Happy New Year!
Running 25 km under the sun of Paris, with William
William – Sunrise from the bridge Alexandre III 6h55 – William comes from Dubuque, Iowa. Long distance runner, William chose to run 25 km (15.5 miles) to discover a lot of aspects of Paris. We left early to see the rising sun, magnificent sun which accompanied us during the run and gave us beautiful images of Paris. 25 km allows to see full of beautiful Parisian places, in particular: The Alma bridge and its “zouave” – Remember this visit with Lotte, where we speak about the “Zouave” and the river Seine. William – “Pont de l’Alma” The garden of the Trocadéro and the Eiffel tower William – “Tour Eiffel” The “Invalides” – We also went there during this tour with Sharon. We had evoked the history of these cannons. Look, a small rabbit hardly hidden by the cannons came to greet us. William – “Esplanade des Invalides” – On the right, a little rabbit from the Invalides The Arc of the Carrousel – The “Arc du Carrousel” comes to us from Napoleon the Ist (We had discussed it with Kristy) and the horses are copies of the horses stolen by Napoleon in Venice (their story had been told during the tour with Ingrid). Carrousel? A merry-go-round? Actually, this name is connected to an equestrian show which took place at the time of the king Louis XV. William – “Arc du Carrousel” The French National Museum of Natural History (“Muséum Naturel d’Histoire Naturelle”) whose head office is in Paris, here in the magnificent Garden of the Plantes (“Jardin des plantes”). William – “Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle” – “Jardin des Plantes” The Square of the “Hôtel de Ville” of Paris (The City hall of Paris). Look at the drawing at the ground. We can see a ship. It is the Paris coat of arms. If there is a place where to see the symbol of Paris, it is here, at the “Mairie de Paris”, the Paris city hall! To know more about it about this blazon, read the explanations which we left to describe the running tour with Emily. William – “Hôtel de Ville de Paris” The famous bookshop “Shakespeare and Company”, the Mecca of the Anglo-Saxon culture in Paris, in particular, a meeting place for the American and Anglo-Saxon writers as Woody Allen evokes it in the movie “Midnight in Paris” (see the photo of the movie where we see the character interpreted by Owen Wilson in front of the bookshop): William – Shakespeare and Company – Wallace fountain The magnificent banks of the Seine: William – Saint-Michel bridge – To the left: the island of “La Cité” with Notre-Dame, to the right: the left bank of the river Seine Merci William ! The route of the tour:
“Place des Victoires” with Kristine
Kristine – Garden of the “Palais Royal” 10:05 AM – Kristine comes from New York. Very sports, she chose to take advantage of her stay in Paris to do a Running Tour and so combine sport and discovery of Paris. We left Grand boulevards to join the Eiffel Tower. At first, we ran in more intimate places as the garden of the Palais Royal (above) or the magnificent Parisian covered passages: We often spoke about them in this blog but it is always a great pleasure to discover these passages again. The second part of the route led us towards less “confidential” but great amazing places, as the banks of the Seine… Kristine – Banks of the River Seine (right bank, at the level of the “Jardin des Tuileries”) … or of course, the Eiffel tower: Kristine – Eiffel tower since the Avenue of the President Wilson Along the way, we crossed the magnificent “Place des Victoires” with the Statue of king Louis XIV, the Sun King. Kristine – Place des Victoires This square, created in 1685, was named “Place des Victoires” in honor of the military victories of Louis XIV. Do you know that the place saw successively four different monuments: from 1686 till 1792, a standing statue of Louis XIV from 1792 till 1810, a wooden pyramid from 1810 till 1828, a statue of General Desaix and since 1828, the current statue, an equestrian statue of Louis XIV. The first statue was melted in 1792 to make canons during the revolution. It represented King Louis XIV standing… … on a base representing four overcome nations (Spain, the Empire, Brandenburg and Holland): This base is visible in the Puget courtyard in the Louvre. We can even see it without entering the Louvre since the passage which connects the street of Rivoli with the Louvre Pyramid (remember the photo 12 in this article: here). Merci Kristine ! The route of the tour:
Prepare marathons by visiting Paris
Nicole and Dan with Paris Running Tour – Palais Royal – Photo Frédéric Poirier 8:04 AM – Nicole and Dan live in New York. They are two regular runners. Nicole participates regularly in competitions. On holidays in Paris, Nicole prepares her next races: the Chicago marathon and, three weeks later, the New York marathon. Running so close marathons? Yes, with a non-exhausting good training, it is possible. So what is better than a Paris Running Tour to combine regular training and discovery-visit of Paris? Nicole and Dan – Avenue of New York in Paris Little break avenue de New York. New York, one of Nicole’s objectives. Is there also an avenue of Paris in New York? No, but there is an avenue of Paris in Chicago, Paris Avenue. Let us run in the paths of the garden of the Trocadéro: Dan and Nicole – Gardens of the Trocadéro – In the background, the “Palais de Chaillot” then along the river Seine: Dan and Nicole – Left Bank, “quai Branly” (Branly pier) The perspectives are often very beautiful in Paris, it deserves some stops: Dan and Nicole – “Champs Elysées” (Paris Marathon start!) Nicole and Dan – The “Palais Royal” Nicole and Dan – The garden of the “Palais Royal” Merci Dan and Nicole ! Since then, Nicole realized a time of 3:31 in Chicago then, only three weeks later, 3:40 in New York. Fantastic! Bravo Nicole! The route of the tour:
Zigzags from Nation to Trocadero, 11 miles by running in Paris with Anne
Anne – “Place des Vosges” 9:09 AM – Anne from Washington D.C. (USA) is a regular runner (look at her blog). In this first Monday of August, we had decided to cross Paris by running from east to west. We left a place near the square of “Nation” with the objective to reach “Palais de Chaillot” to take advantage of the beautiful view on the Eiffel Tower offered by the “Esplanade of the Trocadéro”. To go there by the shortest route? No, no, we chose to make a lot of zigzags to be able to appreciate Paris in all its magnificence. In the end, nearly 11 miles of an attractive tourist and sports route. First photo stop: the “Place des Vosges”. Very quiet this morning (photo above). Read here the funny short story of the statue of Louis XIII situated in the center of the garden. Did you know that this Royal place was renamed “Place des Vosges” because this department in the east of France was the first one to pay the tax during the Revolution? From “Place des Vosges”, to join the street Saint Antoine, we took the magnificent shortcut offered by the Hotel of Sully: Anne – “Hôtel de Sully” Still in the “Marais” (right bank), we are going to penetrate the Philippe Auguste’s Paris (by postern Saint-Paul). Indeed, king Philippe Auguste, at the end of the 12th century, before leaving for his third crusade, made build an important protective wall around Paris. Numerous parts of this surrounding wall are still visible nowadays. Below, the longest preserved portion of the wall. Discover here another massive part of the wall, left bank this time, as well as plans representing Paris of this time. Anne – Well of Phillippe Auguste – 12th century (Behind the wall, “Lycée” Charlemagne – High school) Let us cross the Seine to visit the Island of “La Cité”. Look (photo below) at the installations of “Paris-Plages” (Paris-beaches), right bank. Do you see the small red Eiffel Tower? We had spoken about it here and here. Anne – “Paris-Plages” Back right bank, surprise! A metro entrance (Palais-Royal station): Anne – “Métro Palais-Royal” (“Le kiosque des Noctambules” – Jean-Michel Othoniel) Compare this modern art subway entrance installed in 2000 with those created one hundred years earlier, representative of the “Art nouveau” movement: see here some examples of these metro entrances created in 1900. As a matter of fact, the other entrance of the same station, Palais-Royal, just in front of the Louvre, is typically “Art nouveau”. Zigzag, small detour on left bank, “Quai Anatole France”. Just in the opposite, the garden of the Tuileries which we are quickly going to join… Anne – “Quai Anatole France” …crossing the footbridge Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, which gives us a beautiful view on, from left to right, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Orsay museum: Anne – Footbridge Léopold-Sédar-Senghor In the garden of the Tuileries, here is a new example of modern art that we meet, a tree in bronze! Anne – “L’arbre des voyelles” (bronze molding installed in 1999 – Giusseppe Pepone) After other numerous discoveries, we finish our running as expected, Esplanade of the Trocadéro: Anne – “Esplanade du Trocadéro” Objective reached! Merci Anne ! The route of the tour :
Two early morning runs to discover Paris, with Agnes
Agnes – Pont au Change – La Conciergerie Thursday 3 July 5:55 AM, Saturday 5 July 7:33 AM – Agnes lives in Los Angeles. Among the numerous visits which she foresaw to know Paris, Agnes included two Paris Running Tours, two morning visits to fully enjoy the capital. Indeed, it is a good means to understand the city landscape, discover numerous sites, to know its history and its architecture but also to apprehend its places, streets and squares in a sport way. First morning: A few minutes after the sunrise, a start not far from the Opera. Let us go to see the Eiffel Tower. Place of Concorde, we begin to see the tower far off: Agnes – Place de la Concorde – Behind the Obelisk, far off, the Eiffel Tower (notice the preparations for the National Day, on July 14th, with the stands which are going to welcome the government for the parade) Let us get closer. Place of the Alma, the Eiffel Tower is more and more visible: Agnes – Place de l’Alma with the Flame of Liberty, an exact replica of the Statue of Liberty’s flame and underneath, the famous tunnel of Alma In the background, the Eiffel tower Now, let us go to the Esplanade of the Trocadéro, one of the best locations to see the Eiffel Tower: Agnes – “Esplanade du Trocadéro” – The Eiffel tower, very close! Look at the landscape visible since the Esplanade, with in the background, on the left, Notre Dame, the Pantheon and the dome of the Invalides: Let us go towards Notre Dame. After a few kilometers of running, we can see the Cathedral, closer this time, since the bridge of the Carrousel: Agnes – Bridge if the Carrousel – Far off, on the Island of “La Cité”, the Saint-chapel and Notre Dame Second morning: Small rain this morning. Today, we are going to admire Notre Dame and the Pantheon. Let us cross the Bridge of the Arts (with a small “Hello” to the Eiffel Tower, far off): Agnes – “Pont des Arts” – Far off, the Eiffel tower We join the Pantheon and greet the great man recently arrived: Agnes – The Panthéon The Pantheon in restoration, as we can see it with these scaffolds on the photo, welcomes the exhibition of the artist JR. We follow our route to finally find the Cathedral “Notre Dame de Paris”: Agnes – Notre Dame – Notice on the ground, the marks which testify of the presence of a street (which existed until the middle of 19th century. Under the feet of Agnes, the mark of a church, Sainte Genevieve des Ardens) Before finishing our run, we cross another church, the Church Saint Eustache (built from 1532 till 1633): Agnes – Church Saint Eustache Funny detail, before the construction of the current church, stood a chapel (built at the beginning of the XIIIth century). This chapel was dedicated to Saint Agnès! Merci Agnes ! The routes of the tours:
In front of the Embassy of Texas in Paris with Kristina
Kristina – Alexandre III bridge – “La fillette à la coquille” (the girl with the shell), sculpted by Léopold Morice 9:55 AM – Kristina lives just in front of Manhattan (New York). We ran and discovered Paris on a beautiful morning of May. The magnificent Alexandre III bridge presents numerous groups of statues. Some evoke diverse representations of the Fame, others, France in various periods of its history. The girl with the shell, which we can see on the photo above, is a member of numerous statues bound to the marine world (the Nereid, the child and the fantastic fish, dolphins and other shells). It is a pity people hung on to it padlocks (look at the hands of the statue by enlarging the photo).. Very close to the place where we started our running, Place Vendôme, we met the Embassy of Texas! Kristina – “Embassy of Texas” Embassy of Texas? Yes, read the plaque which we can see on the building behind Kristina: It is written: “Embassy of Texas. In 1842-1843 this building was the seat of the Embassy of the Republic of Texas in Paris. With the Franco-Texan Treaty of 29 September 1839 France became the first nation to recognize the Republic of Texas, an independant state between 1836 and 1845.” A little farther, after having run in the magnificent Garden of the Tuileries, Kristina – Jardin des Tuileries It is in front of another place of political representation that we stop: Kristina – Palais de l’Elysée – “La Grille du Coq” The Palace of “Elysée”, official residence of the President of the French Republic. Look at the railing which closes the garden of the Palace south side: it is the Railing of the Gallic cockerel. Remember, we had spoken about this cock here. By continuing our road towards the Eiffel Tower, we pass by a street the name of which evokes a city well known by Kristina: Kristina – Avenue de New-York In 1918, this way is named Avenue of Tokio (with one “i” as it was the custom at the beginning of the 20th century). At the end of the World War I, the avenue receives this name because Japan was an ally of France. In 1945, the avenue of Tokio is renamed avenue of New York, the most populated city of the United States, the country which participated in the France liberation (Japan having become an enemy during the World War II). The Palace of Tokyo, very close, built for the World Fair of 1937, kept its name. We were lucky! By going to the Eiffel Tower, the cannons of the garden of Trocadéro throw their powerful water jets: Kristina – Jardin du Trocadéro Merci Kristina ! The route of the tour:
Chestnut trees in flowers, place Dauphine, with Lena
Lena – Place Dauphine 11:03 AM – Lena comes from Sweden. While running, we discovered a Paris colored by the spring. Look at the photo above where the Place Dauphine shows proudly its chestnut trees in flower. Created shortly after the “Place des Vosges” (at that time, Place Royale), the Place Dauphine owes its name to the son of king, the “Dauphin”, future Louis XIII, son of Henri IV whose we can see the statue on the west of the Place. Beautiful small quiet square, opened on the Justice Palace, it was until 1874 a square closed by a third side of buildings. The Place was then a complete triangle. Before and after Here are the buildings which constituted the basis of the triangle: Place Dauphine before 1874 – East side – No trees at the time! Other beautiful trees and vegetables accompanied our route: The oldest tree in Paris Lena – Locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) planted in 1602 (Square René Viviani) The plant wall which covers a part of the buildings of the Quai Branly Museum Lena – Plant wall created in 2004 by Patrick Blanc (Administrative buildings of the Quai Branly Museum) The trees which follow the new banks of the Seine Lena – Banks of the river Seine (left bank) – In the background, the Eiffel Tower Merci Lena ! The route of the tour :
2014!
A big Running Tour of 18 miles (29 km) with Alina, one thousand discoveries in Paris!
Alina – Running in the “Jardin des Plantes” (Garden of the Plants) 9:05 AM – Alina, from New York, in the midst of preparations for a marathon, wished to visit Paris but fully respecting her training plan. This day, a long run was planned: we ran 18 miles (29 kilometers)… Ideal to see Paris! Paris is vast and rich in interesting places. What do we see in Paris by running on a long distance? Water: the Ourcq Canal, the Saint Martin Canal, the “Bassin de l’Arsenal”, the river Seine… The river Seine squares: the “Place de la République”, the “Place des Vosges”, the “Place de la Bastille”, the “Place de la Contrescarpe”, the “Place de l’Alma”, the “Place de la Concorde”, … “Place de la Concorde” museums: the National Museum of Natural History, the Army Museum (Invalides), the Rodin Museum, the Guimet Museum, the Galleria Palace, the Palace of Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art, the “Petit” and “Grand Palais”, the “Jeu de Paume”, the “Orangerie”, the Louvre, the Grévin Museum, the Orsay Museum… bridges: the Bridge of Austerlitz, the Bridge of Carrousel, the Royal Bridge, the Bridge of “la Concorde”, the Alexandre III Bridge, the Bir Hakeim Bridge, the Bridge of “l’Alma”, the Bridge of Arts… the “Pont des Arts” (in the background, the Museum of the Louvre) famous boulevards and avenues, numerous statues, splendid monuments, secular churches, beautiful covered passages… parks and gardens: the “Buttes Chaumont”, the garden of Luxembourg, the “Champ de Mars”, the gardens of the Trocadéro, the “cours de La Reine”, the garden of the Tuileries, the garden of the Plants where we greeted some animals: Alina and the Stegosaurus of the garden of the Plants Alina and the Mammoth of the garden of the Plants and of course the “Tour Eiffel”! Paris is beautiful and has so many amazing aspects! Merci Alina ! The route of the big tour: