The sun was shining on Paris this past weekend, which is a rare and glorious thing this late into September. Temperatures danced into the mid-70s, and Parisians across the city took to the parks to soak in the final vestiges of summer. Michael had seen photos online of Parc des Buttes Chaumont, and suggested we pack a picnic and explore it on Saturday. The park is actually the fifth largest in Paris, and is a bit on the outskirts in the 19th arrondissement. It has some fantastic (hilly) running trails, sloping lawns just waiting for a picnic, a lake, waterfall, grotto, a few cafes, and not to be forgotten, a replica of a Roman temple on an island in the middle of the lake - the Temple de la Sibylle. Because, why not. To me, the history of Parisian parks is almost as interesting as that of its buildings. This park was built on a site that was originally outside the city limits, and was near where the city would display executed criminals after they had been hanged; it was also at times a gypsum quarry, refuse dump, a place for dicing up horse carcasses, and a sewage depository. In other words, not a very savory or sanitary place to hang out. In the mid-1800s, Napoleon III appointed Baron Haussman to modernize the city. At the same time that Haussman plowed medieval streets, turning them into the stately tree-lined boulevards they are today and required that all buildings be the same hight, faced with the same cream-colored stone, he also found time to scope out the unsavory site described above and decided it would be an excellent place to build a new recreational area for the city's growing population. The park was envisioned by Haussman to be a garden showcase, which is still true today, with over 47 species of plants and trees thriving on the grounds, many of which were originally planted when the park was created. If trees could talk. My overall impression of the park: it's a bit off the beaten path and takes a while to get there, but once you do, it is a fantastic place to hang out for a sunny afternoon with a picnic, nice bottle of wine, and a handsome man to keep good company.
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AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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