Today we returned to Paris to find the cloud-making chimneys we had spotted yesterday. We parked up where we could, but unfortunately there were 5 motorways between us and said chimneys. How could we get to them? We ended up playing frogger with the traffic and clambering up an elevated section of our favourite road – the Boulevard Peripherique – to get a better view. It was HORRIBLE up there. With the traffic thundering past and the bridge wobbling it was quite disorientating. Clinging onto a traffic sign, Debbie set up the equipment whilst Julie quietly threw up over the railings. This place is definitely not designed with pedestrians in mind. The large number of cars honking at us only served to reinforce this idea. It was overcast and grey today, there weren’t any little fluffy clouds at all, but actually this made the whole thing look rather sinister. Perfect.
Nestled in amongst the intersection of all the motorways, we came across a little makeshift dwelling. There were steps down to it, carpets laid out the front and garden ornaments. Someone was living there permanently, in the middle of the din and fumes. What the actual fuck? This was really unsettling. You could only see his place when you climbed up onto the bridge above, so the only people who know he’s there are lunatics like us that decide to jaywalk on the motorway.
Before returning to the car we filmed from a great vantage point where you could see all 5 sections of the motorway colliding, with cars coming from all directions. This turned out to be a fantastic bit of unexpected footage. Bonza.
We had a picnic in a underground car park then headed to Marcadet Poissoniers metro station. A friend had given us a tip off that it was in a state of disrepair (“like Beirut”) but unfortunately it had recently been given a makeover and was looking rather swish. So looks like the metro idea is on the back-burner for now. It was fun to see the area though – Clignancourt looks proper mental.
It was a relief to get back to the chateau and peace and tranquility. The hot bath was off though as the chateau had run out of hot water. C’est la vie. We are off to bed, grubby but happy.
