yes, I need, as I've only written one paragraph and need about four or five to call it a real article, sooo..

Among the weird and wonderful characters you'll find doing their streetsy thang is the guy who does incredible stunts on wheels, a mystically garbed character whose paraphernalia-bedecked vehicle claims he 'does' poetry, although I've never heard him recite a line, a fair collection of saxophonists, double-bassists, violinists and gueetar players, dipping and weaving rollerbladers, not forgetting magic shows, jugglers and fire-breathers, living statues, headless accordionists, actual beheadings, human sacrifices, bear-baiting and bull-fighting, to name but a few.

OK, not all of the above are happening all the time, but it's a lively place I can tell you.

The Pont Saint-Louis is another of those with a colourful history of burning-downs, washing-aways and simply collapsing under the strain of all those ice-cream slurping tourists I imagine. Incarnations over the centuries include various wooden bridges, a suspension bridge, a cage-like pedestrian version, arch numbers ranging from one to seven, a metal bridge and the current one, which isn't particularly visually outstanding I'm afraid, which dates from 1970.

Other claims to fame are that it was the starting point for my recent ill-fated 'Island Hopping' Paris Curiosities walk, which only included one island in the end as Ile de la Cité had about 50 fascinating factoids just to itself and we never made it to Ile Saint-Louis which has a similar number of historical anecdotes and oddities to savour.

I also like to think that you can't get any more central-Paris than on the Pont Saint-Louis, despite the fact that 'kilometre zero' is officially in front of Notre Dame. Standing in between these two wonderful islands, you could imagine that you're actually in the centre of the world, but maybe that would be drifting dangerously close to what the French would call nombrilisme, or 'tummy-button gazing', for our own good. The temptation's there though.

ADDENDUM: The last time I went past here, it looked like in the last picture. Not so cute. But I suppose it's so it'll come back even cuter than before. Paris is fairly good at that sort of thing.

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Discover all my wayward Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST
4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) COMING SOON
7) MOST EIFFELIST ~ 8) QUIRKIEST ~ 9) CUTEST
10) COMING SOON ~ 11) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Paris Signs of War: No.2 ~ "Woody War Veterans"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:01:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ War ~ Signs

Sab's Top Ten Paris Signs of War
No.2: "Woody War Veterans" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

'Fluctuat nec mergitur' is a motto you'll find carved and crenelated widely around this fair city.

It's Latin for something along the lines of 'Is shaken by the waves but does not sink'. Which is perfectly representative of the history of Paris through the ages.

Paris has been attacked many times but, unlike many great cities, has never really been 'destroyed'. You can read 2000 years' worth of history in these speckled stones and more, but that doesn't mean the current capital has escaped unscathed.

Far from it, in fact, but you need to know where to look, and indeed feel like looking, in order to unearth the real signs, the lasting scars, which are witness to what these streets and stones have endured down the centuries.

'Signs of war' is my chosen theme for this particular 'Top Ten', but it's a top ten of sadness and suffering, as well as simple historical interest, which serves as an essential reminder of what has gone before. Unsung, forgotten heroes fighting to save or instaure what we take for granted today call to us from the plaques and paving stones of the streets.

Sometimes, perhaps no less tragically, the signs are simply a testimonial to the heights and depths the human spirit and its attendant stupidity or immaturity can attain, as we scrabble towards some sort of mutually acceptable sanity in this world of inequality and mutual incomprehension.

Let's look at a bunch of buildings and battle signs to focus our minds on something tangible for a bit...

Sab's Top Ten Paris Signs of War
No.2 ~ "Woody War Veterans"

Like the mists of time slowly softening and confusing the facts, I can't quite remember where I learnt about this particularly poignant Paris sign of war.

We lament the loses of violent conflict, for obvious reasons, but less often do we think of other types of collateral damage, such as that inflicted upon plants, animals and even the buildings which bear silent witness to man's latest excesses.

Some of you may recognise where this is, but some of you may not, for these rather battered immigrants are only brought out in summer, over-wintering indoors, as their tropical constitution demands.

Oh how cute... look! Someone's carved a lovably lop-sided little heart into this old palm tree.

Except that it's probably not very green to go carving up nature these days. If you tried carving up these particular trees you'd probably end up spending a long time in an unfriendly police cell and paying a large fine, and, well, the real story isn't as lovely as all that.

We're looking at World War 1 veterans here folks. If they weren't an intrinsic part of the Jardin de Luxembourg's estival scene they'd be propping up the ward walls at Les Invalides, which was specially built for looking after those incapacitated in the call of duty.

Imagine shrapnel flying out from a hundred grenades or heavy artillery fire ripping through these pour souls as the machine guns bark. That's what we're seeing here, and similar reminders of Paris' poignant past can be seen on scores of walls all around the central part of the city, which I'll show you in another Signs of War posting.

Of the eight brave survivors, I counted three or four who had suffered similar gouging.

So spare a thought for those who perished in the first and second world wars on your sunny Sunday stroll, and remember, the past is never very far behind you in this neck of the woods. Or Paris ain't always a beach, if you prefer...

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Discover all my Paris signs of war...

1) THE CALL UP ~ 2) WOODY WAR VETERANS ~ 3) COMING SOON
4) COMING SOON ~ 5) COMING SOON ~ 6) COMING SOON
7) COMING SOON ~ 8) COMING SOON ~ 9) COMING SOON
10) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.8 ~ "Pont du Carrousel"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:58:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.8: "Quirkiest" ~ Pont du Carrousel - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.8: "Quirkiest" Paris Bridge – Pont du Carrousel

Now you don't see it...

So what happens (because something does indeed 'happen')? Well, around about sundown a marvellous event takes place, unexpected and somehow gently magical.

...now you do!

You may have noticed the four rather majestic lampposts at the corners of the bridge. Of standard height, one might say. But as the sun sinks behind the Eiffel tower, and unnoticed if you're not looking out for it, the lamps slowly but surely start - to - grow!

The first time I tried to consciously capture this phenomenon I almost gave up and went home - I was half-way down the quay when I cast one last look behind me just in case, and then started running back to get the shot!

There's a mechanism inside each structure with extends the lamps up to almost twice their original height, the aim being for them not to obstruct the view of the Louvre during the daytime, I believe.

I've yet to witness this event from the neighbouring (and somewhat romantic?) Pont des Arts, which is curious, because I must have been there tons of times when this happened, but I'm sure it would only add to the charm of the moment. I'll let you know.

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Discover all my wayward Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST
4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) COMING SOON
7) MOST EIFFELIST ~ 8) QUIRKIEST ~ 9) COMING SOON
10) COMING SOON ~ 11) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs: No.4 ~ "Palais Royal ~ Musée du Louvre"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:07:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Metro ~ Signs

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs

No.4 ~ "Palais Royal ~ Musée du Louvre" ~ Introduction
Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I don't know about you, but for me there's something utterly magical about all those wonderful Paris metro signs, be they the traditional ones we're all familiar with, or the rather more unusual sort we're quite surprised and rather pleased to stumble come across on our cross-city travels.

In fact the variety is far greater than you might expect and their 'form' is far from 'uni'.

I didn't realise that at first though, which is why I rarely paid them much attention; I thought they were all just variations on the good old Hector Guimard Flowy Joey Art Nouveau style. This is not the case.

In this spontaneous series I'll be bringing you ten (or so, I find restrictions so... restricting) of my all time favourite Paris metro signs, classic or otherwise. As I'm writing this introduction with only the first sign below in mind I'd be delighted to have suggestions for the other nine!

It's also a great excuse to have a bit of fun with my cameras, both fancy, and not, the pic directly below being an example of the latter. It's an iPhone shot, played around with afterwards, and the limitations of the camera sure tests the inventivity of the photographer, which is half the fun. I hope you enjoy reading my Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs articles as much as I do writing them, and I look forward to reading your comments sometime down the line!

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs
No.4 ~ "Palais Royal ~ Musée du Louvre"

At last, you are probably saying, we arrive at the sort of metro entrance which Paris is rightly famous for. Don't worry, I was never going to exclude the legendary art nouveau metro entrances from my top ten, and here's a prime example.

Designed by Hector Guimard, who was commissioned in 1899 to create the highly visible entrées/sorties for the burgeoning new underground transport system, he came up with what you see here. And the notoriously hard-to-please Parisians let him have it!

The lettering of 'Métropolitain', in a daring new fluid style was, they said, hard to read. And the huge, looming, tulipy lights were like the eyes of some horrendous creature from the lagoon, they protested. In the end, they just weren't ready for Guimard's new vision of an architecture based on living forms in an increasingly industrialised landscape. They'd come to feel comfortably cradled in their concrete jungle. Huge boggle-eyed monsters just a tad too lifelike were just a bit too much.

And so, from 1902 the powers that be started looking for less controversial visionaries, if there can be such a thing. In 1913 the installation of Guimard-inspired metro entrances stopped altogether. What's worse, in the 1960s some incredibly short-sighted renovation projects resulted in the actual destruction of several of these original works, making way for, can you believe it, utterly boring, mundane and characterless holes in the ground. Yep. Can you imagine how many foreign cities would love to have one of these splendid slices of Paris to call their own?

In fact, a handful actually do: Montreal, New York, and allegedly Munich and the... Sahara Desert. Hmm.

Luckily, there are still plenty to stumble across, into or out of, here in Paris (cancel the camel), and now that they are classified as national monuments they are likely to stay that way.

It's curious to see the evolution and variations of the extant examples of Guimard's oeuvre. There are other's which exhibit even more flamboyant art nouveau traits, and I will doubtless feature them in future postings, but this one has always particularly pleased me.

Not only are the looming monster eyes delightfully offset by the stern classicism of the Louvre, but there are two different panels, one for 'Métropolitain' and the other for the name of the station and the lines served, all in that lovely flowing font. I'm particularly fond of the part which says 'Lignes No.1.7' on each side of the 'Palais Royal ~ Musée du Louvre' text.

Some of you may be wondering if I'm going to mention the 'other' entrance/exit to the Palais Royal ~ Musée du Louvre metro station. Well, yes and no. If you don't know what I'm talking about, there is indeed an EXTRAORDINARY metro entrance to this station, but as it doesn't include the words 'metro', 'metropolitain' or any other text for that matter, it doesn't fall into the scope of this Top 10, which is 'Magical Metro Signs', and not 'Magical Metro Entrances'. If it were the latter, this 'other' entrance would probably be number one! Bon voyage, and see you at the next stop :-D

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SAB'S TOP TEN MAGICAL PARIS METRO SIGNS

No.1: 'Sentier' No.2: 'Bourse' No.3: 'Madeleine'
No.4: 'Palais Royal ~ Musee du Louvre'

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.7 ~ "Pont de Bir-Hakeim"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:41:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.7: "Most Eiffelist" ~ Pont de Bir-Hakeim - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.7: "Eiffelist" Paris Bridge – Pont de Bir-Hakeim

The west Paris 'metro on a bridge' bridge. Because there are others too, y'know!

Be that as it may, the bridge itself not only provides a glorious view of the city's icon, but is in itself a great example of turn of the century riveted steel engineering supremacy.

The bridge dates back to the early 1900s and possesses a highly distinctive characteristic: a typical roadway, surmounted by an aerial metro line, which not only provides for an impressive site in itself but also affords great views from the train into the bargain.

There's always something wonderful happening on the bridges of Paris...

It was originally, and boringly, called the Pont de Passy, as it lead to this 16th arrondissement village-within-the-city. The name was changed in 1948, however, to commemorate the North African Battle of... Bir Hakeim in 1942.

Whether the battle was really a victory for anyone seems to be a highly moot point, as both sides claimed a victory for propaganda purposes at least. I've never been able to pronounce the thing in any case, as my arabic isn't that strong.

Bizarrely, there's another battle raging in Libya as I type here in 2011, this time so-called 'rebels' (gotta be so careful with words these days!) are in the last stages of toppling the Gaddafi regime. This time it's chemical weapons people are worried will be unleashed as the outgoing tyrants drag out their death throes. Paris hasn't got a Pont de Tripoli yet, has it?

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Discover all my wayward Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST
4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs: No.3 ~ "Madeleine"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:39:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Metro ~ Signs

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs

No.3 ~ "Madeleine" ~ Introduction
Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs
No.3 ~ "Madeleine"

Apart from having a legendary set of toilets (oh yeah, that'll be another "Sab's Top Ten", for sure!), Madeleine has three of the cutest metro signs in the whole of Paris.

These unusual and oh-so evocative metro signs tucked away in the corner of Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of the city are, for me, at least as charming as the more typical Guimard ones.

That's not to say that they're not art nouveau. Indeed, created in 1910 for the new line 12 by the upstart Nord-Sud company, they could hardly escape the heavy influence of this earthy and sinuous architectural tidal wave which swept across the city at the start of the 20th century.

The second photo below shows a highly unusual gold leafed motif which actually encroaches upon the red background to the white writing and, I'll be humble enough to admit, I thought were real autumn leaves caught in the ironwork until a discovered they were otherwise.

The shape, especially in the single sign below (there are two of the first photo signs - see the last photo for proof) is also charming, a bit like a cup. Not that the letters are particularly vegetale. A hint of the forthcoming art deco, with its geometric shapes and angles perhaps? I like to think so.

But the interest doesn't stop there. These Paris metro signs singularly unusual for their incorporation of the words 'Passage Public' into the sign, indicating that you can also just cross (under) the road by the subway if you wish. Are there any others like this? I haven't done an exhaustive study, but I don't know of any others like them off the top of my head.

Click on any of the pictures here to get bigger versions to see the lovely detail. I'm afraid they were all taken on an iPhone 3GS, which means pretty crumby resolution, but that's the challenge I'm giving myself these days.

The first and last pics were also taken in very low light as you can probably see, but the one in the middle of the prettiest Madeleine metro sign includes a quiz question if you wish: What are the top right and bottom left reddy-orange bits which perfectly frame the subject of the photo? Answers on a train ticket... ;~S

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SAB'S TOP TEN MAGICAL PARIS METRO SIGNS

No.1: 'Sentier' No.2: 'Bourse' No.3: 'Madeleine'

COMMENT BELOW!

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.5 ~ "Pont Neuf"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:11:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.5: "Oldest" ~ Pont Neuf - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.5: "Oldest" Paris Bridge – Pont Neuf

The tired old tourist guide 'fun fact' is that, despite being called the 'New Bridge', the Pont Neuf is in fact the oldest bridge in the city. We have to be careful to define what 'oldest' actually means. It is far from being the first ever bridge built between the banks of the river within Paris.

What most people mean when they say 'oldest' seems to be the longest surviving original Seine-spanner. All the others are either newer or have been substantially or entirely rebuild since the Pont Neuf's construction.

It was in the middle of the 16th century that plans were first laid under Henri II, finally started by his son Henri III in 1578, and finally completed by - did you guess - the latter's second cousin Henri IV. There's so much to be said about this thing that I'd have to refer you to one of the several books on the subject if you really want to look into it.

And never there was a cheerier bunch to wish you well on your way...

Suffice it to say that it was the first bridge not to have houses on it - and hence possessing a view - a revolution for Paris and one of the main factors in its becoming a major attraction for many decades. So much so that it was considered the real centre of the city by many, and welcomed a wild bunch of entertainers, acrobats, charlatans, teeth-pullers, potion-sellers, fire-eaters, musicians, pick-pockets and ohh, y'know, murderers. It even had its own gallows. Gulp.

One more factoid (ok, three, someone please shut up my fingers): when built it actually just skimmed the tip of the island, the little park not yet existing. Also not to be missed is the statue of Henri IV, 'le Vert Galant', who also constructed the nearby Place Dauphin, but all that, and the secrets they hold (sometimes literally) are another story.

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Discover all my wayward Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST
4) MOST PRETENTIOUS ~ 5) OLDEST ~ 6) COMING SOON

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Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds: No.2 ~ "Stone Cold Art"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:26:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Fading

Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds
No.2: "Stone Cold Art" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

So there I was, wondering which of my 'Sab's Top Ten's to add a new number to, when I suddenly remembered a rather intriguing item I had discovered recently.

It wasn't a wall sign really, and it wasn't one of those splendid old shop signs, and it wasn't a sign of war, and it certainly wasn't a pavement plaque or a bridge... so what was it?

Well, it was a fading remnant of a Paris which is no more, that's what it was. And I realised that Paris is full of such spooky reminders. Hence my new 'Sab's Paris Top Ten', proudly, if enigmatically, entitled 'Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds', and this serendipitous discovery was going to be Number 1!

I hope you enjoy this particularly intriguing series, and do send me suggestions for future items - I'll always buy you a coffee and a croissant for your efforts!

Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds

No.2 ~ "Stone Cold Art"

If there was ever a place in Paris which intrigued me, as much by its name alone as anything else, it was Les Frigos. The Fridges.

I'd been told about it many times, but only actually found it for myself a few months ago, and only ventured inside this summer on an open day.

The full story of this incredible place, now a series of the strangest and most wonderful artists' studios you could ever imagine, will have to wait for another day (but watch my output, it's already cropped up more than once). What I'm interested in here is not what's going on today, but in what's faded, or fading, away.

And there it is, clearly visible, if barely legible, up on the side of the lower building jutting out from the main edifice in the direction of Rue des... Frigos.

Look closely and the word 'Paris' is fairly easy to see. Off to the left you can just about make out 'FIQUE' which comes from 'frigorifique' and further off to the left the most degraded and yet most enigmatic word of all. Gare. Station.

Which leaves us with Gare Frigorifique de Paris. The Refrigerated Train Station of Paris. What on earth is that about? Well, it's pretty much what it says on the wall. Back in the 1920s it was constructed to keep foodstuffs coming from outside Paris by rail cold before being distributed throughout the city.

Artists and a wide variety of other creative folks now inhabit the locale, with many of the studios being inside the original, room-sized fridges themselves, complete with cooling apparatus overhead and hugely thick isolating doors, which only adds to the fascination of the place.

There's one more part of this fading find which particularly intrigues: just after the word 'Paris' is what looks like 'IV' followed by something else, but a window which was clearly punched through the wall after its construction has destroyed the end of the phrase. It couldn't be 'IVX', for '14th arrondissement', because it's in the 13th.

Interesting. I'm sure there's a perfectly obvious explanation, such as it being frozen foods depot number six or number 14 or something, but my brain won't be completely satisfied until it finds out what that explanation is. If you know... please tell me!

Oh, and I should say that as an addendum to this piece, your intrepid urban explorer wasn't happy just to accept that it used to be a station with trains chugging past. I wanted proof. And sure enough, in the rather run-down foreground to the place, look what I found! The last two photos here sum up exactly what I love about this city: echos and 'winks' from yesteryear are everywhere, trundling through our periphery vision like ghost trains, and long may they remain so.

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Discover all my Fading Paris Finds...

1) YOUR NUMBER'S UP ~ 2) STONE COLD ART ~ 3) COMING SOON!

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.4 ~ "Pont Alexandre III"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:46:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.4: "Most Pretentious" ~ Pont Alexandre III - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.4: "Most Pretentious" Paris Bridge – Pont Alexandre III

Love it or loathe it, there’s no escaping this prime piece of post-Napoleonic pomp. Of course it's impressive, with its enormous gilded statues and superb views of the Grand and Petit Palais in one direction and Les Invalides in the other.

The Pont Alexandre III is surprisingly recent, dating only from the turn of the last century, and named after the then Tzar who had signed the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892 and good for him - he got a bloody great show-off bridge for his troubles! Unfortunately he died in 1894, a few years before the completion of the bridge in 1900 for the Universal Exhibition along with the aforementioned Petit Palais and Grand Palais, the style of which it closely resembles.

For a structure so traditional-seeming, the lamps, for example, are decidedly Art Nouveau, although the statues at each end retain a classical feel. Just for the record, the golden Pegasus-restraining figures atop the four massive corner columns, which counterbalance the huge single arch, are known as 'Fames' (Renommées) representing the sciences, the arts, industry and commerce.

At the base of the columns are representative females (why females... I've always wondered) for various historical epochs: Contemporary France, the France of Charlemagne, the France of Louis XIV and the France of the Renaissance. They only get a bit of gold, restricted to the assorted orbs, sceptres, crosses, swords or whatnot they're brandishing. I could go on, as there are some pretty impressive central sculptures too, but I guess you get the idea. I love it for what it is, and the simple fact that it exists and makes Paris what it is. This particular part of Paris is without doubt one of the most opulent and ornate you could wish to find, of that I have to concur with the sychophantic top ten lists.

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Discover these other awesome Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST

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Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds: No.1 ~ "Your Number's Up"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:41:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Fading

Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds
No.1: "Your Number's Up" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

So there I was, wondering which of my 'Sab's Top Ten's to add a new item to, when I suddenly remembered a rather intriguing item I discovered recently.

It isn't a wall sign really, and it isn't one of those splendid old shop signs, and it's not a sign of war, and it's certainly not a pavement plaque or a bridge... so what is it?

Well, it's a fading sign of a Paris which is no more, that's what it is. Hence my new 'Sab's Paris Top Ten', proudly if enigmatically entitled 'Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds', and this serendipitous discovery is going to be Number 1!

I hope you enjoy this particularly intriguing series, and do send me suggestions for future items - I'll always buy you a coffee and a croissant for your efforts!

Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds

No.1 ~ "Your Number's Up"

Not everyone would notice this faded smudge up above street and eye level in a side street of Paris' Marais district, as I, indeed, didn't for nearly 2 decades.

Then, on my way, appropriately enough, to one of our Paris If You Please Meet Up group's monthly Paris quizzes, I saw it. Or did it see me, peering down from where it's been, quietly retiring and slipping away for over 200 years?

Thanks to the wonders of modern scIence I'm able to bring you a zapped up and Sabbified version below, as evening was falling and the light was failing and it's actually a miracle I even ended up with an image at all, and what's more, I can still more or less remember where it is, so that's all good then.

And what is it? Well I reckon it's one of the old street numbers from Napoleon's day, started back in 1805, when the 'new' Paris numbering system was introduced, in itself a new concept for Parisians.

To help them grasp the essentials, and have a vague idea of their orientation I suppose, numbers on streets parallel to the Seine were painted in red on a yellow background, as shown here, while roads perpendicular to the river displayed the numbers in black. Shame about the number though. There ain't one, it's long gone.

I'm particularly please about this one, because I found it all on my ownsome, with no help from anyone, no books, no hints, no whispered conversations in darkened corners; just walking down the road with my eyes up, and there it was. So if I can do it, then anyone can.

It's not the only one in Paris, there are a few, some of them in a fairly or even very good state, some deplorable and one really almost gone.

Which is a shame, but at least they're there, and hopefully will remain so for a while yet for people like me to go skidding through dog dejections and tripping over little old ladies in our obsessive attempts to unearth (I prefer the French dénicher) every last one of these intriguing secrets.

We never will, that's the great and oh-so frustrating thing. There will always be one last secret to seek out, but you can discover another in Sab's Top Ten Fading Paris Finds No.2, and I don't even know what it will be yet. Now that's intriguing.

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COMMENT BELOW!

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.3 ~ "Pont du Garigliano"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:10:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges
No.3: Most Artistic (Yet Ugliest) ~ Pont du Garigliano - Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.3: Most Artistic (Yet Ugliest) Paris Bridge – Pont du Garigliano

Guess I'd better come clean - it's not the bridge itself which is artistic; the bridge is a horrendous lump of featureless green-painted scrap iron without the slightest artistic merit whatsoever. In fact, I couldn't remember why I hadn't done an 'ugliest' Paris bridge, but now I remember why: this one fits the bill admirably.

Which is probably the reason they chose it for what I'm about to tell you. Because the Pont du Garigliano, you see, possesses one unquestionably redeeming feature: slap-bang in the middle squats a remarkable work of art.

Clearly visible from Google Maps overhead satellite view and who knows, maybe from the International Space Station, a curious peachy-pink ~~warty~~ floral protrusion grabs our attention. From the bridge itself the effect of this colourfully flamboyant sculpture is, for me at least, quite magical.

I've always been attracted to nature's curves and twists, and almost all the more so when they're constructed out of materials which shouldn't be curving and twisting even in the most obscure of alternative worlds. To be honest it's simply what most sculptors have been doing for centuries, but this blossoming of gently undulating panels is pure poetry to these eyes.

And the intrigue doesn't stop there. Inside this piece is, of all things, an old telephone receiver. You can't call out, but a notice informs that the phone may ring at any given moment, dialed by the only person who has the number: the artist herself. I've never got the call but I'm still waiting in hope and anticipation. I'm working on a suitably artistic thing to say if it does ring on my shift. Given the context, 'Hello' seems somehow so terribly... weak. Any ideas?

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Discover these other awesome Paris bridges...

1) SHORTEST ~ 2) MOST SMOOCH-WORTHY ~ 3) MOST ARTISTIC/UGLIEST

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges: No.2 ~ "Le Pont des Arts"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:48:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

No.2: Most Smooch-worthy Paris Bridge – Pont des Arts

But it also has a strong personal history of its own, never mind all of us who have spent some of the most interesting moments of our Paris existence on those very wooden slats. The bridge suffered serious World War 1 and World War 2 bashing and a series of boat collisions culminated in a barge crash which knocked out a major section and required a complete rebuild in the early 80s.

Like it or not, the last three years or so has seen thousands of locks sprouting up like mushrooms on the bridge's metal railings, and there have been several stirrings from the Paris town hall that Something Will Have To Be Done. This will probably be quite simply their removal, although there are rumours of some sort of metallic tree structure being erected to hold lovers' lockets. What do I think? To be honest, the Pont des Arts craze has spread to quite a few others in the city, and now that there are more ripped plastic supermarket bags than metal to be seen on some of them I have to agree that the eyesore factor has now taken over. To be continued.

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Coming Next: No.3: Paris' Most Artistic (Yet Ugliest) Bridge!

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COMMENT BELOW!

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Sab's Top Ten Paris Signs of War: No.1 ~ "The Call Up"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:22:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ War

Sab's Top Ten Paris Signs of War
No.1: "The Call Up" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

'Fluctuat nec mergitur' is a motto you'll find carved and crenelated widely around this fair city.

Sab's Top Ten Paris Signs of War
No.1 ~ "The Call Up"

Every family's worst nightmare. Every patriot's moment of truth: the call up.

Here in Paris there remains a chilling reminder of this fateful day, here in the 8th arrondissement, on the wall of one of the grand buildings facing the Place de la Concorde, for all who care to read the short message.

Each mayor was responsible for officialising the formal declaration, consisting of a sinister notice, appearing over night, and which didn't take long to spread to every household in the district.

1914 was the year in question; the 2nd August the fateful day. It's the start of the First World War in France, and tens of thousands of Parisians were to die in the trenches on the front lines.

The poster's actually a copy, as the original, which apparently survived the Second World War too, didn't make it through the smoky sixties and seventies, and was replaced with a facsimile.

The thing was actually forgotten in the heady years of the war, and it was only in 1919 that a Parisian spotted it and decided it was worth saving. Along with the memory.

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Coming Soon: No.2: Humans were not the only victims of war in this town.

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COMMENT BELOW!

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Sab's Top Ten Perplexing Paris Plaques: No.2 ~ "Geocentric Genius"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:34:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Plaques

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques
No.2: "Geocentric Genius" ~ Introduction

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques
No.2 ~ "Geocentric Genius"

I'm pretty pleased with this one, people. Most of what I've discovered around this city has been done all on my lonesome, but I have to admit that finding this, just a handful of months ago, RIGHT next to a place (Zee Breeteesh Coonseel) I worked for years, really took me by surprise.

Then again, although I use the words 'nestled' and 'nestling' far too often for my lyrical liking, never have they been more appropriate than here, for this particularly perplexing Paris pavement plaque.

It's not on the pavement, though, as you can see. It's naughtily nestling in the green green grass (that which remains after the 'No Ball Game' notice ignorers have had their lunchtime of fame) on the Esplanade des Invalides.

And what's it all about? World domination, folks. Or at least global coverage, in these geocentric days. It's another of those strange finds which seem to be scattered at irregular intervals over much of the city, as you'll already be aware if you've read me for a while. But this one was a new one to me; an absolute surprise. And you know how much I love surprises...

A grimmish dark grey marble slate nestles - damn! there I go again - unnoticed and unremarkable if it isn't to receive a curse from a would be Messi who has the misfortune to tumble on to its nobbly surface, which would at least offer the chance to practise their acting abilities. Not that Messi isn't one of the 'cleanest' and of course most brilliant players on Planet Football today. Sorry, the most... etc.

I only correct this potential misunderstanding as I live with someone who grew up coming out of her apartment and seeing the Camp Nou (home of the legendary Barça football club) at the end of the road, so you can see where I'm coming from. But I digress. Now where was I?

Ah yes, nobbles and grimmishness. For grim it is, and a nobble it does indeed have. Not a big one, mark you, but there's unmistakably something there, and we're not talking a scuff or a scratch. As nobbles go, this one is here to stay.

So what's it all about? The words enlayed in grudging gold give the clue we need: 'Institut geographique national' lies above the bobble; 'Réseau géodésique français' lurks below.

Géodé-quoi? you may well be asking. As I did. Turns out it's a pan-planetary location system, allowing us to, hmm, did you guess... locate things in relation to other things, oh yeah. Groovy man.

It's all very komplicated and klever anyway, but the long and the lat of it is that there's a bunch of these things scattered all over France (and, presumably, the rest of the geosphere) like a burst packet of M&Ms, allowing the lay of the land to be more easily understood, mapped and navigated by all who sail in her. So now you know. Sweet.

Coming Soon: No.3: You want the dead centre of Paris? I'll give you the dead centre of Paris...

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Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs: No.2 ~ "Bourse"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:20:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Metro ~ Signs

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs

Introduction
Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs
No.2 ~ "Bourse"

Strangely just down the road from my Magical Paris Metro Sign No.1 is another unusual and somewhat remarkable one.

As you know (don't you), most Paris Metro signs are red. Sometimes you get a large yellow 'M' thrown in to keep the new owners of Paris, McDonalds (in partnership with EuroDisney) happy, for good measure.

But black and white? Oh non, non, non Monsieur. Not in Paris, surely.

But yes, here is it for you to gaze upon in all its monochrome spleandour. The only black and white metro station sign I know of in the city (which is just a challenge for you to tell me that you've found another!).

Do I like it? Well, yes, I do. Both because it is unusual, and because it possesses a sort of sober aesthetic elegance in its restrained colour scheme.

Out with the brash, in-yer-face, gaudy Guimard globes and greenery (I know, I'll be lauding them in a future Top Ten entry, don't hold me to it); in with classic simplicity and clarity, and a touching touch of rust for authenticity.

It's interesting that they've kept the typical chopping up of letters here, as seen on the 'R', 'O', 'P' and 'A', typical of the more recognisable art nouveau versions, with the letter 'A' requiring a particularly inventive piece of metal sculpting in order to give the impression of the little triangular hole in the middle.

Bourse is also surprising for a central Paris station in that it only seems to have one entrance. There aren't that many that exhibit such frugality if I'm not mistaken. I say 'only seems' to protect me from the high possibility that there's another one down a side street that I'm not aware of and so as not to look completely stupid, but this is certainly the (only) one which stood out from where I was standing, and nestles right up to the Paris stock exchange, which gave the station its name.

I don't think much visible trading goes on there these days, since everything's been automated, but it's still a classic Paris landmark with a metro station to prove it, with a jolly nice black and white sign to boot, so there!

Coming Soon: No.3: Your guess is as good as mine!

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SAB'S TOP TEN MAGICAL PARIS METRO SIGNS

No.1: 'Sentier'
No.2: 'Bourse'

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Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges ~ "Le Petit Pont"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 08:11:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Bridges

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

I wanted to try something different, so I took a bunch of Paris bridges with what I considered notable characteristics and ramped them up to the giddy heights of ‘most’.

Sab's Top Ten Wayward Paris Bridges

1) Shortest Paris Bridge – Petit Pont
You might be wondering where 'the longest Paris bridge' is in my list, but the denomination isn't as simple as it seems. The longest would probably be Pont Neuf if it weren't for the dubious fact that it plonks its backside on the end of Ile de la Cité half-way across the river (and besides, it's already the star of another category altogether). Same thing for Pont de Sully on Ile Saint-Louis.

So let's focus on the other extreme - the shortest bridge in Paris. And it's probably no coincidence that a bridge of some sort has existed here, over this extremely narrow stretch of water, since times immemorial (well, since the Romans anyway, and I certainly can't remember anything I didn't read in Asterix and Obelix). If you're thinking it's relatively safe to traverse this short distance, you may want to reconsider: the bridge has been destroyed at least 13 times since Gallo-Roman days, with the mid-1700s being a particularly crap time to be residing there (carried away by floods in 1649, 1651, 1658 and 1659, to name but a handful). Rest assured though, the present single arch, slinky houseless version has been up and withstanding since 1853, and so far, so good.

One memorable anecdote, from the time of Saint Wiki, recounts the mournful tale of a woman who, having lost her son to drowning in the Seine earlier in the day, went out in a boat that night, looking for the body. To light her way she used a burning wooden taper. Just next to the bridge, made of stone but supported by large, wooden and hopelessly flammable piles, was a barge laden with hay...

As there's no way you could possibly guess what happened next, I'll put you out of your misery. The woman's boat collided with the barge. The hay caught fire. The barge floated off down the river just far enough to bang into the Petit Pont. And the rest, as they say, is blistery. 'Twas around about then they stopped building houses on Paris bridges. A good move I'd say.

Coming Next: No.2: Paris' Most Smooch-worthy Bridge!

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Sab's Top Ten Perplexing Paris Plaques ~ "When Thèbes Rises"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:40:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Plaques

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

Sab's Top Ten Paris Pavement Plaques

1) When Thèbes Rises
I thought I'd start off this list with one of the most mysterious plaques in the city.

It's to be found at Place de la Concorde, right next to the Obelisk, and I've just read a whole bunch of posts not able to make head or tale of its intriguing inscription:

"AU

LEVANT DE

THEBES

SURGIT A

PARIS

LE NORD"

I'm not going to add to the debate because I'm not able - I have no pet theories of my own - but I will tell you that it translates, roughly, as 'At the rising of Thèbes, the north comes to Paris'.

Utterly incomprehensible, I think you'll agree. There are clues in there somewhere though, simply not enough to make sense of it at all. Thèbes is a city in Egypt near Luxor, whence the Obelisk, so that can't be a coincidence.

A few of the stabs at explanations talked about the north being symbolic for the good and right way, with Napoleon possibly being the one to come back from Egypt to sort things out.

I don't know, but I'd be interested to find out one day, as I know a few other Paris nerds out there would be too.

Coming Soon: No.2: You want the dead centre of Paris? I'll give you the dead centre of Paris...

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Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs ~ "Sentier"

noreply@blogger.com (Paris Set Me Free) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:02:00 +0000

POSTED IN: ~ Places ~ Top 10 ~ Metro ~ Signs

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs

by Sab Will, wannabe offbeat Paris street guru

Sab's Top Ten Magical Paris Metro Signs

1) Sentier
McDonalds pulled off a massive marketing coup by sneakily merging their famous golden arches (the famous McDonalds' yellow 'M') into the urban landscape where it uncannily resembled the ubiquitous modern yellow Paris metro 'M'.

But not all Paris metros play McBall. At the one we see here, proudly announcing the presence of the Sentier station on line 3, there is indeed an 'M', but that's about the only relation it bears to the American hamburger chain.

This one is bright red and far less flowing, indeed it's almost robotic in design, with its chunky serifs, and the whole letter is slashed through with the equally unsubtle blue bar with the word 'métro' on it, delimited by a couple of white dashes.

This latter element is actually 'revealed' by slits cut in the metal panel itself and (I realise I have to verify this as I type) I believe is backlit at night so you can clearly se what's what. The whole is unified with a fairly classic underground train symbol - the circle - which reminds me of London's equivalent, albeit in blue as opposed to read.

I'll refine this piece as I get more info, but we're not looking at art nouveau here, of that I'm fairly sure. Could it be called art deco? Or is that what the famous one's already are? Oh dear. Anyone? Something tells me that's a possibility. I love the way the more classically Parisian elements of Haussmannian buildings with typical carved heads set this sign off splendidly.

When we look at one of my original, rather gloomy iPhone pics here, before fiddling, we can see that it's not quite as spectacular as my final photo would have you believe, but in real life it's actually much nicer than in the second picture, so that doesn't really matter in the end.

Now I have a question, as I start my quest to discover the ten most magical Paris metro signs, and my question is: are there any other signs in the same style as Sentier? I'm sure someone out there is living just above one if there is and will leave a comment to let me know. In the meantime, I'm scratching my head: what-oh-what is going to be number two? Hmm, let me think...

Coming Soon: No.2: An absolute classic or a grim black & white piece - wait and see!

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