Simply Beautiful

Sometimes Paris is simply beautiful. This was one of those days. You know days like this. It is very bright. It may rain, it may not, but in the meanwhile there are dark clouds in the sky and light seems to come from below the clouds. It makes everything intense, full of expectation. It is not a warm day yet the sun on your face creates an inner warmth, more a feeling of well being than anything else. The breeze is fresh and cool, the clouds are moving fast. I come to this bridge between Île St Louis and Cité often. It has been closed to traffic for many years and it attracts street performers and tourists and in the mix are people who live on the island. It is a productive place for capturing images. The Seine is always beautiful here. Hôtel de Ville and Tour St Jacques on the left provide a sense of time and history and the barge in the river reminds one of the present and of the dual aspect of this city that has seen so much. For some of us it is a destination, either as tourists fulfilling a wish to see and feel the romance, for some it is a place to learn, about history and about oneself, and for some a place to make art or at least to try. On this day I am near the end of a visit and I have been standing here for quite some time not really thinking about anything, just letting the day unfold in front of me. The barge reminds me that some people live and work here and somehow, that thought gives me comfort. While I am away someone will be making sure that all this is here when I come back.