Parc Bercy and Bercy Village in Paris
Bonjour,
Paris is teeming with tourists but locals are preparing to depart for their vacance or vacation. In a week or two, the local areas throughout the Marais where we are will be noticeably less crowded, and some of the shops will close for most of the month of August. It’s an efficient way to deal with vacation time! The SOLDES or big summer sales will soon be over but there are still some good bargains to be had.
Today, we joined the Bilbros for an outing to the Parc Bercy. Bernie and I had been to the Bercy Village several years ago thinking it was a huge outlet mall. It is not and we came away disappointed. There are more restaurants than anything and a delightful museum called Musee des Artes Forains containing funfair objects in the Pavillons de Bercy including antique amusement rides, merry-go-rounds, fair stalls, German swings and a famous organ. It is only open on certain days and by reservation only. 
We had walked through this area and the Village but not the HUGE park. Today, Jim gave us the tour which we enjoyed very much. It’s on the right bank of the Seine in the 12th arrondissment. Built in 1994-1997, it is almost 14 hectares making it the tenth largest park in the city. You will notice in our pictures, the interesting sculptures created by Rachid Khimoune called “Children of the World.” They were created in 2001 to honor children’s rights. Unfortunately, they have been marred by graffiti. There’s a very interesting fountain and a footbridge across the river to the National Library of France. Unfortunately, we failed to get a picture of the bridge. But you’ll love the turtles!
This is definitely a park worth your time to visit! Lunch was a fun time in an Alsacien restaurant.
Hope everyone is staying cool and having a good weekend. It’s supposed to rain here in Paris tonight. We’re not holding our breath. This final shot of the park is an area where all the leaves have come off the trees like autumn because they are so dry!
A bientot,
Linda & Bernie
July 18, 2015 @ 7:58 pm
Nope, stifling hot here. No rain in sight. Heat index- low hundreds. So glad it seems to be better there!
July 18, 2015 @ 8:56 pm
It just started pouring rain here at 11:00pm. A perfect, cooling end to a very pleasant day. Bernie’s pictures a delightful. He even caught the pollen on that busy, busy bee’s back-side.
July 18, 2015 @ 9:11 pm
The weather in Alabama is alternating steamy days with clouds bunching up in the afternoon and pop-up storms as our apertiff! Last night in the Fairhope / Mobile area there was a huge boomer with lightning, thunder, high winds and power outages that started around 4:30 p.m.. This did not deter the Writers Conclave meeting where people insisted on reading by flashlight rather than taking shelter during the open mic sessions. Oh well, no stopping writers who wanna be heard! Luckily by the time the banquet started about 6:30, things had calmed down and we had a lovely meal at the Venue, and then a grand lesson in “voice in fiction” from Sena Jeter Naslund, 2015 Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductee. Thanks for the park tour, Linda. I’m looking forward to seeing that next trip!
July 19, 2015 @ 12:26 am
The park is quite interesting. I enjoyed the sculptures, but am sorry the heat is causing leaves to fall from the trees. Hopefully Paris will cool off and rain will visit the city.
July 19, 2015 @ 7:25 am
About 11pm, we got a “gully washer” but for only ten minutes. THen it sputtered rain for a couple of hours. Nothing like we needed but we’re grateful for anything at this point. It’s very cool this morning:)