St Germain de Près

It's late on a December evening and very dark. I love walking along blvd St Germain on nights like this. The darkness creates a real intimacy and sense of connection with Paris, like strolling along with the woman you have been married to for 20 years. Maybe not much is said but much is understood. There is a peace and familiarity to it.

I walk slowly with no effort and no goal, savoring each step along this street I have spent so many years with. I look in the window of the immobilier (real estate office) and check for new listings. The descriptions of the apartments are wonderful and conjure up visions of peaceful sunny mornings sitting on the 'balcon' overlooking the park. Having no goal I am more mindful of what is around me. This is a new sign in the shop window. This is a doorway I have never really seen before. And so it goes until I get to rue de Rennes. Here is Deux Magots and Café de Flore with their ghosts of Sartre and Beauvoir and Jeanloup Sieff. The past is alive here. I capture this moment on film, imagining each of the little white lights is a soul returned from the past to spend a few more moments on this spot.

I spend some time in each of the bookstores here – La Hune and L'ecume des Pages. There is a full moon tonight and I splurge for a drink on the terrasse at Deux Magots where I can see the moon over the old church tower. As I leave the café I walk past the statues of Denis Diderot and Bernard Palissy. I know it is silly but they are both old friends after all these years and I always say goodnight to them. Bonsoir Denis, bonsoir Bernard.

Tuesday Morning

It's Tuesday morning and I see it is a clear, cloudless, sunny day in Paris. A perfect day to head up to Montmartre and Place de Tertre. The view will be spectacular and there won't be a large crowd. I know this or at least can guess it from many years of experience. There are a couple of ways to get up to Place de Tertre and none of them are easy which only makes it better when you get there. This morning I am feeling energetic and decide I'll walk up rue Lepic. It is very steep and winds around a bit which means it is not the shortest way but it gives me many excuses to stop and enjoy the view. About halfway up, where rue Tholozé joins rue Lepic is a view of the city almost as good as what you'll see from the top.

I'm almost ashamed to admit this but my goal today is lunch. I will sit outside at Chez Eugene and enjoy watching the artists and the tourists. As I walk across the square with my camera, I too am approached to have my silhouette cut out or a caricature made, but I am here to make images, not to be in them. I sit at Chez Eugene with a glass of wine waiting for my meal and decide that this, this scene right in front of me is the one I want to bring home. This is a place where artists have congregated for many years and I can feel it in the cobblestones. There may not be as much art here now but the feeling remains and I am closer to Paris for every minute I spend here. Now that I have my image I can enjoy lunch and sit long enough to have a second glass of wine. The walk back down to Abesses is much easier and I stop at Les Deux Moulins for a coffee before heading home.

The New Bridge

I love the dynamics of coming back to a place year after year, especially when that place is Paris. In the time between visits Paris and I will both have changed. Each time we meet again it takes a day or two for us to rediscover each other. I need to find out what has happened to her and she needs to find out who I am before we can resume our extended conversation.

Most changes are small but even a small change can provide new viewpoints, viewpoints I could never have had before no matter how diligent or creative or aware I might have been. This morning I had walked over to Musée D'Orsay to say hello to some old friends who hang out there but the line to get in was too long. To wait in line for anything in Paris is a crime. One of the luxuries of being here often is that there are many alternatives. Today it is a croque-madame at Les Deux Musées, a café at the corner of rue de Lille and rue de Bellechasse just behind D'Orsay. Ever since running in here one day to get out of the rain I've been fond of the place. It has become a symbol of changing plans, of dealing with contingencies, I'm hardy ever here when things are going the way I would like. I am squeezed in between an older French couple and an American family with teenagers. I feel like a bridge between between two cultures. The French couple say little to each other and quietly enjoy their lunch, the American family is only interested in what's next and barely notices the food. Today I am somewhere in the middle, I'm enjoying my lunch but my mind is already on the move.

I walk back up to the Seine and see that the new footbridge to the Tuileries is open. It is my chance to see Paris from a new viewpoint. I cross the bridge, I take the shot. It is symbolic of the never-ending possibilities of Paris.