A quiet morning by the Canal St Martin and a manic, crowded afternoon at Trocadero….
After the pretty ordinary weather of the last few days, Boxing Day is cold, mostly clear and sunny. I decide it’s a good morning to walk along the Canal St Martin and end up at the Promenade Plantée instead. Probably should have used a map rather than let my feet carry me to where they wanted to be. Never mind, I found a outdoor gear shop on Rue de Prague that sells Haglöfs clothing and equipment. I’d never heard of this brand until a fellow traveller in the Galapagos whipped out a bright blue windproof jacket after a hike to the caldera. Lo and behold, here is a shop in Paris selling Swedish outdoor gear. It seems well-priced – about half that of the North Face for an equivalent size waterproof duffel bag. I also found a shop across the road from this shop that sells travel pillows :-). So not a great loss missing the correct path to get to Canal St Martin after all. I end up walking back to Bastille, and catching the Metro to Jaures, which marks the distinction between the Canal and La Villette. It’s an easy walk along the canal, pretty quiet with only dog walkers out and about. Something about the Canal suits black and white…
The downside of the morning is that I’ve done 10km by 1.30pm, and my feet are still thanking me for the 17.5km they put in yesterday. I decide the afternoon can be a scouting trip for night shots of the skating rinks at Hotel de Ville and Trocadero. Wow – everyone with kids is out today. At 4pm, the wait for ice skating is more than 2 hours. It’s also quiet busy, so no chance of squeezing the tripod in after sunset.
If I think the Hotel de Ville was busy, it’s nothing compared to (a) getting to Trocadero on the Metro; and (b) Trocadero itself. Line 1 to La Defense is heaving with people, and they all seem to be going my way. There is a Christmas Market around the fountains at Trocadero, and the place is packed. The market seems to be of better quality that the one at La Defense, with chalets selling nougat, chocolates, regional wines, jewellery, mulled wine and small goods. It is however very crowded, as is the area across the river in front of the Tour Eiffel.
There is no chance of coming back with a tripod tonight with crowds like this, so I make my way back to Concorde via a stroll along Les Berges. The pop up bars and cafes are all gone for the winter, and the space is largely devoted to joggers and kids with scooters. There are however some nice views along the Seine from Pont Alexandre III as it gets dark.
