Notre appartement et notre voisinage

Pix of our neighborhood are scattered through the past hundred or so posts from Paris, but I thought I'd collect a few together and add some shots from our apartment, May-July.

Our street, Rue de Nice, just off Rue Charonne; Charonne
was an out-lying village until incorporated into Paris in the
mid-19th century; Rue de Nice was named to commemorate
Nice's becoming French about the same time (it had previously
been part of the House of Savoy, didn't you know)

Our apartment building; plain and simple and
unadorned, etc; the apartment itself was plain
and simple and unadorned; but adequate

We were on the 6th floor, served, happily, by the micro-
elevator

Somehow we managed to acquire fridge magnets
in Paris; the door was metal and had three
siege-proof locks

Living area

Dining area

Kitchen

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

Bath

Sun-dial/amphitheater in the big park down the street where
we would take Penelope

Fountain in the park

Little kids' play area

The butcher down the street; already shut down for the
August fermeture

The closest of three bakery/pastry shops, half a block away

An open-book landmark on Rue Charonne

The local Picard, on Boulevard Voltaire; one of the curiosities
of Paris, we thought: there are Picards all over the city, every
few blocks, like Starbucks in a US city; Picard is a strictly
frozen-food store...gourmet and international stuff...frozen;
this is where you can get your frozen sushi...!

Statue of Leon Blum at Place Leon Blum;
mostly by osmosis, I managed to learn a bit
of French history and politics

The part of the 11th we lived in was not
quite gentrified, although soon to be; anyhow,
scattered among the mostly residential blocks
were a variety of artisans' shops I always
intended to photograph...a shoe-maker,
carpentry/wood-working, even a shop that
made costume hats for historical movies,
plays, TV shows

And finally, the G20 at the corner; about half the size of a
7-11, crammed with the merchandise of a Safeway!

American Tourist Robbed By BNP Paribus; All's Well...*

In broad daylight, Thursday afternoon, July 30th, on the Boulevard Voltaire. I thought it would be wise to have a few euros as we departed France and Europe the next day. The cash machine at the BNP Paribus bank there, near the intersection with Rue Charonne, cheerfully spit out a receipt saying it had given me 30 euros, but--cash machine nightmare!--no money appeared. None. Nothing. At the machine next to me a young woman, bilingual, fortunately, saw the whole thing and agreed to accompany me into the bank branch to seek restitution. The receptionist was unsympathetic--apparently the receipt and a witness meant nothing--said I must check with my US bank to see whether the funds actually had been withdrawn, and come back the next day. When I told her, through my translator, that I would be out of France and en route to the US the next day, she was even less sympathetic, but finally agreed, under my threatening demeanor (don't laugh), to write a note, en francaise, apparently recounting what I'd claimed to her. We checked with our bank, Cap One, promptly, and eventually received a note saying they were investigating the matter and that it would be 45-90 days before we'd hear anything more. So, fellow American tourists, my advice would be to avoid BNP Paribus, France's largest bank. They had just been socked with one of the largest fines in banking history--9 BILLION bucks--by the US, in a criminal case, for laundering monies from Iran, Sudan, and other places black-listed by the US. Perhaps they figure to get it back from us via their cash machines. Stay tuned. I'm hoping for a just if not timely resolution. See http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/bnp-paribas-pleads-guilty-in-sanctions-case/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1 for some interesting reading on the matter. In six years of world-wide travel, this is the only time I know of that I have been dealt with dishonestly. Anywhere. It's only 40 bucks, I know, but if you can't rely on a cash machine and the bank on the other side of the wall, you can't travel.

*Update: In early August Cap One credited the 35 euros to our account, pending an investigation. In late September, they wrote to say that the matter had been resolved in our favor. All's well that ends well, I suppose, although I'd rather things begin, continue, and end well.

Exhibits A and B

Final Out-takes de Paris, 2

Art Nouveau La Chaise de l'amour, from the Paris, 1900 exhibition; said to be 
that of the Prince of Wales, soon to become Edward VII

I swear I am not making this up

Thus

More from the naughty room of Paris, 1900

Jules Leblanc Stewart's Redemption, 1905

Lady Asterbie's pet monkey (family joke)

Random Roman arch, up near the Strasbourg-St. Denis Metro; actually, the
Porte St. Denis, celebrating some of the Sun King's military exploits, 1672
[just a few years later, we had another longer-term apartment, on Rue St. Denis,
just a block or so from this arch, and got to know it well

In the fashion district...what you'll be wearing next year

Look out, Colonel Sanders

Scribe, impresario of the Paris opera, Wagner's sworn enemy...

Maybe best not to do your cash withdrawal here...

Rain forest and restaurant

Love their humor

Final out-takes de Paris, 1

Subway poetry--nothing unique--just nice to see it here too

So there we were, on the Tuileries, Vicki, Penelope, and me, Bastille Night,
so to speak, awaiting the fireworks extravaganza from the Tour Eiffel and 
the Trocadero; as the sun sets, the resident rat population comes out, 
scrounging for the morsels that a quarter million humans have dropped, 
walking by during the day on one of the world's busier concourses; and 
Penelope exclaims, "It's Ratatouille! It's Ratatouille! It really is! He is real!
He is!" A similar response had occurred at Disneyland Paris when she saw 
an animatronic Buzz Light-Year; although she later conceded that all the rest 
of the ride was only "pretend"; these rats were not "pretend," and the city 
had a major PR problem in the following days

Advert for the Paris Plages; note the topless
babe

In the storied Bois de Boulogne, a ho-mobile, open for
business

And another; we never did figure out whether the red sash
meant "open for business" or "busy"

"The Frenc..." ran out of spray paint

School of Dentistry

Friend Dave Rott has a sense of humor that's ahead of the rest of us

La mort d'un pigeon, episode 5 (running gag)

At Pere Lachaise: it really is a living cemetery

Father Guido Sarducci at the Paris, 1900 exhibition

Parc Floral de Paris

Our last touristic stop was the Parc Floral de Paris, one of Paris' four botantical gardens (read: major plant collections, thousands of species), pretty much adjacent to the Chateau de Vincennes and (so it said) in the heart of the Bois de Vincennes. We pique-niqued and walked around a good bit, although mindful of the need to get back to our apartment, pack and clean for the next morning's departure. Oh yes, after the Parc Floral, we walked back to the Decathlon near Rue Avron--last minute provisioning for some of our next travels--and then Metro'd back to our home Alexander Dumas station. Vicki figured her feet could recover in Menlo Park and DC.

Map of the great park

Floral sculpture

Even as the dog days approach, blooms everywhere

One of many, many pavilions

Pique-nique'ing by the lily pond

Thus

And marveling at the lotus pond

Approaching the giant bonsai center

Beautiful specimens

Thus

And thus

Hydrangeas

Superb signage throughout the 70 acres; we nevertheless
got temporarily lost...but getting lost here is a good thing

Astilbes

More sculpture

Fuchiae

Unidentified but interesting flowering plant

The Guignol was not in session

But the butterfly pavilion was...all in all, a beautiful and
intriguing place, the Parc Floral, that will be near the top
of our list of things to return to...next time