Today I decided to do a walking tour near the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, in the 19th arrondissement, to further explore a neighborhood of tiny streets called "villas" that my friend Marilynd and I had visited last year (see my earlier blog, leeannshere.blogspot.com, "Lots to see in the 19th"). But first I wanted to visit a few spots that I just hadn't gotten to yet during this stay, such as the area of the Latin Quarter around the Boulevard St Michel and the Place Dauphine (on the Ile de la Cite).
I liked the look of this building, which I believe is on Rue Danton, a little west of Boulevard St Michel:
and this nearby side street (Rue Suger):
I overheard a tour guide telling a story about the buildings on this street. I didn't catch all of it, but from what I gathered, some long-past encroachment by the river had made it necessary for the street to be built up to avoid flooding, silt deposits, etc. Most of the buildings had logically raised the level of their doors and windows facing onto the street as a result-- but not this one (a Japanese restaurant):
There were some doors along the street that were rather low, but not as low as this one.
I then proceeded to le Pont Neuf and crossed it to reach la Place Dauphine. The back entrance of the Palais de Justice, which faces la Place Dauphine, is home to my favorite lions in Paris-- they have such open, non-threatening expressions:
I then took the Metro to the neighborhood-of-villas, just east of the Parc des Buttes Chaumont.
The first kitty I met was kind of shy and seemed more interested in whatever was going on with this strange piece of metal in the street/villa:
The next kitty was not shy at all! Lots of poses:
One home announced the presence of their "nice cat":
The neighborhood also has an interesting three-way intersection:
The neighborhood is flanked by two parks, the aforementioned Parc des Buttes Chaumont to the west and the smaller, less frequented Butte du Chapeau Rouge to the east. I walked over to the second park and found it to be attractive but a little deserted-feeling on a weekday. You do get a view, but there were no recognizable (to me) landmarks in the view.
The Parc des Buttes Chaumont, on the other hand, was quite busy, and it normally provides a view of Sacre-Coeur... but the path to the viewpoint was closed and did not appear to be likely to reopen soon. There seemed to be some stability problems.
There is another attractive neighborhood to the west of the park that Marilynd and I visited last year. It also provides a view of Sacre-Coeur, but I didn't take any photos of the view this year. I did take a couple of photos in the neighborhood:
Cute!
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