travel – Page 11 – enclos*ure

Canal Saint-Martin, Paris

September 23, 2015March 8, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ureLeave a comment

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On this visit to Paris we walked along the Canal Saint-Martin for the first time — starting at the Jaurès metro stop and then leaving it near the Place de la Républic (where the canal goes into a tunnel and then re-emerges after Place de la Bastille).

Along the way, the little derelict enclosed garden* above caught my attention. I found it touching and rather beautiful in its neglected state.

The canal was built between 1802 and 1825 to bring more fresh water into the growing city. Boats also transported grain and other materials. Traffic declined after the mid- 20th century, and there was talk of paving it over in the 1960s. Since 1993, it has been designated as an Historical Monument.

Today, the formerly working class, now gentrifying area is very picturesque, if still a little down-at-heel in spots. It’s definitely worth a detour from the more usual Paris sights.

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Above, Square des Récollets.

ADDENDUM: There’s an interesting video clip of the canal in 1926 here.

*It was at Rue Eugène Varlin and Quai de Valmy.

La Madeleine, Paris

September 22, 2015March 8, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments

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Floral display on the south steps of the church of the Madeleine, early September.

The flowers were petunias and nicotiana, between rows of dwarf fountain grass. A sign said the arrangement was sponsored by the Paris Mayor’s Office and installed by “l’atelier de jardinage des Champs Élysées.”

Montmartre Cemetery, Paris

September 22, 2015March 8, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ureLeave a comment

Another quick look down.

We were walking along the Rue Caulaincourt bridge over the south end of the cemetery when we spotted this pretty planting arrangement in yellow below.

Cimetière de Montmartre is the third largest of four necropolises built in the early 19th century, just outside the Paris city boundaries.

It was placed below street level, in an abandoned gypsum quarry, which had previously received the hundreds of bodies of those killed in the riots of the French Revolution.

The entrance is at the end of Rue Rachel, under Rue Caulaincourt.

Cluny Museum garden, Paris

September 22, 2015March 8, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments

A glimpse through an interstice caught. . .*

Looking out through leaded glass windows.

The Musée de Cluny or National Museum of the Middle Ages is a wonderful small museum in the Latin Quarter of Paris — and the home of “the Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries.

Unfortunately, this was the closest look that I could get of its modern take on a medieval garden — designed by Eric Ossart and Arnaud Maurieères. It was closed for “security reasons” the first week of September. Since it opened in 2000, I suspect that the wooden decking needs repair or replacement.

Travel tip: admission to many Paris museums is free on the first Sunday of each month — many more will be free starting in November.

*Walt Whitman, from “A Glimpse.”

Streifzug 6: Esslingen

September 21, 2015August 20, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ure6 Comments

I’m sorry that there was no Sunday porch yesterday; we were out touring Stuttgart with visitors.

In the early evening, we walked through the nearby small city of Esslingen am Neckar, and I spotted this sweet doorway arrangement with espaliered ivy.