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| The Parc Andre Citroen's blue garden |
But just to emphasize how safe it is here, let me show you
this sign that we saw yesterday in Parc André Citroën. We saw a similar sign in the Parc Georges
Brassens not long ago.
I’ll translate the sign for you:
Open at Night
During the summer, 50% of Paris’
green spaces remain continuously open.
For walking, sports, picnicking:
it is possible to benefit from the fresh air of the green spaces at all
hours of the day and night.
The Parc André
Citroën is open without interruption
from July 1 to September 3, all week, 24 hours a day.
Respect the site and the neighborhood!
·
Throw your litter in the bins
·
Limit noise
·
Use the toilets put to your disposition
·
Avoid the unrecommended zones after 10PM because
they’re not well lighted.
The legend on the graphic indicates the entrances open at
night with a red triangle. This
encourages people to use the entrances in the open, well-lit areas. Green areas are those accessible after
9:30PM. Orange zones are not recommended
after 9:30PM; my knowledge of the park tells me that it is the wooded areas
that are not recommended at night. That
seems reasonable.
If Paris were not safe, the City could not leave these parks
open all night in the summer. I rest my
case.
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| The park's balloon. |
The Parc André Citroën was created on the site of
the former André Citroën automobile factory. Like the Parc Bercy, several of the park’s
landscape features remain from or are reminiscent of its former, pre-park days. Beautiful gardens have been created along the
northeast side of the park. A huge
fountain of dancing waters is open for kids to play in during warm summer
days. A large balloon takes people up in
the sky for a view of Paris from its southwestern edge.
The vast, open central part of the park stretches all the
way to the Seine on the northwest border.
Some of the sightseeing boats stop there.
The park is heavily used by families, especially on warm
summer weekends and holidays. Yesterday,
the eve of the Feast of the Assumption, with sunny weather reaching the lower
80s F, was a perfect day to be there. So
many people were; the line for balloon rides was long.
When we finished walking around in the Parc André
Citroën,
we left through its southernmost point and had a light lunch in Le Terminus
brasserie on the Place Balard.
Dinner was at Le Pario, which may be Tom’s favorite
restaurant in Paris. During our
afternoon walk, we’d noticed that it was open, even though Lafourchette.com
seemed to indicate that it was closed. Only
a few tables were occupied while we dined there. The food was terrific, even though the
regular chef, Eduardo Jacinto, did not seem to be in the kitchen.
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| The dining room and its stained glass at Le Terminus. |
Today is the Feast of the Assumption, a day when those of
the Catholic faiths celebrate the Virgin Mary’s assumption into heaven. A grand procession will take place on and
near the Ile de la Cité this afternoon, followed by vespers and a mass this
evening at Notre-Dame de Paris.
This is like a time of renewal in Paris, because soon after
this holiday is the “rentrée,” or re-entry, meaning “back-to-school
time.” But the rentrée has become more than
just the start of the new school year.
It seems to be the start of the new year for everything: new exhibits open at museums, new concert and
theater series start, new books are published, new fashions are displayed, new
businesses are opened, old businesses are re-opened.
The Feast of the Assumption marks the end of a year or a
season, and it marks the beginning of a new year or season – just as the
Assumption marked the end of Mary’s life on earth and the beginning of her life
in heaven.
Here’s to new beginnings!
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