The Parc Sainte Périne -- pretty and serene

After a good lunch outdoors at Le Cosmos Café, we strolled down the Avenue Emile Zola in the warm afternoon air.  We paused on the Pont Mirabeau to take in the spectacular river views. 

Flowerbeds in the Parc St. Périne are well tended.  Note
the hot air balloon rising above the Parc André Citroen, across
the river.

I told Tom the story behind the bridge.  He told me that Pont Mirabeau is named in literature, history, and song as the site of a number of suicides.  I noted that the railing seemed like it would be easily surmountable.  He said the choice as a suicide site had something to do with the power of the river there, and the strength of the currents.  I recalled that at the time the Pont Mirabeau was designed and built, it was the tallest and longest bridge in Paris.  As we stood at the midpoint of the bridge, we could clearly see how wide the Seine is in that reach to the west of the Île aux Cygnes.   The river must be deep there, too, if the rolling wave action is any indicator.

We continued on to the right bank and the Rue Mirabeau until we reached number 41, a gateway into the recently expanded and improved Parc Sainte Périne.  The site of the park and the surrounding hospitals (Sainte-Perine - Chardon - Lagache - Rossini) was once a huge estate occupied by the monks of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.  The monks were there from 1109 until the French Revolution. 

The woods in the Parc St. Périne (above and below).

Eventually, the daughters of the Countess of Aubusson owned a diminished version of the estate.  They gave it to the public hospital system in the 1850s.

The park was called Square Sainte Périne until last year when it was doubled in size and greatly improved. 

Tom and I had never been to the square/park, so we decided to explore it yesterday. 

Three sides of the park are hillside; St. Perine is the patron saint of mountain travelers, after all.  The middle of the park, which is the original Square, has stunningly beautiful flowerbeds and curving, paved walkways.  There are two inviting playgrounds for kids.  The once green lawns are being allowed to go natural to save water, reduce fertilizer and pesticide use, and encourage growth of wildflowers for the bees and butterflies.  This is a phenomenon throughout public spaces in Paris.

It is not unusual to see palm trees in Paris parks.

For adults, there is some acreage of raw woodland with unpaved trails on each end of the park.  I think this wooded land is probably what was recently added to this public space.  Educational plaques in the woods explain the importance of various elements in the wooded ecosystem.

This distorted tree in the Parc St. Périne has the remnants
of some kid's improvised "treehouse."  The park's
gardeners have allowed it to remain.

The total size of the park is now a little over 9 acres, we calculated (3.7 hectares).  Even on a perfect summer afternoon, the park was uncrowded and serene.  The park is also open through the night during the warm summer months.  As part of the renovation and expansion, low-energy lights were added to the park so that neighbors can enjoy it after dark.  In addition to a couple long-stay hospitals, some apartment buildings overlook the park.  Tom and I think this would be a fine place to live in Paris.

Do not play ball against this wall! -- That's the message.

After exploring the park, we walked up to see the façade of the Notre Dame d'Auteuil church because Tom had not seen it in a while.  We amused ourselves by looking at a sign on the side of the church -- a message that confused and bemused us in 1998, before we improved our French.

Decades ago, I thought that the walk to Auteuil and back was very far; now I think nothing of this five-mile round-trip.  It is just a walk in the park.

The Parc Sainte Périne.