Days 08 – Final Day in Paris
Paris is now past, but certainly never forgotten. With our travel schedule, my blog got behind.
Our last day in Paris is always a tough one. We love this city, one with which we fell in love long before we ever met each other. To share it with one another makes it even more special.
We met up with a friend who was in Paris with relatives. Rick had stopped by a couple of days earlier to greet us. We generally see him once a year in New Hampshire when we return for an annual reunion of childhood friends combined with some R&R. Rick’s relatives had now headed home, so he was free and joined us for a few hours photographing in the City of Light. This was also his last day, and he, too, had succumbed to her charms. This was his first visit. We suspect it will not be his last.
It was raining this summer day. At times chats et chiens, cats and dogs, although the French expression is really, “Il pleut des cordes.” Translated to “It rains strings,” it is an apt expression for the sheets of rain we saw. At other times, it just drizzled.
We meandered down through the Quartier Latin on Rive Gauche. Gargoyles begged to be photographed. In reality, they are stone “grotesques” usually granite, that funnel the rain away from the sides of the ancient buildings so the water will not erode the mortar between the stones.
The 5th still remains my favorite arrondissement with its narrow, twisty streets, alleys, shops, galleries, and restaurants. That does not mean, however, that I don’t love other parts of the city.
We headed across Pont Neuf to Notre Dame, close to the place where I met Henri Cartier-Bresson all those decades ago. For those who never read that blog, check out My Meeting with Henri. It was ironic, as we were walking along, Arnie asked, “Isn’t that like your old camera?”
Indeed it was. The same camera I owned when I met Cartier-Bresson and spent an afternoon with him.
While Arnie and our friend Rick wandered on, I stopped to chat with the woman who was photographing with the same model Kodak Retina IIC camera that served me so well for so many decades. In fact, it was my first “real” camera after the Brownie Hawkeye that started me on my long, continuing, love affair with photography. We chatted, and I relayed the story of Henri. She, as a proper French women, knew Cartier-Bresson’s work and was enchanted by my tale.
It was time for me to catch up with the others, and we admired the incredible detail in this massive cathedral. For some reason, I had never photographed it in quite this way. This day, it begged to be so. (See the opening photograph above.)
We were feeling eleven-o’clockish (Winnie the Pooh fans know what I mean), and it was long past our lunch time. We loosely headed in the direction that might produce a restaurant. Being photographers, we got waylaid. No surprise there. We passed a large building and the view into the courtyard caught our eyes. It turned out that it was a hospital with a formal garden inside the entrance that led to a long, outdoor area with a rather macabre statue at the other end. The statue interested me not at all. What an apparition to put in a hospital! Instead, I concentrated on the architecture and garden.
Eventually, many stomach growlings later and another deluge, we found a little bistro across the street from the Seine that suited us and settled down to a couple of hours of conversation over lunch. Soupe à l’Oignon, followed by two shared desserts, courtesy of Rick: Crème Brûlée et Mousse de Chocolate. How decadently delicious!
Rick headed back to our hotel for a nap in preparation for a long evening of photography. Arnie and I headed toward Place de la Madeleine. We passed under one of the arches at the Louvre, and found we had the I.M. Pei pyramids nearly all to ourselves. WOW! That does not often happen. The rainy day and reflections added an eerie cast to this iconic piece of architecture.
The rain was insistent, and we decided that a dry hotel and some final packing made more sense than getting further drenched. Even in her gray manteau, Paris is still quite magnificent.
We caught up on e-mails, finished packing, and headed back to our favorite restaurant in the 5th for dinner. For me, lamb, perfectly cooked with polenta and delicate asparagus spears. Arnie went for one of the savory fish dishes. All this paired with a lovely bottle of Saint Emilion Grand Cru that slithered down our throats. Because we had shared an appetizer, we had no room for dessert. The wine was excellent, the food cooked to perfection, and we were content. Even more so when we were each given another glass of the wine we had enjoyed over dinner, courtesy of the restaurant. The waiter, when he delivered the glasses, said they were compliments of Thierry (off that night), our wonderful server who had twice prepared the Steak Tartare for me at the table. Earlier in the evening, we had complimented Thierry and the restaurant as a whole.
The rain had stopped, and as we neared our hotel, we saw la Tour Eiffel all lit up. We dashed up to our room, grabbed our cameras and Leica tripods (our regular ones were already strapped into the duffel), and had fun making photographs. With the wet pavement, it added to the ambience.
What a wonderful way to end our last day, for this visit, in one of our favorite cities.
Next year, we will return to Taormina in Sicily and Tuscany. Paris will have to wait for the year after. Tant pis, mais nous allons revenir!
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