"Paris is always a good idea." - Audrey Hepburn.
My first venture beyond these shores since the world contracted, closing down in 2020 due to the terror of the Covid pandemic. This was a highly anticipated and much longed for trip. Personally, it was also important that it was a destination that seemed familiar, and where I would feel safe. The much visited French capital - the City of Light - ticked all the boxes, and so it was I found myself eased into international travel once again, traversing the boulevards and museum spaces of Paris. Regular readers will know that Paris is one of, if not my favourite other capital city, and so it appeared to be a logical choice in which to reacquaint myself with the joys of travel and sightseeing. So much time has passed since my last visit I tried to approach the city from a completely new perspective, visiting new areas, landmarks and institutions that I hadn't been to since my first visit as a young man. This approach payed dividends as I was able to experience the city anew with fresh eyes. Parisian "clichés" such as the Eiffel Tower held a new fascination and appreciation for me. Seeing the tower or Iron Lady (La Dame de Fer), as she is known, lit up at night I was absolutely entranced. It was like a talisman, a beacon of hope in the night, a source of solace after all the privations and hardships we've had to endure in the last three years. Spottting it, and capturing it for posterity on my camera and phone from the various vantage points around the capital day and night was very reassuring, and became something of an obsession. Visiting the Sacre Coeur which I similarly hadn't bothered to return to since my first visit, to light a candle and offer up healing for those in need and the departed, was also a pleasure. There is so much more I could say and so many more pictures I could have added to this post, but I think that what is here gives the gist of the experience. I hope you are able to enjoy the experience at least half as much as I did. Bring on the next journey!
Architectural styles old and new. Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau era Metro stations and Frank Gehry's modern Ark-like design or the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
An image from the current Monet-Mitchell exhibition displayed within the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
François Pinault's restored Bourse de Commerce space with a beautiful intervention by architect Tadao Ando, and Ryan Gander's amazing talking, animatronic mouse installation.
The Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris/Palais de Tokyo complex, and the view across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.
"Breathe Paris in it nourishes the soul". - Victor Hugo.
Geometric Art Deco-era mosaics on the facade of the recently re-opened Samaritaine department store, and the geometric abstractions of Robert Delaunay at the Musée d'Art Moderne.
One of the huge clocks facing out onto Paris in the Musée D'Orsay, and Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, (Whistler's Mother), 1871, both contained within the former train station.
"An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Two versions of Matisse's vast murals La Danse housed in the Musée d'Art Moderne.
Gilded bodies.
In the presence of angels at Chatelet, and Place St Michel.
Notre Dame Cathedral still in the process of restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. The colourful, serene interior of The Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and beatific visions in the Sacre Coeur basilica.
"A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and the point of life." - Thomas Jefferson.
Word on the street/ The writing on the wall.
"I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am." - Gustave Eiffel.
"Paris holds the key to your heart." - Anastasia.
"Though I often looked for one, I finally had to admit that there was no cure for Paris." - Paula McLain.
"We'll always have Paris." - Howard Koch (Casablanca).
