An informal photo dump and some thoughts on French building elements, establishments, food and people.
04., Réseau Express Régional:
While walking has primarily been our main mode of transportation, the Réseau Express Régional (RER) has been a close second. I’ve found that many of us on this trip do not normally utilize public transportation in our daily lives, myself included. Only around 5.0% of Americans use public transportation compared to Parisians’ 70%. This statistic, however, is not surprising since France’s transportation infrastructure is one of the most sophisticated in the world. Rail services include the Metro network, SNCF rail and the RER (which gained its popularity through service to both the Paris city center and its suburbs).
Something we, as a group, have noticed during our time here is the ongoing attention that the system has been receiving. It seems that at almost every stop some kind of maintenance is underway, ranging from re-painting walls to line closures. The RER-B (the line we take from Cité U) is particularly busy and, because of constant use, numerous renovations are being made to the station, tracks, signals and points to improve reliability and traffic.
According to their website, Île-de-France Mobilités’ project aims to improve passenger facilities in stations, with new street-level exits, and guaranteed safe accessibility for all passengers.
“Improving journeys for 12 million users in the Île-de-France region requires exceptional means. Summer works are reaching again an important scale this year, proportionate to our ambition to profoundly transform your public transport. This undertaking has already been ongoing for several years.”
— RATP
08., Armchair of Marie-Antoinette:
The last queen of France, Marie-Antoinette is one of the most famous figures in French history, despite her Austrian roots. Following the displacement of the French monarchy and the execution of her husband Louis XVI, she was separated from her children in August of 1793 and famously imprisoned in la Conciergerie to await her trial.
During our visit to la Conciergerie, we had the opportunity to enter the cell where Marie-Antoinette spent the last two months of her life before she was beheaded at the Place de la Concorde on October 16. While Marie Antoinette’s cell was bigger than those for ordinary prisoners (and likely more furnished), it was certainly not hard to picture the dark, damp and humiliating conditions she endured. The photo above shows the display that exhibits the preserved armchair she was provided in her cell.
“I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long.”
— Marie-Antoinette
2 replies on “La Ville Rouge”
Loved your commentary about the RER. Although I know we’ve had a few bumps here and there with navigating this super interconnected city, I have absolutely loved our experience with the RER/metro system. I truly wish we had something as great in the U.S., but alas we have a bunch of broken up systems in major cities connected by the slow and overpriced Amtrak.
Love this color theme! keep it up.