Sunday, March 16, 2014

Walking the Streets of Paris


One of my favorite things to do when visiting another city is to walk with no particular destination in mind, just walk to take in the atmosphere of the place.  I can wander for hours delighting in the interesting things that pop into my view.  Fortunately, I'm gifted with an excellent sense of direction so I never fear getting lost.  I always have a map in my bag just in case I need to identify something.

On one such walk in Paris, I stumbled across this sculpture by Jean Marias' titled "The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls".  The sculpture was inspired by a short story by Marcel Ayme.




























On another occasion, I happened by a Holocaust Memorial tucked away beneath a tiny park on the very tip of the Ile de la Cite.  It was a beautifully solemn place dedicated to the over 200,000 French who departed Paris from this very location never to return again.

























A trip down a side street revealed a wedding party posing for photos.  One more photographer in the background didn't seem to bother them.












A little Smart Car painted with scenes from the Chronicles of Narnia caught my eye……















….as did this gorilla perched on a ledge at the Grand Palais.  I found out he was there to lure people into an exhibition inside but, I didn't go.
 I just kept on walking!

8 comments:

Steve said...

Enjoyed your walk through Paris. Much better photos than mine.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful stroll, packed full of interesting scenes. I especially like the 'Man Who Could Walk Through Walls'!

Thérèse said...

Such nice discoveries.
I adopted the same way in the morning while visiting Barcelona, except that I don't have a clue of where I am after an hour or two...
My preferred picture in this series: the Holocaust Memorial from which I did not know anything.

Lowell said...

Paris is my favorite place on the earth! Now, I really want to return. It's funny, but I've got an identical photo to your first shot! Great minds, etc...

Thanks for sharing these. What a fabulous place!

Judy said...

What a great stroll around Paris! You got such interesting pictures.

Catalyst said...

I love the street in that last photo. It is the epitome of Paris to me.

SWMBO and I also visited that Holocaust Museum when we were in Paris in '85.

Kate said...

Paris is without question one of the best walking cities in the world. Love, love, love that wonderful city. I, too, found the Holocaust museum in Paris and was surprised that it isn't better known.

Jack said...

What a fine series of photos. I enjoyed accompanying you on this walk. The man coming through the wall and the wall of the holocaust memorial especially captured my attention.