Un peu différent

Architecture and Design, General, Tours and visites, Travel, Travel with Kids, Un peu différent, Walking (tours and promenades)

Canal Saint Martin is a walk in the Park of Paris

Another little surprise, from Parc de Villette, rediscovering Canal St. Martin by walking from Parc de Villette to Bastille. The neighborhoods along the way are so lively, especially during the summer months, when Paris Plage is going on.  All of the activities here beat the Paris Plage by the Seine.   Canal St. Martin, is a 4.5 km long and connects…read more
Architecture and Design, Tours and visites, Un peu différent

Promenade Plantée vs. High Line

Ok.  I thought New York City's High Line was an original.  Then I discovered that idea of elevated linear parks built on old railroad tracks actually originated in Paris in 1988 with the design of the Promenade Plantée, a 2.8-mile-long series of gardens built atop an abandoned railway viaduct in the Right Bank’s 12th Arrondissement, anchored by the Opéra Bastille…read more
Culture, Travel with Kids, Un peu différent

Tokyo on the Seine

There has always been a long history of love of all that is Japanese in France.  The trend became so intense that in the 19th century, there was a movement called 'Japonisme.'  This wonderful NY travelpost lists many interesting destinations, including Albert Kahn Museé et Jardin. Musts: 1. Galerie Sentou 2. Kunitoraya 3. Jugetsudo   http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/letter-from-paris-tokyo-on-the-seine/?_r=0 Save Save Saveread more
Travel with Kids, Un peu différent

Paris treasure hunt 2010 – July 3!

We'll miss it again this year, but sounds like great fun!

Come and hunt Paris treasures. The treasure hunt is free and open to all. You can enrol here or in front of the town hall of the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th and 20thdistricts and Saint ouen on July 3rd. The surreal adventure organized by Paris City Hall will be a unique way to discover the city, its secrets and its inhabitants.

[From Les Trésors de Paris 2010 - In search of the eternal roses - Rules of Paris treasure hunt]
In the News, Travel, Un peu différent

French air enthusiasts hope to restart Concorde engines

Though I know post 9/11 and a cratering air travel market didn't help, the Concorde flew without incident for 30 years before tarmac debris brought the first one down. ... I hope that despite the claim that they only want to see the Concorde roll on it's own power on the Le Bourget tarmac, that someone has a plan to get the bird back in the air. It's nice to think that technological marvels of the space age could still come back, and in finding the past, we could sew the seeds to a more hopeful future. LE BOURGET, France — A French aeronautics association Saturday examined the engines of a Concorde passenger jet at an air museum outside Paris to determine if they could be used again. "The objective is not to get it (Concorde) to fly again but to get the engines working again, hoping one day to see it taxi on the tarmac for the pleasure of visitors to the museum," said Frederic Pinlet, head of Olympus 593, named after the Rolls Royce/Snecma engines used on the aircraft.