These are all photos I took with the Canon PowerShot SX700 HS camera on May 30. As I've said, I'm still using it, but when I took these shots in Paris last May 30, I didn't yet have my newest Panasonic Lumix camera (TZ60). Walt says a lot of these photos are too blue. I guess... but then the sky, and therefore the daylight, was very blue.
Above is the 1970s building called the Tour Montparnasse. A lot of people consider it a monstrosity. It was built in the early 1970s. It's a great place if you want to go to the top of a tall building and take in spectacular views of all of Paris. And as they say, if you are up there you don't have to look at the building itself. Instead, you can admire the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
There used to be such a thing as free parking in Paris. You can still park your car for freee on Sundays and public holidays. But it used to be true that you didn't have to pay to park in certain neighborhoods, mostly residential, on Saturdays. And also any day of the week in August, when Parisians leave to city to spend summer in the countryside or on the coast. Nowadays, there is no free parking on Saturdays or in August in any neighborhood, as far as I know. Your best choice is an underground parking garage, mais c'est cher.
The city, which is — for example — three times as densely populated as San Francisco. Walt and I used to live out there (in SF). The city itself is the same size, geographically speaking, as Paris, but its population is 800,000, not 2.2 million — that's how many people live in Paris. I wonder how many people there are in Paris on a workday afternoon, counting all the office and shop workers who commute in. Two or three times as many, probably.
There's a huge hospital complex in CHM's neighborhood over between the Duroc and Sevres-Lecourbe metro stations. It's the 200-year-old Hôpital Necker, and the Hôpital des Enfants Malades (specializing in pediatric care). Right now, they seem to be expanding and modernizing the whole complex, which is located just on the west side of the Montparnasse neighborhood.
Here you can see some of the more modern and playful buildings being built on the grounds of the hospital (12 acres for so). It's called le centre hospitalier Necker-Enfants malades. The stethoscope was invented here in 1816. The Pasteur Institute is nearby.
Your numbers give a good idea how dense Paris is....when we visit SF it "feels" very dense, but 3x denser is quite a difference.
ReplyDeleteTour Montparnasse....although I like modern architecture, I am not a fan. It is ever-present, inescapable, in that neighborhood. And not in a good way. It would be better outside la Defense....
For me, the Tour Montparnasse has always been there so it's just part of the Paris skyline. People didn't like the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramide du Louvre either. Maybe they still don't.
ReplyDeleteThe Eiffel Tower was ugly when it was built and still is. But, now, it is an integral part of the Paris landscape and, whether you like it or not, everybody would miss it if it were destroyed. On the other hand, one of Eiffel's masterpieces, the Viaduc de Gabarit, in south central France, is a work of art. Everybody knows that he constructed the framework on which Bartholdy built the Statue of Liberty.
DeleteBonjour Cousin,
DeleteI always wonder that should Vauban and Eiffel have been living during the same period , that we would be the beneficiaries of some incredible masterpieces. Unfortunately one liked stones and the other steel.
Bonjour Cousine,
ReplyDeleteYes, if both these masters had lived at the same time they might have produced together some amazing buildings or structures.
It's more than a little provocative to declare that the Eiffel Tower — the very symbol worldwide of France and Paris — is ugly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To claim to be the arbiter is a little much, even when it comes to the Tour Montparnasse.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you, Ken... even if CHM said it (!) Of course, I only know Paris after the Tour Eiffel. (Too young!)
DeleteMary in Oregon
I meant my comment as a generalization. It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular.
DeleteSpeaking of density in cities...I learned this morning from my daughter vis-a-vis a close friend of both of ours, who lives in Seattle:
ReplyDeletethere are now 5,000 people moving into Seattle each day. Also, just to add to the talk about buildings and density: Amazon, Inc. is in the process of building 5 tall buildings to house more staff in the center of the city. Where will these new employees live? Housing is scarce our friend said.
Mary in Oregon