I have been meaning to tell you all about Paris since I came back three months ago. But I couldn’t find the right words. In fact, words just get in the way, so the famous song goes. You cannot fault me for not trying, though. I tried. But nothing I wrote sufficed. Instead, to my horror, everything I attempted to write sounded clichéd. In the middle of my endless writing and re-writing, I had a terrible thought: what if Paris IS just a big cliché? The word cliché itself even sounds Parisian, right? (Yeah, I know it’s French, silly!)
But I realize that’s just fear talking. The fear of exposing my incompetence, my loss for words. Because the truth is, words are not enough to capture the beauty of this city. And don’t just take my word for it, either. You have to be there to know what I mean.
So here are photos instead of words to describe a trip that was not meant to happen but did anyway, to a place where beauty in all its forms seems to be commonplace.
1. Bateaux Mouches cruising along the River Seine | 2. Newly weds having their photos taken as riders pass by | 3. The Eiffel Tower | 4. At a crêperie near the Eiffel | 5. The very sad depiction of Cain after murdering his brother Abel (Caïn venant de tuer son frère Abel) by Vidal Henri in Jardin des Tuileries. | 6 & 7. Inside the historical Collège Ste. Barbe in the Latin Quarter | 8. The tiled floor of the Maison d’Accueil de l’Assomption where my colleague and I stayed | 9. Cat contemplating about love and life in the Latin Quarter | 10. Even just crossing a Parisian street is fashionable | 11. Trees line the walk way along the Seinne | 12. The beautiful mosaic floor at the Collège Ste. Barbe | 13. La Rivière (The River), a lead or bronze sculpture by Aristide Maillol, in the Jardin du Carrousel //
How about you? Have you been to Paris lately? Do tell us about it!
Wow – something about that Cain statue in black and white just hit me in the gut.
I know! You can almost feel the shame. Such a lovely work of art. 🙂