Other discoveries of Paris with Sarah
At Paris Running Tours, we are really happy to see runners coming back to run with us. Sarah from Great Britain is one of our faithful visitors. In this month of March, we meet again for the 5th time, and it is with great joy! Each time, we create a different route. This time, we had chosen to move away from the center of Paris to join the magnificent Bois de Boulogne and its superb lakes (the wood belongs to Paris). The “Bois de Boulogne” as we know it corresponds to one of the many developments in Paris realised by Baron Haussmann, commissioned by Napoleon III. Here, for the “Lac inférieur” (Lower Lake) that we can admire in the picture above, Napoleon III’s idea was to draw inspiration from the Serpentine River in Hyde Park. This artificial river could not be built as desired, the engineer in charge having forgotten a six-meters vertical drop that would flood the lower part and dry the upper part! To rectify this error, an “upper” lake and a “lower” lake were created, the smaller one (“Lac supérieur”) discharging through a waterfall into the larger one (“Lac inférieur”). Two beautiful artificial lakes. To reach the Bois de Boulogne, we took the avenue Foch: Avenue Foch is the widest avenue in Paris. It starts at the Arc de Triomphe and ends at the Bois de Boulogne. Marathon runners know it well, it’s the finish of the Paris Marathon! It is also a creation of Baron Haussmann, wanted by the Emperor Napoleon III to give a direct access to the Bois de Boulogne. Initially called “Avenue de l’Impératrice” (the Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III), then Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, it was named Avenue Foch after the First World War. Avenue Foch is one of the most expensive avenues in Paris (see the French version of the Monopoly…). It was for a long time a very popular walk where the high society liked to show itself. Look at the small postcards above (by clicking you can enlarge the picture). Nowadays we can see a lot of runners… The avenue is very quiet on this Tuesday morning… At the end of avenue Foch, we can discover one of the last two Guimard covered edicles (we talked about it with Lysa, here): On the way back, we met one of the best-known authors in France, Jean de La Fontaine. All French or francophone children learn the Fables of La Fontaine at school. Here is the famous fable of the Crow and the Fox: [tabs slidertype=”top tabs”] [tabcontainer] [tabtext]Le Corbeau et le Renard (French)[/tabtext] [tabtext]The Crow and the Fox (Anglais)[/tabtext] [/tabcontainer] [tabcontent] [tab] Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché, Tenait en son bec un fromage. Maître Renard, par l’odeur alléché, Lui tint à peu près ce langage : « Hé ! bonjour Monsieur du Corbeau. Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau ! Sans mentir, si votre ramage Se rapporte à votre plumage, Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois. » À ces mots le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ; Et pour montrer sa belle voix, Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie. Le Renard s’en saisit, et dit : « Mon bon Monsieur, Apprenez que tout flatteur Vit aux dépens de celui qui l’écoute. Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute. » Le Corbeau, honteux et confus, Jura, mais un peu tard, qu’on ne l’y prendrait plus. [/tab] [tab] Master Crow perched on a tree, Was holding a cheese in his beak. Master Fox attracted by the smell Said something like this: “Well, Hello Mister Crow! How pretty you are! How beautiful you seem to me! I’m not lying, if your voice Is like your plumage, You are the phoenix of all the inhabitants of these woods.” At these words, the Crow is overjoyed. And in order to show off his beautiful voice, He opens his beak wide, lets his prey fall The Fox grabs it, and says: “My good man, Learn that every flatterer Lives at the expense of the one who listens to him. This lesson, without doubt, is well worth a cheese.” The Crow, ashamed and embarrassed, Swore, but a little late, that he would not be taken again. [/tab] [/tabcontent] [/tabs] Thank you Sarah for this new beautiful stroll, see you soon! If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
Paris Competitions News: Ready for the 2013 Paris Marathon?
Champs-Elysées – Kilometer 1 – Just before “place de la Concorde” before turning left to the Rivoli street In spring, strange signs appear on the Parisian road, blue lines accompanied by indications which seem to be coded: “KM1”, “KM2”, “KM3”, etc. These are the kilometric marks of the Paris marathon! In other places, all the miles are indicated too. On the photo above, the first kilometer. Magic kilometer going down the Champs-Elysées. Imagine, you are in the middle of the road of one of the most beautiful avenues and you are running applauded by the crowd! Take care, in spite of the enthusiasm, don’t lose your head. If it seems to be easy, it is because you are running downhill. keep your energy. One kilometer earlier, the start, in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. The mark is already present: The 2013 Paris marathon start at the level of the Marbeuf street Here you are, ready to make a magnificent route in Paris. Find the route in detail by clicking the image below, with a view of monuments, buildings, streets: Having crossed and taken advantage of Paris up and down, here you are, very close to the finish, in the kilometer 42: Avenue Foch – 42th kilometer – In the background, the Arc of Triumph Only 195 meters to go (enjoy it, this moment is extraordinary) and you arrive! Here is the location of the finish, rather discreet for the moment: The finish line ! Behind the Arc of Triumph, the Champs-Elysées from where the Marathon started! We wish you a beautiful Paris Marathon!
On the Paris Marathon route with Magdalena
Magdalena – “Lac Inférieur” of the “Bois de Boulogne” – Close to Kilometer 41 (mile 25.8) 9:31 AM – Magdalena, who lives in Poland, prepares the 2013 Paris marathon. It will be her second marathon after the one of Warsaw. We thus chose to follow beautiful portions of the Paris Marathon route by running about 20 kilometers (12.7 miles). We joined at first the magnificent Wood of Boulogne, awaiting the arrival of spring. It is in this wood that are located the last six kilometers of the marathon. For example, very close to the big lake, is the kilometer 41, an important passage! Out of the wood, at the beginning of the avenue Foch, we reach the kilometer 42 of which you can see the track registered on the ground in the photo below (track of the 2012 Paris marathon – find the very fresh mark in this other article of April 2012). The 2013 road markings are soon going to appear… Magdalena – Avenue Foch – Kilomètre 42, à 195 mètres de l’arrivée ! Kilometer 42, only 195 meters to go, Rich in sensations and feelings… Before the “Arc de Triomphe”, is the “triumphant” arrival (we can see the location of the arrival on the photo above, at the green light – click on the picture for a larger view). We then stroll up the avenue Foch to find the Champs-Elysées, located on one of the branches of “the Star”, center of which is the Arc de Triomphe (“Place de l’Etoile”=”Place of the star”). The Paris Marathon starts in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. What a magnificent place to begin a marathon! (See a photo of the start in this other article.) Magdalena – Place de la Concorde – Having left the Kilometer 1 on the Champs-Elysées Champs-Elysées, “place de la Concorde”, the street of Rivoli, the Bastille, the Wood of Vincennes and its magnificent castle, the splendid banks of the Seine, the Wood of Boulogne and the grand finish avenue Foch. Aren’t you tempted by this route? Route of the 2013 Paris Marathon Merci Magdalena ! Good Paris marathon! The route of the tour :
Paris Marathon 2012, Kilometer 1, with Sarah
Sarah – Place du Canada 6:56 AM – Sarah from Canada, who works and lives with her family in the Bahamas, has already run several marathons. We went to visit Paris by running on a circuit of a dozen kilometers. Several times, our road crossed the path of the very next marathon of Paris (April 15th), which allowed us to share our experiences of marathon runners. Sarah evoked the magnificent marathon of Nassau, Bahamas, along the sea. Going up to the Chaillot hill, we crossed the Palais de Tokyo, contemporary art museum. Above the entrance is a huge countdown. But what does it count? The artist, Gianni Motti, the creator of this digital clock, appropriates one of the biggest future natural disasters: his “Big Crunch Clock” is the detonator activated “to provoke” the explosion of the sun (planned in 5 billion years by the scientists). This clock deducts the time by tenth of seconds to trigger the 5 billion years “scheduled to trigger the explosion.” Entrance of the “Palais de Tokyo” – Contemporary Art Museum – “Big Crunch Clock” Gianni Motti But let us return to the marathon. By way of the Champs Elysées, we noticed that the kilometric marks on the ground were already there, for example, the kilometer 1 at the bottom of the magnificent avenue, little before reaching the place de la Concorde: Paris Marathon 2012- Kilometer 1 – Champs-Elysées The number which provokes so many feelings to the marathon runners is doubtless “42”. The kilometer 42 is also already indicated, as well as the arrival, a little less than 200 meters farther, in front of the Arc de Triomphe: Paris Marathon 2012 – Kilometer 42 – Avenue Foch (and Mile 26 a little before) Miles are indicated on the route as well such as the mile “26” which is for our English-speaking marathonian friends the “mythical” number (Marathon = 42.195 km or 26 miles and 386 yards). Discover the marathon route here. We wish you a beautiful Paris Marathon! Merci Sarah ! The route of the tour :