Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate L – Life on the River Seine…

The river continues to define the major historical areas of Paris with the central city area, still known as the Île de la Cité, being the religious and administrative hub. The left bank or the Rive Gauche is the centre of artistic and intellectual life, with the right bank or Rive Droit arondissements being the centres of commercial and economic activities. Although these delineations have blurred somewhat over time, they still remain set in the minds of Parisians and their visitors.

As I have said before, one seems to move from one photogenic sight to another within mere metres. It doesn’t take a lot of skill to see that this image was taken very close to the previous one, and yet somehow each of these two pictures seems to capture a different mood of the river.

With the freedom allowed the photographer using today’s digital cameras and their instant image review, the only dilemma I now face is how large a memory card my camera can handle.

It was very different during this visit.

Paris – Bouquinistes - 4me

Plate XXXVII - The Bouquinistes…

There is no certainty of how long the bouquinistes have been a part of Parisian city life. Some sources say since the nineteenth century, others claim from the sixteenth. It’s not important, for they are there today, and they will still be there tomorrow. There is no English word for these characters found mainly on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. Booksellers (the closest I can think of) work at FNAC or maybe at WH Smith. The bouquiniste is altogether something different. Their wares have changed over time, and today they stock compact and digital video discs (and no doubt electronic video games or, even i-Apps for all I know).

But, it is for the plethora of old postcards, posters, paintings, or pamphlets and of course those books and books and more books that you’ll want to find them. (Be warned though that their wares are mainly in French). No matter the weather, by law the licensed bouquiniste must open for business four days of every week. Those pesky intermitted Paris showers are countered with a clear plastic sheet, but they rarely stay on too long - and often trade will still be conducted beneath these temporary protective shelters. Some 250 or more of these intrepid souls are housed in wooden stalls, dotted all around the embankments of the Île de La Cité, their displays overloaded with “des choses intéressants” and if like me you love to browse the printed records of mankind, you’ll lose yourself for hours seeking out that special “je ne sais quoi”.

Maybe you’ll find it here.

Today. 

Paris – Rive Gauche - 4me

Plate XXXVI - A walk on the Rive Gauche…

Of all my pictures of Paris this one generates the strongest feeling of nostalgia I have for the city. Before ever visiting France, or having images of the country formed by too many episodes of ‘Allo ‘Allo, I held a stereotypical mental picture of a Frenchman.

He wore a beret, and was clothed in black.

He smoked Gauloises, and he drank cognac - perhaps an occasional absinthe.

He laughed (as I do) at Jean-Jacques Loupe.

He still mourned Piaf and Chevalier, and did not appreciate Trenet; perhaps Brel and Aznavour were his idea of modern song. He secretly liked Françoise, but not Johnny or Sacha or Serge and Jane …

Perhaps he wore a cape.

He’d contemplated life as a Legionnaire.

No longer young, he took a daily promenade along the Rive Gauche, and the Boulevards St. Michel and St. Germain, into the Rue de Rennes, recalling the lost loves of his youth.

Perhaps he resided at Les Invalides.

I’m sure this was him.

Paris – Notre Dame Rose Windows - 4me

Plate XXX - Notre Dame, the Rose Windows...

Arguably the three most remarkable features of Notre Dame are the organ, the bells and the stained glass rose windows. Look out for the stylized souvenir glass jewellery pendants of the windows sold in shops in the vicinity of the Cathedral. Many are pure tourist tat but others, available at the better jewellery shops, are exquisite in their detail.

This outside view of the south transept windows was taken from the Rive Gauche. An exterior view, although giving a good indication of the size of the lower window, gives little indication of the magnificence of the colour and light when seen from inside the church.

Since childhood I have been a lover of the art of the stained glass artisan; I finally incorporated some lead-light windows in the design of the first house I had built. Although my personal preference is for work in the style of LC Tiffany and the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts exponents of the work, I have untold admiration for the secular works of the European practitioners, many dating back as far as the Middle Ages. Not only are the designs remarkable, but the hand-painted detail of the faces and the figures of subjects is exceptional. Notre Dame and the nearby Sainte Chapelle offer the aficionado a master class in design and technique.