Beaugrenelle Shopping Mall in Paris
Bonjour,
Occassionally, one can be disappointed in Paris. An outing doesn’t pan out to be what you expected. This happened to us yesterday. After lunch with the Bilbros, we made our way over near the Eiffel Tower with Bernie’s son James and his partner, Stephen, to visit what was billed as a fantastic shopping mall. I had seen a website for this and the pics were so enticing. The mall had been built back in the 70’s, completely renovated and reopened in October of 2013. I had never heard of it.
It was a long walk from the Bir-Hakeim subway station which accesses the Eiffel Tower. Along the way we passed the lovely park which honors the children and families who were victims of the Vel d’Hiv. This is featured in the book and movie of the same name, SARAH’S KEY. If you haven’t read the book, please do. I’ve written about this several times before. Hundreds of Jewish families were rounded up and placed in a huge sports arena only to be separated and sent to concentration camps. The French were a long time acknowledging their collusion with the Nazis here in Paris, and this statue is one of many symbols of regret in honor of all the lives lost.
The Beaugrenelle Shopping Mall consists of two very large, modern buildings connected by a crosswalk. One side is mainly fast food and eating establishments and the other side, retail shopping. Though the space is new, clean and COOL on a very hot day, it somehow didn’t have any zing and almost no shoppers. Maybe this was because it’s August and the locals are all gone, or maybe because this would not be a heavy tourist find. We were all underwhelmed. It is nothing to compare with Quartre Temps (Four Seasons) at La Defense. We’ve seen it but we won’t return. The pics are actually more impressive than the structure deserves. Hate to sound negative but tis true.
We had a nice dinner around the Eiffel Tower and dragged in about 9pm. The area around the Trocadéro is under such renovation that it compromises the lovely view. Wait a year or two to see the Tower from this angle!
We conclude with a fun pic of a unique way to get around in Paris. Oh-la-la!
Linda & Bernie
August 7, 2015 @ 9:02 am
Thanks for scoping it out for us. We may do a quick run up there later in the summer just to see it for ourselves, but will be prepared to be underwhelmed.
August 7, 2015 @ 9:15 am
You will like the shapes and photo opportunities. The blue celing looks great in the pictures but like cheap plastic in person. Maybe we are being too critical. Jamie was so excited to do some shopping but the shops were unimpressive. I felt badly because I had built it up based on the web site we saw!
August 7, 2015 @ 3:09 pm
I love motor scooters, but my family, former and present, has vetoed the idea every time I wanted to buy one.
August 7, 2015 @ 3:11 pm
Charles, that pink one has your name on it!
August 8, 2015 @ 1:36 am
I have enjoyed reading about all your adventures, following your blob and viewing all the pics; however, it’s time for you to come home! See you in a week – 10:44.
August 8, 2015 @ 6:37 am
Barbara, we’ve had another good year but yes, one more week and we will be home. No change on flights that we know of so will see you next Friday. If anything starts to change on the day of flight, we’ll call you. Remember if it gets delayed, Bernie’s brother can pick us up! He’s a night owl.
I’m looking forward to some golf! You won’t believe how good my knee is. It has gotten smaller and smaller and looks almost like the other one now. Dr. Tindall will be proud. I still know it’s there, but so much better.