So! Last Sunday I tried again to take the train to Saint Germain en Laye, but I guess it won't be running all month! Poo! Instead, I took a different fork of the line up to Poissy, a small town town river (north west) from Paris.
-side ramble-- "My Technique" Some people are content with the pretty parts of Paris, but I'm really not. I find I get bored and uncomfortable standing around furs and silks and gold plating all day. If the food costs more than my paycheck...yeah, I'm out. This leads me to exploring a lot of the 'not as nice' areas around the city, the outskirts, the banlieu, etc. usually I just pick a metro/train/bus line and ride till the end. The transit stops always have maps on them, and I have a pretty good sense of direction, so after a minute or two of orienting myself, I'll pick a destination or two and head out. I chose those destinations based on the size or direction of the roads, parks or water nearby, and adjust as I walk based on signage and neighborhood. I try to always see the water, and I usually stop at a grocery store for a wander, because I find them very interesting!
So that's what I did in Poissy, which is a nice little town, apparently the birthplace of Louis IX, 'Saint Louis' as well.
I walked along the river for quite some way, ending up on this rather creepy frontage road between house boats and the train tracks. It was creepy because there was a ton of thick foliage, old stuff, and no people! Really eerily quiet. Anyway, I was walking so far because I saw a sign for 'The Boat Buccanear' and I wanted to check it out. After a km or two, I found its dock; it's apparently a pub/entertainment boat AND IT WASNT EVEN THERE. Lame.
So then I walked back into town and sat by the cathedral, reading my book for class, which happens to by this guy, Emile Zola!
I walked into a torrential rainstorm, which I endured on the open train platform, before heading back into Paris.
On my way back, I decided to get off at La Defense, which is an industrial/tech 'city' on the way back into town. It has historical significance in the protection of Paris, hence the name, and has a straight line of sight through the Arc de Triomphe, into The Louvre.
And not zoomed in, from the edge of the terrace.
It has it's own arch, mirroring Napoleon's, which matches the sky scraper aesthetic of the area. And yes, that is a full size concert stage underneath it. Summers in Paris are jammin!
It is a really cool area, already built on a bluff, the main 'ground' is really a patio of sorts, stories above transportation and mechanical levels. The two shopping centers spen several floors above and below ground.
This, is a fountain. Next to a road, that's kind of underground. Crazy.
It is full of modern art, and is actually quite nice, it feels as I imagine a tech center in Asia would. (Though I have NO background in which to base that statement...I'm using my imagination!)
And all of this was on my way to Joinville, which is on the Marne River. I wanted to visit because the character in my book finds peace from the city there. But she lived oh...200 years ago? Maybe only, but still. The storm had followed me from Poissy, so the town looked like it had been through the wringer, and I was starting to get really tired and didn't have much patience for exploring at this point...so I didn't really set myself up for success in this town.
I only walked about 500 metres from the train station, but I still managed to get some nice pictures if the river, from an island, under the main road haha, sorry. I still thought it was worth sharing though.
So that was last Sunday; lots of exploring, maybe too much. I've had my midterm now, and my notebooks are finally getting words in them! Life in Paris is as good as it sounds, even if it's not ALL on the Champs Élysées !
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