Another weekend in May, another Bank Holiday in Paris - Ascension Day this time (on Thursday in fact, but extended over Friday to give a long weekend). I'd booked a court in the 19th arrondissement - combining a game of tennis with checking out a different area in our hunt for a new flat. The closest Metro to Tennis Jandelle was at Belleville - Paris's Chinatown. Paris was quiet for the bank holiday, but it was business as usual in bustling Belleville.
It was busy, noisy and dirty with traffic and roadworks and crowds of people blocking the pavements - you could hardly walk down the road in the Rue du Faubourg du Temple and it wasn't much quieter up the hill on the Rue de Belleville. The restaurants were doing roaring trade, there were bins blocking the pavements - I couldn't imagine where they would squeeze a tennis court into this hubbub so I couldn't have been more surprised to see the quiet cul-de-sac Cité Jandelle with its unmade road and overhanging gardens.
Tennis Jandelle was a haven of peace and tranquility - sitting quietly among apartment blocks with birds singing in the trees and neighbours watering plants on their balconies. This is the warmest and friendliest welcome we have ever had. The man on the desk suggested we play first and pay afterwards in case rain stopped play (it didn't). There is only one court, but it had an excellent surface and was well-fenced - the net needs tethering in the middle, but this is a small gripe. My son and I won as usual - in spite of my husband's attempts to wind him with a fierce volley in the ribs.
8 out of 10.
Tennis Jandelle
15-17 Cité Jandelle
75019 Paris
No comments:
Post a Comment