la petite ceinture

"THE LITTLE BELT"

is an abandoned railway that runs through Paris. The last passengers rode on this little belt in 1934, but small portions of the railway continued transporting merchandise up until the 1990's. Since then, the railway has been occupied by squatters, artists, and curious Parisians.

On the metro ride I must admit, I was pretty excited to check out the old railway. I am keen on exploring abandoned transport systems. I was reminiscing my strolls down the High Line in New York City. As I surreptiously snuck through the heavy gate and began crunching glass under my sandals, I realized that the old metro line was more like my litte boat trip under Hartford on the Hog River... smelly, covered in garbage, and all-in-all a bit scary.



While the High Line is taken care of troop by environmentalist locals, has a nice terrace where you can drink a beer, and shows for the kiddies, the Petite Ceinture had a deserted, artsy, and towards the end of our walk, more of a homey feel. After perhaps too many trips to modern art museums I was not entirely sure which lumps of metal were strategically placed. There was broken glass everywhere and a few points where I was not sure I was going home in one piece.

Another difference between the High Line and the Petite Ceinture is that the French equivalent is technically not open to the public. Contrarily, I saw somewhere in between 20 and 30 others strolling along the ancient railroad tracks.

I found fun places to climb

Naturally, I spent most of my time hooping.

Somewhere in between la Villette and Buttes-Chaumont, I suddenly had a realization: I had already seen La Petite Ceinture all around Paris. The abandoned tracks run through Parc Montsouris, the small park across Cite Universitaire, where I frequented while living at cite U. There was also a strip in the North I had seen one night when I decided to take a left instead of a right, or something. This part of La Petite Ceinture was a bit more dodgy...

Oh and I also saw a very charming artist-type boy (may or may not have been coup de foudre) making some intense street art.

We could have kept going but we came upon a daunting tunnel. I may have done a lot of crazy things in my life but this was not going to be one of them.

 This tunnel made Hog River look like a cake-walk.

And here's the coolest part: a look into the Other Side of Paris. No chic shopping centers or romantic paintings found here. No high heels or designer bags. No fancy pastries or palaces or golden tipped gates.

Perhaps the cheapest place to live in Paris, still more interesting and ..more furnished than any place I have stayed thusfar. This little home under the bridge was really fantastic, so fantastic that you will have to wait until my next blog to see it.

Until then..

Happy Trails. xo