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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
Les 'Intellos' On Parade
These boots were made for walkin' - a lot. A Sunday Spent Looking For Clues |
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Email from Linda Thalman, via the Internet: Monday, 22. March 1999:- Dear Ric, Boullay-les-Troux:- You missed it again - the 46th annual 'Rallye dans Paris' on the 14th of March! You missed the most beautiful Sunday in Paris in months! You missed doing what you do every other day I guess. We could have used you on the team. We started with coffee and croissants at the sports club in Cachan for registration at 8:15. Shortly after nine o'clock we were scouring the Cité Universitaire for clues to obscure questions and bizarre snippets of 'things' along the route: such as a finger from a statue, a roof top, a mosaic, a shop sign. Avoiding joggers on the paths of the Parc Montsouris wasn't easy with our heads in reference books or looking behind trees and shrubs for the elusive objects. The exact route we took is a blur by now, but I recall
vividly being enchanted with the houses in what is only
called 'Cité Floral' on my map. The Rues des
Glycines, Iris, Volabilis, Liserons and the Square des
Mimosas
The day was so glorious that we squandered our morning enjoying the bustling Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles before collapsing for a hurried sandwich at Place Paul-Verlaine around 13:30 and much behind schedule. My knees had yet to give out, but oh - my aching back! The afternoon took us to the Place d'Italie, by the Gobelins and through the Square René-le-Gall - which is a park of about 30,000 square metres I'd never seen or heard of before. An oasis of calm and not a tourist in sight. Almost forgot the lively Sunday street market on the
Boulevard Auguste Blanqui between métro station
Corvisart and the Place d'Italie. Since we were looking for
historical
We were heading towards the end of the rallye and came upon the most ominous street in Paris I've ever seen - the Rue Jean-Dolent. This is where the sinister-looking Maison d'Arret de la Santé is located. Imposing high walls hid what looked like a medieval-looking aberration in the 14th arrondissement; a remand prison. What's the history to this place? We scrambled to finish our questionnaire for the 17:30
deadline and then the team collectively
As usual, we were a motley crew of British, Brazilian, Canadian, Dutch, French, Italian and Americans. But we all speak French after a fashion fortunately, or we'd really have been in trouble. Without it, we couldn't use our reference works for the 'intello' clues, or communicate with each other As I said, the day was perfect: blue sky all day, warm temperatures and good company - which meant we lost our concentration on winning the rallye. I'm pleased to say we came in honorably: in 28th place out of over a hundred teams. We'll be back again next year! Best regards, Linda
Linda Thalman©1999
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are in the triangle of Rue Auguste Lançon,
Rue Boussingault and Rue Brillat-Savarin in the 13th
arrondissement. Simply a delight. You should stop by to get
a photo of the Bar Floral.
facts and unusual roof lines, I didn't have time -
or space in my backpack - for fresh strawberries,
raspberries, cheeses galore, a rôti, or anything
else. This is a market to check out when not on a
Paris rallye.
collapsed in a brasserie at the Place Denfert- Rochereau.
My 'wounded knees' of two years ago held up much better
than expected and no blisters this year!
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