Paris Plage

(Katherine) Today marked an exciting day for Paris - the opening of the Paris Plage on the Seine River! Normally, Parisian take off at the end of July for vacation which lasts all through August. But for those who cannot get away and take time off, the city has decided to bring a vacation to them! They import thousands of tons of sand into a makeshift beach along the right bank and add beach chairs, umbrellas, and kiosks which sell ice cream. You can also find misters (since you can’t swing in the water) and temporary playgrounds for children.


We packed up a picnic and headed to the river. It was a hot day and we were anxious to enjoy the sun, so we stretched out on a section of grass without really looking for the sandy section. We enjoyed sandwiches, water and wine, and also a street performer who had decided that our stretch of the Seine was the perfect place for his act. While he was quite good at his juggling routine, by the 6th time he had done his act I’m pretty sure I could have told the audience what was going to happen, play by play.

We finally decided to head home and make some dinner, but when we decided to go back out for the evening, I suggested that we return to the river since it was still opening day. After just walking a bit further down from where we had spent the day we found the sand! It was very fine and soft, and it felt great to take off our shoes and enjoy the feel of the “beach.” We sat for a while and people watched until Paris Plage closed at 11:30. We then headed across to the other side of the river and found a bench where we could sit an enjoy part of a bottle of wine we had brought along. A random saxophone player performing under the nearby bridge made us both sit back and say, “this is why we love Paris!”