Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Night In the Sentier

Back prowling Paris' dark streets this time in the Sentier looking for murder and mayhem as always
A particular secret passage so off we go...
Down what seems to me the loneliest and darkest of streets in Paris...
Ooopla the passage is locked tight.
This doesn't deter Cara in the least, who is climbing up the grate like a cat. My heart 's in my mouth and I'm holding my breath. No way am I game to follow suit. Just give me a nice armchair to follow Aimée Leduc's adventures thank you very much.
I'll stick to stalking Paris' dogs.
There's a fountain nearby to wash her hands...Lordie!
A murder occurs here at le Tour de Jean-sans-Peur, rue Étienne-Marcel in the Sentier mystery and no wonder - very eery...
Cara tells me, "it's not so easy to murder someone in Paris."
"Why, because of the crowds?"
"No, you need a place to hide the body...like behind construction or in a trash can.."
Ohhhhh OK. Hmmm...
We wander through passage Moliere - kind of romantic...
Never mind. Find weird shop where you can get a plaster cast of your hands/feet for 125€. Only in Paris.
In the Aimée Leduc Companion (free on Amazon). you'll find nice places to eat and visit in each murder area. No kidding.
I've always wanted to eat at Le Colbert on rue Vivienne
And especially Le Grand Vefour...
We didn't stop in either one or the recommended Brasserie Vaudeville. Instead we stick to the dark side - an area that used to be chock-a-block with street walkers but those days are over. Par hazard, as I'm filming Cara walking, a working girl pops out, blond and toute en noire and accuses us of taking her picture. She demands to view the video tape. I want to make a run for it, but cool as a cucumber,
"mais non Madame we did not take you picture." All is resolved peacefully. Whew.

17 comments:

  1. Eek! Scary stuff. Were you really poking around in that area at night? You are so brave. I've actually eaten at Vaudeville! Neither of the others though...

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  2. Hey, Carol. My capcha for the previous comment was "was dscovr" pretty funny for this post, non?

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  3. Anonymous12:24 PM

    Wish I could have tagged along... Those are some spots I got to know when my partner Bob and I rented an apartment a few years back nearby. My recollection, tho, is of lots of hookers soliciting business ESP au midi.
    The old gates to the city up there ( a bit north) are beautiful.
    Veronica

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  4. Anonymous12:25 PM

    What a dark adventure..
    I would have had cold feet too
    Lucinda

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  5. It was a dark and stormy night ..... ;-)

    Very scary.

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  6. Anonymous2:48 PM

    Amazing jaunt into the dark side of Paris
    Lucinda

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  7. Spooky and mysterious! After reading her book I'd have my heart thumping while walking there. It looks very clean, almost antiseptic, though. It would be hard indeed to hide a body, a killer would have to disappear quickly.

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    1. Haha...every passageway we would enter Cara would announce,
      "A murder could take place here..."

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  8. So cool! You must be having a (slightly petrified) blast with Ms Black!

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  9. This was fun, but I think I belong in the fluffy part of town. I watched the Bletchley Circle on PBS and my heart was in my throat. That street reminded me of it.

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    1. I was crazy for Bletchley Circle - it was on YouTube here. The main character was over-the-top brave or maybe foolish...

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  10. Great photos, I love the light.
    Those streets look creepy, I hope that you had pepper spray or something!

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  11. Oh my - what an adventure! It all looks kind of scary to me. I think I'll stick to reading the books.

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  12. Quite the adventure I see. Cara is very brave, good thing she was with you. Seems like she is a risk taker. Will have to take a look at her book.

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  13. I love it when you write about this series because I enjoy it so much and it's fun to see the locations. Yes, I think Cara is a lot braver than I am!

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  14. Anonymous2:24 AM

    Love your sketch of the gir in black! Allie xox

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  15. Oh my.. she writes about Murder.. are you sure you were safe with her??? LOL I would be to chicken to follow her down some of those scary alleys.

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