Wednesday 30 January at Batignolles and on the Orge

Winter in the square des Batignolles 

Next Wednesday, January 30 (yes. It's almost the end of the month!) we will have two options, a half-day and a whole-day hike. 

The half day hike will be led by Marcel in the quartier of the Batignolles in Paris. Here is Marcel's information:

Poets like Verlaine, Mallarmé, Brel and Barbara lived there. It's a typical Parisian quartier (we'll see the cité des Fleurs and the church Saint Josèphe des Epinettes) but there's also an English garden (square des Batignolles), a Polish school and some American traces (the "church" of Scientology and a park named after Martin Luther King) and restaurants of every type.

We'll see all that, but we won't see the new quartier with a judicial center and a shopping mall on the site of the old SNCF rail yard.

At noon, with volunteers, we'll lunch in a restaurant. The afternoon is free for further exploration.

We'll meet at 10am at Metro Guy Moquet on line 13, exit 2 (rue de la Jonquière).

Des poètes, comme Verlaine, Mallarmé, Brel, Barbara y ont vécu. C'est un quartier typiquement parisien (nous y verrons la cité des Fleurs et l'église St Joseph des Epinettes) mais on y trouve aussi un jardin à l'anglaise (square des Batignolles), une école polonaise, et des traces US (église de Scientologie et nom du parc "Martin Luther King"), des restaurants de toutes les couleurs.....

Nous verrons tout cela, mais nous ne verrons pas encore le nouveau quartier, avec le nouveau centre judiciaire, le centre cmmercial, en construction sur les anciens terrains SNCF.

A 12h,avec les volontaires,nous déjeunerons au restaurant. L'après midi, temps libre.

Rendez-vous: 10h metro Guy Moquet--ligne 13, direction St Denis , sortie 2 (rue de la Jonquière)

  

Amicalement,

 Marcel.    cm.kohl@wanadoo.fr

Stuart will lead the full day hike. Here is his info: 

Countryside in the Town

Start: Saint-Michel sur Orge
Finish: Athis Mons
Distance: 18km
Bail-out options: Epinay-sur-Orge, Juvisy
Terrain: mainly flat on good paths following the river; one steepish but short climb at Juvisy

This week's walk follows the river Orge (Promenade de l'Orge) from St. Michel to its bitter end at Athis Mons where it joins up with the Seine. Along the way we shall make a detour at Viry-Châtillon to see the world's first airport inaugurated in 1909. All that remains today is the original terminal building which, sadly, is in a state of bad repair but from this building there is a straight line to the vast, sophisticated airports we have today. Incredibly, all this has happened in just a hundred years! 

At Juvisy the Orge goes underground for a while so we'll take the opportunity to go and see the Flammarion Observatory and its small park. Nicolas Camille Flammarion was an influential astronomer in the late 19th century but also a keen Spiritualist. A crater on the moon is named after him. He is also buried in the park to be near his beloved observatory! We then return to the Orge and follow it for it's final few kilometers before it becomes one with the mighty Seine.

Weather-wise come prepare for cold and possibly some showers. Hopefully the snow will have melted but it will probably be quite wet underfoot. Please also pack your good humour, conversation and patience! Look forward to seeing you.

Getting there:
9.32 depart Gare d'Austerlitz RER C (direction St. Martin d'Etampes)
10.00 arrive at Saint Michel sur Orge (zone 5).
I suggest we meet at the last carriage.

Return:
Epinay sur Orge (zone 4) — Gare d'Austerlitz: every '05, '20, '35, 50 mins
Juvisy (zone 4) — Gare d'Austerlitz: every 10 mins.
Athis Mons (zone 4) — Gare d'Austerlitz: every '04, '19, '34, '49 mins.

Tickets: I recommend buying 2 one-way tickets as this is cheaper than a 5-zone Mobilis.

Best Regards,
HStuartmobile: 06 19 85 25 56