Paris Métro - Ligne 4, Station Cité

Station Cité

Line 4

This Métro station is an impressive 62 feet under ground, 

and the stairs, lift, rails, and platform are all contained in two metal caissons.  

Built in 1911, it took a full year to complete. 

This entire platform area is under the Seine! 

bon weekend

Paris Métro, Ligne 4, Station Cité

75004, Paris

Ce doit être une fille française - XXXIV

must be a French girl...

On a Métro platform, checking her smart phone with boots, scarf, hat...

all of this in late May!

(but spring was truly late!)

Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

Métro Réaumur-Sébastopol - Entrée d'Hector Guimard

Art Nouveau design

These famed entrances designed by Hector Guimard were surrounded in talk and not a little controversy in 1900.  The most elaborate were those with glass canopies, of which three still exist.  

Guimard's design above can be seen all over Paris, and there are 80 of this style with cast-iron balustrades decorated in plant-like motifs still remaining today.  The orange light globes sit atop ornate cast-iron supports in the form of plant stems.  Typical of the Art Nouveau style, the entire design is quite "organic."

Métro Réaumur-Sébastopol - Entrée d'Hector Guimard

Lines 3 et 4

75002, 75003, Paris 

Virginia who?!

Who's afraid of Virginia.... who?

I love the ads and posters in Paris. This one is tame but I have seen some that are humorous and others that are outrageous.

What interesting posters/ads have you seen in Paris?

Métro Maubert-Mutualité

Métro, Boulot, Dodo....

Métro, boulot, dodo.... C'est lundi encore!

Monday again and it seemed a good day to post the routine... For me, it is the gym, my office (upstairs), lunch with my DH, work, etc.... How about you?

Don't you wish you were stopping off with your petit chien for a chat and the news to start your day like this Parisien?

Les chaussures VII

We saw this sign in the Métro leaving Galeries Lafayette en juin and it just seemed so captivating. The shoe department reportedly has over 12,000 pairs in a space of 34,700 square feet!


Do you see that it refers to all the "shoe addicts"? Hummm.... guilty, as accused



GALERIES LAFAYETTE
40 bd Haussmann

In the Métro

On a long ride in the Métro, my daughter Holly and I watched a group of mischievous boys. They were accompanied by their teacher, probably on a field trip, in a group of about ten children.

As riders exited and entered the train at each Métro stop, these three would crowd around the door with a sheet of paper which they had torn into long strips. They would position the paper to hang out of the closing door which would then flap and tear away in the breeze of the speeding train. As the door opened at the next stop they would burst into laughter to see what was left of the paper. This scenario was repeated at each stop. The teacher gave them one stern glance but all the other Métro riders pretended not to notice. Holly and I conspired with their antics and I asked them to give me a pose as we exited.

Et voilà! Can you tell which one was the ringleader?

Soignez votre anglais...

As you ride in the Métro there are a whole series of these "improve your English" posters.

This particular one urges one to "treat your English" and to "stop the massacre" of English.... avec une jolie infirmière, bien sûr!

So, like a tourist I had a big grin and snapped a photo! Well, at least I was not talking loudly and wearing white tennis shoes! This post is for Virginia who is studying her French!

Solitude -- Under the crown of "night"

Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre is probably the most photographed Métro entrance in Paris. It was redesigned by Jean-Michel Othoniel in 2000 for the centennial of the Métro as the "Kiosque des Noctambules" (Kiosk of the night-walkers). There are two crowns constructed of glass and aluminum -- one representing "day" and the other "night."

The bench concealed under the canopy of "night" was part of the artist's installation for "chance encounters."

The Escalator Happy Dance

This adorable child is laughing with me! Of course, there is a story....

The background:

As you may know, there are many steps in the Paris Métro -- up, down, around... Some Métro stops are huge and have many iterations of "up and down and around" before it is possible to either transfer or to exit to the street level. Since my first visit to Paris, I have done a little happy dance when I find an escalator. Specifically, I fling my arms into the air (as if my team has just scored) just as I step onto the escalator. Most of the time there is a little joyous shout (woooh-hoooo) and waving of arms. It is just my little "meep" of happiness to have found the electric steps that save my tired body.

The story:

As I stepped on the escalator to exit Métro Sèvres-Babylone, I turned to share my "escalator happy dance" with a mom and two children who laughed with me all the way to the top. Sometimes, the crazy American CAN get a petite Parisienne to smile.

The commentary:

This behavior does warrant some stern stares and I do tone it down a bit in the more chi-chi areas of Paris, but lighten up, people. It will keep you young!

Merci, Shell, for adding "meep" to my vocabulary!

Restez cool -- bien sûr!

Living in a city without "comprehensive public transportation" I am fascinated at how easy it is to get to anywhere, anywhere at all, in Paris. Nothing is more fun than plotting out the "path" with the fewest transfers to get from Point A to Point B in Paris. The first half-dozen times in Paris I only rode the Métro (or RER) and walked. After facing the challenge of the bus routes, I found that you might actually get to Point B quicker on a bus and take in the sights à la fois!

Métro Mabillon was a regular stop on my visit to Paris in juin and I was encouraged by M. Cantona's velvety French to "Restez cool." Since the high temperature in Paris during the week of my visit was about 65F (18C) it was not difficult to follow his direction. I wonder if the Parisians commuting in the sweltering temperatures of 30C and above wish that all the Métro passengers were buying his product.

Eric Cantona, il est beau gosse or as Cécile would say "Trobooogosse" (which was, of course, not in any translator but being a smart girl I figured it out -- wink)