The simplicity of my day to day. |
Prompt eight for
In Victor Hugo’s classic story, Le Miserables, the sewers of Paris played an integral part. “Paris has beneath it another Paris; a Paris of sewers; which has its streets, its crossroads, its squares, its blind-alleys, its arteries, and its circulation, which is of mire and minus the human form.” ( Victor Hugo, Leviathan's Intestine, book II ) The sewers were designed a century ago and yet remain pertinent today. It stands as a monument to man’s sanitary genius. Under the feet of the citizens of Paris, the sewers unfold 2600 km of galleries and gutters. Some 300 million qm3 of rainwater and wastewater pass through them every year, hurtling down the pipes of this singular, gravitational and visitable network. Moreover, the waters are directed to power plants where they become treated and cleaned. The sewers also house other networks: potable drinking water, non-drinking water and even fiberoptics since several years! A museum has been built purposely for anyone interested in the history of the sewers. If anyone wants a fascinating and informative tour whilst visiting the city of love, I can recommend this.tour, especially if you are a writer and would like to set your story in the Parisian sewers. Forget about the images of narrow and dark tunnels, a visit to these sewers will set your reader’s heart a racing as your protagonist is pursued through this underground maze. |