More Training in Paris

Day 1: On the banks of the river "La Marne" June 22nd 

Christelle came over a week after Stephen as their calendar were not matching. Neithertheless, as she cannot walk long distance at weekends in Barcelona, she joined to accomplish some training and get prepare for the D day.

Along the Marne

Ancre

The first walk started near the Place de la Bastille on the "promenade plantée", a path protected from the traffic and the streets letting you think in some parts that you are not in Paris. This leads us to the Bois de Vincennes that we crossed over in order to go to Joinville Le pont. During our walk in the bois, we discovered a dedicated cycling tour drawing a triangle of about 4 kms. A place I didn't know or visited when I walked previously in the bois... It really means it is quite a big forest. Cycling teams and individual cyclers are making rounds at a quite high speed. We were a little bit worried when we saw an ambulance looking for somebody. Probably one of these guys that felt over his bike.... we made ourselves a round to make sure we will have made enough kilometers in the legs at the end of the day.... Yes, we start to be addicted to treks and make sure we will be trained enough for the D day !!! :). We passed in front of the Hippodrome de Vincennes... no horse races planned that afternoon not even a training....then, we manage to reach Joinville le pont...This is the closest place near the bois the Vincennes that gives access to the river called "La Marne". It is situated east of the Paris Basin and is the longest French river (514 km) . That is one of the Main tributary of the Seine and it runs in laces.

We decided to go and walk along one of these laces, on the banks of the city: Champigny sur Marne . We are quite astonished by the beauty of the bank and we can admire the beautiful houses along the way. We have seen few boats called Péniches in French (long boat used to transport goods and more and more renovated as appartment.). Along the way, we can see that the river is used a a base for training in Kayaking. We have noticed what I will call "doors" that kayakists needs to go through when doing a competition as a skier would do in a Slalom. The Olympic Games in London starting in 3 weeks time, we will have the opportunity to watch it on tv. Even if we walk 90% of the path near the water, one thing we regretted is that a part of the Marne banks were not accessible and we had to walk on the pavement on a main road. Nevertheless, after 5 hours and 30 minutes, we were quite satisfied of our day. as we walk about 23 kms before taking a train in "La Varennes-Chennevrières" to go back to Nation .

Day 2: To the discovery of the "Canal de l'Ourcq"

The second walk had to be a long one with the objective to walk at least 9 hours... The reasons for such a challenge was that Christelle did not have a chance to cover such distance since our visit in Barcelona and the weather forecast was no good for the following day.

We had planned a walk in forests and changed our mind at the last minute but everybody was satisfied with the decision made... We decided to meet in Boulevard Voltaire and start again this second day from my place. Our first difficulty was the hilly Cimetière du Père Lachaise; probably the most visited cemetery in the world, where famous people are buried: writers such as La fontaine or Molière, Irish auther Oscar Wilde, SingerJim Morrison (the Doors) Singer Edith Piaf, Gilbert Bécaut, Opera singer Maria Callas, Musicians: Bizet and Chopin. You can also find the gravesites of movie artits such Sarah Bernhardt, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. . It is well known as well for the sculpture and monuments that rich families made in the name of their members lost through the years.

Once we got out the cemetery we headed to the Buttes de Chaumont, the most hilly park in Paris with a lovely pond dominated by a monument located on a peak. On the summit, you have a beautiful scenery of the Northern and Eastern sides of Paris. Then, we moved to La Villette, a famous part of Paris well know for some exhibitions, concert room, organising everynight outdoor cinema for a month. We went there because it is a start of the Canal de L'Ourcq, one of the canal that constitutes the network of Parisian canals, 130 km long and which belongs to the city of Paris. Since 1962, only the first eleven kilometers, exempt from locks, are opened to the commercial traffic: approximately a million tons are transported every year by barges the heavy carrying of which cannot exceed 400 tons. Beyond, the channel, the depth of which is henceforth 80 cms, is dedicated to the sailing. Since the end of 1990s, the neighborhood of the canal situated in the Parisian urban area are rehabilitated and fitted out to make a green axis opened to the activities of leisure such as the cycle touring and the hike.

During the first kilometers, a strange feeling runs through our bodies as the place seems desolated as some old buildings ready to be destroyed. We were not very impressed as I would say by this area. Nothing special until we arrived near a long wall. There, we had the chance to admire some beautiful tags. To be honest, I do not really like tags and mainly when they are covering beautiful buildings. However, here, we were in a isolated place where artists can express their art without destroying someone else belongings.

 

An open space where some pleople making some sophiticated, well thought paintings. Some of them are very talented to draw pictures in such a way it looks like a pictures or a cartoon.

We had to walk around 8 kms to find some green land before reaching the Forest of Sevran. There, the banks were lovely, greeny, surrounded by trees. A very peaceful area where we have seen a lot of fishermen, siting along the canal and fishing quietly. Almost doing nothing, relaxing, taking the fresh air and seizing the day. Along our walk we have just came across with a lock. For the fist time, I saw a signed post indicating it was forbidden to fish. It is represented by a hook crossed by a bar. 
We covered according to Christelle GPS around 41 kms in 9 hours including stops for stretching and for eating our lunch. We were quite satisfied with this walk and the landscape we have seen on the way. However, we would advise people willing to discover the canal to start the walk as from the RER of Sevran. The part before between La Villette and that point is almost without interest unless you like tags !!!
Conclusions of the day to make sure we will overcome our challenge:
- Eat on a constent basis (cakes with fruits are excellent, fruits, some chocolate bars as rewards :=) ) to make the distance.
- For avoiding to suffer from skin rubbing on both sides of the legs which can be very paintfull, you can apply prior to the walk a gel named Nok. It is highly recommended to even start the application at least a week prior to the event.

 

Day 3: A lazy day in Paris.

As it was pouring rain in Paris, we decided to laze around, then go an see an exhibition on Helmut Newton, the famous photographer.....Kilometers covered... not a lot !!! :)

 

Sebastian