The music just below is one one of the recordings I made in Paris, this one of an accordion player on a pedestrian bridge. Hit play now so that the sounds of Paris will accompany you. OK. Can you hear the melancholy French jazz?
accordion player on the Ponte Nuef playing a melancholy Autumn Leaves
Maile and I originally planned to travel to Paris together for our 10th wedding anniversary. Two and a half years later we made it, by ourselves, for a full week. We rented a wonderful loft appartment on AirBnb in the Marais, from which we sauntered out an back every day.
I took about 1600 photos with my little Canon G7X and got it down to about 250 favorites shots that I’ve posted as an album on Flickr. See the slideshow at the end of this post. I’ll try to whittle it way down here and tell the story of our trip primarily in pictures and captions.
We arrived on Saturday morning and took the train into the city (with Charles Beaver, Anais’s envoy).
Walking from the Metro to find our apartment we stopped at Le Petite Marcel for lunch.
the beautiful blue door to the building where we stayed
the reflection of our front building in the shiny black van opposite
The beautiful classic bicycle that was always locked outside our door
The Pompidou
We stayed two blocks from the Pompidou, passing it every day, eating across from it. Here are a few of the outside and then a few of my favorite works inside.
Pompidou plaza
seven people sitting in front of the Pompidou
my reflection in the window of the line and houses opposite
Man Ray’s room of art and beautiful objects
shiny spinning metal shape with divets in a black and white lined box
Giacometti people
I particularly liked the Gerard Fromanger exhibit, his use of monochrome figures and infographics.
painting by Gérard Fromanger
painting by Gérard Fromanger
view from the top of the Pompidou; see the Eifell Tower shining it’s spotlight in the distance
break dancers entertaining a crowd in front of Hôtel de Ville
break dancer balancing on one hand
reflection on the front of a bus
waiting for the light to change on a bridge over the Seine
the view through the menu
Paris swing on a bridge over the Seine
colorful juice window
reflection in car top
reflection in bus window w driver smoking
Maile on the Ponte Nuef overlooking the Siene
ladies at a cafe
people sitting on the steps leading down to the Seine
man running with child. one of my favorite moments to capturing, participating in that pure joy.
men in front of a flower shop
pedicabbies looking left as the man in black walks right
mannequin with reflection of tower and tree
I loved lunching on these fresh baguette sandwiches
a perfectly pruned park
the Mona Lisa hype machine (I found it hard to appreciate the Louvre)
Street Art
There was so much great street art everywhere, from centuries old sculpture to to stickers, art sellers and graffiti, chalk artists and street musicians. Hardly a block went by that I didn’t notice a gorgeous door. I was always stopping to snap something and then running to catch up with Maile.
statues throughout the city had been secretly blindfolded in scarlet (an art stunt meant to draw attention to the ubiquitous – and easily overlooked – statuary)
i love this chalk drawing, a face made out of squares, making eyes out of cracks in the wall
wonderful street art everywhere. vandals with a nice sense of color
HUMANITY shakes hands with POWER
Trust The Classics
turquoise pattern with clothing cutouts
a cup of shit (by Space Invader, I think
Now listen to the slow funky Flamenco sounds of a guitarist echoing in the Subway.
guitarist in the subway
Musée d’Orsay
Musée d’Orsay was a pure delight and inspiration. So many beautiful works of art that I’d never seen, and in a beautifully converted old converted train station.
reflections at the Orsay
Picasso Museum
a window upon rooftops, the distortions of the hand-blown glass making a painting
And there are so many more I’d like to include. Here is a slideshow of all my favorites:
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