Scouting and Planning

Mid-week after a week of bountiful beauty and humanity in Paris, I scouted places I wanted to situate precisely: the reverse-from-usual starting point for walking the "Coulée Verte" and the Gares du Nord & de l'Est for future train departures.

From the Coulée Verte (or Petite Ceinture branch, perhaps):

Walking guides to this beautiful linear park were vague about how to find the far starting point...most describe starting from a spot behind the Bastille Opéra near the center of Paris, rather than in or near the Bois de Vincennes on Paris' edge if you wanted to walk from the outside in.  Contrarian that one can be.

From what I gathered, taking Métro Line 8, direction Créteil, stop Porte Dorée would do the trick.  Arriving there I went into a corner café for breakfast and met owner Sidi, a warm and friendly Kabyle-Algerian who actually knew about my Algerian dissertation author,  Kateb Yacine.  He also knew where to find the start to the walk.  I would have missed meeting him had I known that one stop further, the Porte de Charenton, is closer to the Avenue des Meuniers to access the walk, but what a joy to have met him!

Leucistic (haha) Wisteria

Inside the Gare du Nord

St. Vincent-de-Paul Church, in vicinity of both Train Stations, Nord and de l'Est

French Olympic Athlete & employee of French Train System, poster inside station

Part of massive facade of Gare du Nord--Gare de l'Est is more modest in size

Brother-in-law's brother's daughter and her family-- planned some necessary and fun rendez-vous, including her dance teacher's school going to dance among impressionist paintings next Thursday night at the Orsay Museum to techno music.