12th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 19th centuries, a stroll in the History of Paris with Aveen and David
8:05 AM – With Aveen and David, confirmed runners from Dublin (Ireland), we explored Paris, by running and stopping in front of various buildings or places which restore the city such as it was in the previous centuries. Discovering “Le Marais”, the Left bank (Latin Quarter et “Saint-Germain des Près”), the Louvre and “Ile de la Cité” is a journey through the time and a way of feeling the History of Paris. Paris was damaged, bombarded but never totally destroyed as were London (Great fire of 1666) or Lisbon (Earthquake of 1755). In Paris, all the layers of History are represented (since the Roman Lutetia). Our route thus led us: in the 12th century with Notre-Dame, in the 14th century with the magnificent “Hôtel de Sens”, in the 16th century with the Carnavalet Museum (formerly “Hôtel de Carnavalet” and “Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau”) and the place Dauphine, also created at the end of the 16th century, Let us admire now four beautiful places appeared in the 17th century: The “Jardin du Luxembourg” (Garden of Luxembourg), The “Jardin des Plantes”, initially Royal garden of the Medicinal Plants created in 1626 (see the picture at the beginning of this article), The “Place des Vosges”, The “Hôtel de Sully”. Our road also passes in the 19th century with the “Place de la Contrescarpe”, created in 1852 in the location of a counter-scarp of Philippe Auguste’s surrounding wall (12th century). Merci Aveen ! Merci David ! The route of the tour:
With Laura, meeting Geneviève, Patroness of Paris and model of resistance
Laura – Notre-Dame 3:53 PM – Laura lives in Oklahoma where she is an active member of a group of runners, Runhers, who promotes a healthy and sports life, notably thanks to the running. Program of this afternoon: a discovery of the Paris Left bank. The University of “La Sorbonne”: Laura – University of “la Sorbonne” – “Rue Saint-Jacques” Discover a sight of Sorbonne and its history in this other article The “rue du Cardinal Lemoine”, where we met the house of the Irish writer James Joyce: Laura – “71 rue du Cardinal Lemoine” James Joyce wrote his novel “Ulysses” here. Not far, one of Ernest Hemingway’s houses (remember this article) The beautiful “Place de la Contrescarpe”: Laura – “Place de la Contrescarpe” The “Jardin des Plantes”, from where we can see the huge skeleton of a whale, behind the windows of the Gallery of Paleontology: Laura – Gallery of Paleontology and Compared Anatomy of the National Natural History Museum During our run, in the garden of Luxembourg, we crossed Geneviève, the Patroness of Paris: Laura – “Sainte Geneviève” (see also this article) Geneviève, daughter of a Frankish father and a Gallo-Roman mother, would have been a municipal member of the council of Paris. According to the tradition, Geneviève, in the year 451, would have prevented Attila and his Huns from invading Paris by encouraging its inhabitants to the resistance. Geneviève, model of courage and endurance for Laura who is successively going to run the Chicago marathon then the one of New York this fall. Go Laura! The route of the tour:
Meeting the American writers in Paris with Mary, Susan and Sonia
Mary, Susan, Sonia – “Esplanade des Invalides” Thursday 26 June – 7:00 AM, Saturday 28 June – 7:33 AM – Mary, Susan and Sonia from Denver (USA) chose to discover Paris while running with Paris Running Tour. We ran two mornings mainly on the left bank of the Seine. Left bank! Bank of Paris particularly appreciated by intellectuals and artists, especially in the 1920s, 30 and 50 … Many American writers have lived and wrote there (remember the Woody Allen film “Midnigth in Paris” where the hero played by Owen Wilson returns to the past to find Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and many others). Many places still bear witness to their presence, as this plate reveals that Edith Wharton lived in this building of the rue de Varenne: Susan, Mary and Sonia – “53 rue de Varenne” Edith Wharton was the first writer from the United States to come to live in France as indicated. “My years of Paris life were spent entirely in the rue de Varenne – rich years, crowded and happy years” as she wrote. A little further, continuing our run street of Varenne, it is a French artist that we will meet this time, Auguste Rodin: Susan, Mary, Sonia – Rodin Museum (garden and building) From the street, behind glasses, we found the statue of the Burghers of Calais in the garden of the Rodin Museum. Find the history of “Les Bourgeois de Calais” in this article. Continue our route around the Invalides… Susan, Sonia, Mary – “Hôtel des Invalides” and Eiffel tower in the backgroung …to reach the right bank and enjoy a beautiful view of the “Musée d’Orsay” and the “Hôtel de Salm”, the “Palais de la Légion d’Honneur“: Susan, Mary and Sonia – Orsay Museum and Palace of the Legion of Honor On Saturday, after a run at the foot of the Seine bridges: Susan and Mary – “Petit Pont” and further, the “Pont Saint-Michel” (Pont=Bridge) … we went to see one of the places where Ernest Hemingway lived in Paris: Susan and Mary – “74 rue du Cardinal Lemoine” Read what he wrote in his book “A Moveable Feast“: … “this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.” A green door for Edith Wharton and a blue door for Ernest Hemingway… ; ) Just around the corner is the pretty little “Place de la Contrescarpe” Hemingway loved: Susan and Mary – “Place de la Contrescarpe” On the way back, we stopped in front of the marble standard meter of the “rue de Vaugirard”: Mary and Susan – Street of Vaugirard Merci Mary ! Merci Susan ! Merci Sonia ! The routes of the tours: