18 June 2009

Day 26


Villa Savoye 14, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

58.7 Kilometers.
I admit that I have a problem. I did force myself to walk the first 10 km of that though. The day really felt like two days.
I woke up around 7:30, and got an early start towards Poissy. I was anxious to arrive at my destination, but I still enjoyed the run. 34.7 km to the Villa Savoye, almost half of which was on narrow dirt trails or along the side of a river. I arrived at the Villa Savoye around noon, under a blue sky, warm sun and scattered cumulus clouds: a perfect day to see the house. For those who don't know, the Villa Savoye (another Art Hum favorite) was made by Le Corbusier, and is probably the most famous house among architecture students today. I won't go into all the reasons why...but I was pretty excited to see it. I spent about 5 hours wandering about the house, turning off and on faucets and opening and closing doors. The little details can never be made out in photos, and despite the fact that many elements are not in their original state, I was pretty surprised by their poor quality. It quickly became apparent that even the great masters of architecture aren't quite as perfect as one would think. When an aspiring young designer makes a flaw, or some elements that just don't perfectly come together, it is easy to think "man, Le Corbusier would never do that." I was pleased (but mainly saddened) to see that in fact, Le Corbusier would do that, and he would also probably make it leak and fall apart in 20 years. Overall an amazing building/machine for living, and I certainly enjoyed living in it for a few hours on a sunny day. Also, I can now say that I peed in a Le Corbusier building. Twice.
I headed back into town, where I wandered around for a while, trying to make a place to stay happen. No dice, but I did find a little distillery where I got to try some local almond liquer.
Around 8 pm I called my friend Chris, who is staying in Paris to get his address for the next day. When I put it into my phone, I saw that it was in the northwest of the city...and in turn was much closer to me. For some reason, 24 km seemed like pocket change to me, so I decided to just head on into the city, instead of potentially sleeping in a ditch and then doing so. Run number two was awesome. Despite the probable negative effects of doing around 60 km in a day, I am glad I did it this way. Running into Paris at night was amazing. First, I came to the top of a staircase and saw the entire city, 20 km or so away. After some more excited running, I caught my first view of La Defense. I ran through the center of the building, and came to a bridge where I saw, down a long straight length of road, the Arc du Triomph. Moments later I was marvelling at the Eiffel tower. To see these things lit up at night was amazing. I was in Paris! I ran here! It was a pretty great feeling.
I met Chris "aux Champs Elysées" where I had some pasta and ate and drank baskets worth of free stale bread and caraffs of water. I slept like a rock. I think I'll hang out here for a couple days and get my legs back under me.

19 comments:

  1. Hey Ryan!

    Tristan told me about your site. Your trip sounds so amazing! Just wanted to tell you good luck and let you know I'm reading along!

    Kim Manis

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  2. I just ran the Central Park loop and I'm exhausted... Today alone you ran 6 times that, you're amazing! Sounds like you picked a good place to take a few days rest, buy some new shoes while you're there.

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  3. Villa Savoye!! Awesome! My Art Hum prof would be so proud. Sad to hear that the workmanship is shabby...but don't you think that would be a natural by-product of Le Corbusier's five points? I was under the impression that the idea was to have innovative design based on a single structural model to keep costs down.

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  4. I just found out about your run from the Bwog, and I wanted to tell you you're amazing. Best of luck in all your travels!!

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  5. Paris!!! Yeh!!!! J'espere que tu vais bien! uhhhhh! et practique la langue!
    uhhhh! A bientot!

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  6. RYAN! (It's Carina!). Pour tu acheter est tres interessant et amusant! Et oui, je parle francaise! (Sorta...lol). Je t'aime beacoup!!!

    Okaaay, I'm not fluent yet...so here. Yesterday I ran around the block for 15 minuts and....well lets just say I feel like an old woman...hahahahahaha i poured water all over me when I get back. (OMG how do you do it?). Anyways, keep up the awesomeness!!!

    Love, Chunk.

    (p.s I LOVE THE POSTCARD! so so thoughtful, thx! I'm hanging it up in my room! =))

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  7. Its Carina, I meant ecriver (not acheter)

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  8. I thought yesterday was day 25?

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  9. I can only imagine how awesome it is to run into Paris. Taking the train there is challenging enough for me! Your blog is very positive and makes me happy :)

    You ran straight through my town, by the way! I live in Delft, and you just zipped through. Good luck on the rest of your run!

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  10. I live in Paris, and I know exactly how you must have felt.
    Bienvenue!

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  11. I saw your post under 'blogs of note'.. and yes I did read all of your posts... You are unbelievable and u have a tenacity that is remarkable... My daughter use to run cross country and the post u had on taping your ankle is so reminicient of what she use to do.. She would run on that ankle that had a hairline fracture, u know how coaches are... Anyway, your photos,energy and smile are contagious... I know your family is proud of you.. I know I would be if u were my kid.

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  12. first visit...
    hello... Ryan Jhons,
    I am from Indonesia...

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  13. stumbled across your blog, and I must say that this is incredible. Congratulations so far, and I look forward to reading until you reach your destination!

    Best of luck!!

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  14. Ryan,

    I found your blog and just read the whole thing.
    I visited Europe a few times over the past 5 years, so I can see in my head a lot of what you have been talking about.
    Couchsurfing is awesome!

    Enjoy your stay in Paris! Have a picnic under the tower at dusk.

    Good luck brotha, I will be following you the rest of the way.

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  15. I am an american boy from wichita ks U.S.A. my name is leu leutraix my blog is www.leutraixnow.blogspot.com I DO NOT KNOW PARIS BECAUSE I DO NOT LIKE EUROPE,I LOVE U.S.A.

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  16. i am an american boy my name is leu leutraix my leutraix boy have been deleted by google see now the leutraix sometimes those who eat at your table cause its collapse, I speak here of traitors

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  17. Wow, Ryan, you're so famous.

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  18. this day sounds good. i study graphic design, and we went over this building and a lot of french architecture one lecture. i cant wait to see these places one day! and you're doing it man!

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