Paris is a city of levels. She has her mountains, her plains, and her valleys. The Seine, like any good river, flows through a valley in the center of Paris. It is a quiet valley, uncrowded, un-rushed. Some days are just perfect for a walk here. A sunny Sunday morning for example. Paris takes on a new aspect when viewed from here. I seldom see tourists along the quai. People here are either working or finding quiet solitude. The workers are running barges and tugs, piloting the Bateaux Mouches, or maintaining their floating homes. The quiet ones are reading or just sitting in the sun, it is only on sunny days that I am drawn here. I descend to the quai from the Left Bank across from Notre Dame, my camera ready, always optimistic but never ambitious. Either an image will appear or it won't and I'm OK with that. Do you know where OK comes from? The legend has it that when sailors were looking for sex, success was signaled by their woman saying: “Au quai”, meaning down by the river. I walk along the quai and just before Pont Neuf I look back at the tower of the Palais de Justice and think of my favorite fictional Parisian: Inspector Maigret. It is through his eyes that I see Paris when I'm not here. I cross the river at Pont Alexandre III, yes, this is a ritual walk for me. It is here that I look back again and see so many symbols of this fabulous city. The Eiffel Tower, the golden bridge, the lamp posts, and the barges, each invoking an emotion. Strange, I've done this walk many times and yet this is the first time I've looked back from here. How much more have I missed?
