Monday, May 30, 2011

Belleville

This is Belleville
                                                   
Belleville is in the 20th arrondissement and is populated with a very large ethnic community and has a  burgeoning artists quarter. The weekend I visited was the annual exposition of over 200 artists who opened up their studios/homes to show their art.
Street art is a significant sight throughout the area, however it's balanced by the beautiful Parc de Belleville. From the top section of the park you have panoramic views of Paris
There were some pretty raw scenes of life which  contrasted hugely with the inner arrondissements of Paris.
While  there were some of the areas that were quite confronting, there were many streets,passageways and courtyards  that had a very artistic charm about them.
Bellevilles original claim to fame is that Edith Piaf was born here and  is where she sang in the streets.   One of the artists studios  that I visited, had a lady performing   Piafs songs in a Vaudeville style setting.  Her voice had an uncanny likeness to the real deal and was very entertaining.

So here is my  a walk though Belleville.