In the Neighborhood
The day
we arrived in Paris at the end of January there was a snowstorm. Walking around, while possible, was none too
pleasant for about 48 hours. After that,
though, we gradually became aware of what our street, avenue du Général Leclerc, and its surroundings have to offer. First of all, this section of the Left Bank in the 14th
arrondissement is
absolutely packed with shops. In the
half-mile stretch between the place
Denfert-Rochereau with its Lion de Belfort and the métro Alésia, there are two McDonalds
(oh, yes, Macdos, as they are referred to, are ubiquitous in France), three Monoprix,
and four telephone stores. Add to the
list multiple banks, shoe stores, a discount china shop, a store just for
underwear (humorously called Undiz),
and countless other businesses of all kinds.
I think you could spend your entire life without leaving this small area.
At the
north end of our street, one finds the rue
Daguerre. Named for the inventor of
the photographic process called the daguerréotype,
the small road is a pedestrian walkway between Général Leclerc and the rue
Boulard. Apparently the street used
to be a covered market but now just has small shops opened out onto it. Anyway, we often drop by individual shops to
pick up fish, meats, vegetables, cheese, and wine—though that hardly encompasses
everything you can purchase there.
To the
south you head toward the métro stop at Alésia.
American businesses are well-represented on this stretch of the street:
Starbucks, Subway, and KFC—not that we frequent them at all. There are also two large Gaumont movie
theatres in this direction. The Alésia is now showing Django Unchained, Hitchcock, Happiness Therapy
(which was somehow deemed a more acceptable “French” title than Silver Linings Playbook), and Lincoln among other films; Mistral seems to have many more French
offerings, though Zero Dark Thirty is
playing there. As for food in this
section, there is another permanent market similar to the one on rue Daguerre where you can get most of
the same things only on a much smaller scale. Of course, there are temporary marchés which are set up around the
neighborhood, as well. Tuesdays and
Fridays there’s one on rue Mouton-Duvernet and Wednesdays on Edgar Quinet. So far it’s been kind of cold and windy to
really enjoy walking around these morning outdoor markets, but we’ll take more advantage of them
as the weather warms up.
Montparnasse has gone through many phases over the
decades. The intellectual and artistic heart of the city in the 1920s and
30s, famous people such as Picasso, Hemingway, and James Joyce rubbed shoulders
in cafés like Le Select and La Closerie des Lilas. After that
period, though, Montparnasse fell on hard times. Yet, once again
redefining itself, the 14th has recently undergone a process of
gentrification. The diversity of the people and the energy of the area
make it a nice place to live. Having shopkeepers starting to recognize us
gives the impression of being at home in the city.
2 comments:
bonjour, Jayne,
We loved the post card! Almost I wrote another. But I decided to respond instead to your lovely, concise and interesting blogs. Your quotidienne just sounds wonderful -- what could really be better than that? I hope you are keeping some kind of journal of your randonnees. Well, that must be a contribution to your book.
This may be by your preferences, but I notice that you have not yet commented on the normal availability of organ meats in the markets and marches. I happen to love that and enjoy the experiments, although some are just too much work. For example, I love sweetbreads but the processes of blanching, pressing, is too much -- plus one has to do it the first day.
Tenez au courant et gros bises de nous a tout les deux,
Julia
Ah, yes..."les abats"! Well, you're right about that being a matter of preference. Ray loves them, but not me. He did take a picture for you at the marche this week; I'll have him send it. :)
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