Rue Saint-Denis: Our Block

From where we are, just down from the Porte Saint-Denis, inside the once Medieval wall, the Rue Saint-Denis runs all the way down to the river Seine, and, I assume, back the other way up to the old abbey of Saint Denis, ground-zero for all things Gothic. We've been there, and we'll get there again. Anyhow, I thought I'd post some pix of the street we're living on now, just this one block or so.

Saint Denis, you'll recall, is the one who got his head chopped off,
then picked it up and walked it to the site he wanted his abbey to
be located on; same story in Florence, too, and God knows where else

Arch at Porte Saint-Denis, Louis XIV, a block or so away

Jules Michelet, author of the first history of France,
19th century, 19 volumes, lived just down the street;
never let the facts get in the way of his Republican
sympathies (not those Republicans!); to his credit,
did advocate that history focus on the Little People,
not just kings and generals 

Brasserie at the end of the block

The one at the other end, Le Select, is less photogenic

Our building; entry on the right; on the left is the popular 
Les Boudeuses, a feminine concept store I am afraid to go into

Elevation; nothing spectacular; nor even of interest;
but it's home

Down the street and around the corner is the 
closest Metro station, Reamur-Sebastopol; one
of the few remaining original Hector Guimard
art nouveau Metro entries (he designed them all,
way back when); to my extreme delight

Mostly, however, the block is shop after shop of womens' apparel,
mostly wholesale, some retail, as well as garment fabricants and
suppliers to the trade...

As I said, mostly wholesale...

This is the part of Paris where every block has a
Passage, or two; that is, a covered arcade, mostly
shops and offices; Rue Saint-Denis here has the
Passage Caire (as in Cairo); mostly more wholesale
women's apparel, fabricants, suppliers, etc., and a
restaurant or two

But it's the history that is of interest: Passage
Caire dates to and is named for Napoleon's (brief)
incursion into Egypt (1799)

Note the Egyptian sculpture and the faux hieroglyphs way up
high

Our Monoprix (supermarket) at Reamur and
Sebastopol

Arrival In Paris

The Eurostar got us to the Gare du Nord on time, 3:52PM, Tuesday, August 31st, and, after the usual Paris taxi scam, Uber got us to our apartment, on Rue Saint-Denis. Waiting for us there was a staffer from the rental agency, who let us in, gave us the keys and the briefest of introductions (et en Anglais aussi) to the apartment, appliances, etc., and then left us to to breathe sighs of relief, to unpack, and to get oriented to our new world. Our first several days were administrative in nature: where is the nearest supermarche? Monoprix, 2 blocks away. Where is the nearest Metro? Reamur-Sebastopol, also two blocks away. Where is the nearest Marks and Spencer? On Boulevard Poissonniere, about 500 meters. Where can we get SodaStream? At any FNAC, the closest being at Les Halles, 550 meters. How can we get the agency to put the payment on the right credit card? Have to visit them in person, on Champs Elysees. And so on. We undertook a few exploratory excursions, but the administrivia, and other matters occupied us until Sunday. The nice thing about Paris is that doing even the most mundane of chores is both an adventure and a delight--you get to travel around in the most beautiful and most interesting city in the world. I'll blog first about the apartment, then the neighborhood, then some of the preliminary excursions.

Fasten seat belts, stow tray table, bring seat to full upright...wait...no

Google Earth view; we're at the red dot

Five minute walking map; Sebastopol and Reamur is the major
intersection we're closets to

Entry hall and elevator...we are on the 4eme etage

Looking from the cuisine to the salon

Salon to cuisine

Chambre

Salle de bains

Among the wall decor is this architectural sketch of the place;
small, sparsely furnished, but a brand new reno of an 1890s
building; we are comfortable, safe, and happy, and very close
to everything of interest

Looking north on the Rue Saint-Denis; that's the Porte Saint-
Denis, the first of Paris' four triumphal arches, dating from 1672;
it was built over the portal in the old Medieval wall, dating from
1356; just FYI; 2 blocks from our building; many more pix of
Rue Saint-Denis and environs to follow 

London Out-Takes, 3

 Continuing...

"What? You destroyed my Lamborghini?!"

Vicki is using Google Translate for menus in English now

Tow car for our new RV

Excellent source of potassium

What ? Your town doesn't have an Alice store?

Maybe it's a parody...

It's not easy being green

In the U of London; what were they called before they were
"makers"

Line to get into Waterstone's

The Group was in a league by itself

Chiropractic pop-up?

You are being watched

Unusual land-view of Tower Bridge

Permanent ghost sign

Lest you think the United States has a complete monopoly on
morons and assholes...there are a few over here

Motorized cycles OK

British Good Humor truck

Sic transit, Gloria; word is Hilton has made on offer on the 
Houses of Parliament, but they're competing with a group out
of Dubai... 

So true

There's a construction site every block or so in London and many
of the constructors proudly show this sign; see considerate
constructors for their further thoughts on considerations

British wit

More Arcimboldo

Caius Julius Augustus consulting Google Maps as he leads
the tenth Legion ever onward

Clever book display at the British Museum bookstore, brilliantly
illustrating the principle of the arch...

Cheats!

Having seen these, and having seen the Thames, we have been
drinking filtered water

Parting thought, as we embark for Paris