North-East of France. Part II

June 19...26, 2015

In France they’re testing toilets that don’t require any water or cleaning — there are worms that eat everything up (the technology is called vermicompost). After you use the facilities, all you have to do is pump the pedal with your foot five times. It’s set up in such a way that there’s no smell.

Nancy

The 70s certainly left their mark.

For the most part, there’s nothing to see here anyway.

There is one beautiful palace here, as there should be.

And one pretty square with neatly trimmed trees.

Parking lot signs against a black backdrop with fairly ugly red arrows.

Street name signs made of glass.

Bicycle hire.

Traffic light.

Mechanical doorbells.

But the most interesting thing in Nancy is the local high-speed public transport. Entire streets have been set aside for it. An unheard-of mode of transport runs along them — the tramwalleybus. It has trolley poles on top like a trolleybus and it’s wheeled, with a single rail down the middle.

Clearly, putting in one rail is half as expensive as putting in two.

It’s striking.

Although the city’s buses also attract well-deserved attention.

Besançon

At first, I thought that there would be nothing to see in this town.

And my first impression was right on the money.

But then things looked up.

Good old France.

They even have a small fortress.

And in the small fortress there’s a rubbish bin.

And an aquarium.

And warmongers. When I look at French military caps, I have the impression that a bird pooped on each soldier’s head.

Dijon

This is the home of Dijon mustard.

Square.

Street name sign.

Dumpsters.

The most beautiful thing in this town is the market building.

Vichy

As befits a resort town, a somewhat dilapidated, but altogether agreeable covered gallery runs through the centre.

The city is cosy, green and pleasant. Boutiquey, if I can call it that.

Traffic light.

Street name signs. Where Russia road and USA road meet.

Fetching rubbish bin.

Beautiful pavement tiling motif.

Beautiful traffic barrier.

And a completely astounding contraption — a metal frame around a tap, there to make sure that no one steals said tap. But who would want to steal an ugly old tap from a public toilet?

Clermont-Ferrand

For historical reasons, Michelin’s factory and company headquarters are located here. Michelin produces tyres and uses any spare change to put out a restaurant guide. The signature Michelin man, who looks like a diabetic maggot, is called Bibendum.

At the local Michelin brand store you can, for instance, buy a sugar bowl made to look like Bibendum’s head.

There’s absolutely nothing of interest in this town, except one gloomy, black, two-spire cathedral, visible from many miles away.

The only detail worth mentioning is the local tram.

It looks just like a regular tram, but its wheels are made of rubber and it has a single rail in the centre.

Limoges

Beautiful palace — 1 unit.

Nice pond — 1 unit.

Intriguing rubbish bin.

Very elegant solution for a waste container (which you wheel out from the back; at the front there are two top lids).

The convex lines of this electrical cabinet, which make it difficult to stick posters on it, are just as elegant.

Payphone — certainly wasn’t expecting to see that in France.

The city has its own trolleybus.

A mysterious device hangs on the trolleybus wires.

On the streets there are severe- looking lampposts with projectors that make no attempt to imitate the street lamps of the past.

Sleepy time.

Orléans

The city’s outskirts did not hold much promise.

Then trees shaped like rectangular blocks appeared and things got more interesting.

A local tram rode past.

We caught sight of an underground waste storage facility.

An Orléans rubbish bin came into view.

Only then did the main attraction appear — slanting, crooked little houses from the Middle Ages, which they are doing everything they possibly can to keep vertical.

It looks a bit like a museum with mummies in it.

The utility poles here have the power lines attached to a bracket (like in Morocco).

Paris

Paris is wonderful as always.

Taxi drivers were on strike today. They stopped ferrying passengers around, went out onto the streets and protested against Uber.

Favourite pastimes of the French: making noise in the city centre, breaking some bottles, setting off some flares, smashing a couple of shop windows. It’s a national sport.