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Walking Through Paris on a Summer Evening
I rarely post photographs of Paris on social media. This is the most photographed city in the world, and it’s been photographed by the greatest photographers in the world, so there’s not much I could add to your sense of what the city looks like.
I also loathe the practice of taking endless photos of one’s life for consumption on Facebook. It puts everyone who does it at a remove from their own lives. Instead of seeing, hearing, smelling and experiencing what’s in front of them, they’re imagining how it would look through someone else’s eyes — usually, their ex-boyfriend’s. So I don’t do it. Susan Sontag wrote an essay, On Photography, decades before the advent of the cell phone and Instagram, but it seems even more pertinent now:
I think that sentence — “a chronic voyeuristic relation to the world” — is exactly right. That’s my objection. And I think she’s right, too, to say that taking photographs is a way of limiting your own experience, an effort somehow to reduce the extraordinary, messy, infinitely complex experience of seeing, of thinking, of feeling all of the wild and conflicting emotions involved in being alive — an attempt to take the sweet smell of honeysuckle on a summer evening mixed, always, under the Pont Neuf with the faint smell of urine; to take the way my shoe slightly scraped my right foot when I walked on the cobblestones; to take all of the bittersweet memories I have of the Rue Jacob; to take my memories of my grandparents, who walked down exactly the same streets when they were young, and my memories of walking down those same streets with them when they were no longer young; to take the feeling of catching a stranger’s eye, by accident, and the pleasure and the amusement and the mild embarrassment an accidental flirtation occasions; to take the feeling of the warm, moist, summer air on my skin; to take the sound of a clarinet — and reduce it all to a series of flat, two-dimensional images. Images that look just like billions of other photographs of Paris.
So why bother?
And I don’t want to bring the Evil Eye upon myself. Everyone knows Paris is beautiful. Everyone knows I live here, and that therefore I’m lucky. Showing photographs of the beautiful things I see here might not be seen as an invitation to share my life, but as an incitement to envy. The human imagination being what it is, people will see these and fill in the details with fantasy; they will assume my life is, in toto, as beautiful as Paris itself; and some will feel their own lives lacking in comparison to the perfect life they wrongly assume I enjoy. Why enjoin resentment? Why play with fire?
But I’ve made an exception today, as you’ll see. And I made an exception because yesterday evening was so startlingly lovely, so languidly magical, that something strange happened: Everyone in Paris stopped taking photos.
It was the first real summer evening we’ve had after a spring that never properly arrived, and it seemed as if the whole city was struck by the sudden realization that we all live in Paris, and that Paris is achingly beautiful — struck so acutely that everyone, for once, put their cameras away, and instead came out to ride their bikes, play on the jungle gym, play chess, or cards, or juggle, or sunbathe, or buy an ice-cream cone. At one traffic light, even, I heard the sound of a jazz clarinet blasting deliriously from a stopped car; I looked, and saw it was the driver himself playing the thing, with both hands. (I didn’t get a photo, of course. It happened too quickly, the angle was bad — and what good would a photo be? You had to hear it.)
The sight of so many people who weren’t looking at their phones was so unusual that I pulled out my own phone to show that it really happened. I wanted to show this, especially, to everyone who reads what I write here, because it seems sometimes that almost everything I write these days is about pain: Like all of us, every time I’ve looked at the news this week I’ve been shocked, and horrified. The headlines are full of murder, suffering, death. It is almost too much to bear.
Even though these photographs are so inadequate, even though they can’t even begin to capture the experience of walking through Paris yesterday evening, they’ll show something you won’t see in today’s headlines: happiness. It isn’t news — yet it happens, too. So come take a walk with me — as much as you can, in two dimensions — and remember that this, too, happens in the world.
Let me begin with two photos to ward off the Evil Eye. This is what I went out to buy, and buying this was my whole plan for Saturday night:
A box of milk, .64 euros. (How much does a box of milk cost in your neighborhood? And does it come in a box?)
But suddenly, when I stepped out, it hit me: It was a beautiful evening. Really beautiful. And so I decided to go for a walk. Here are some of the things I saw.
Let’s start, as I did, by looking in the shop windows — and at this lovely dress, which I covet:
I don’t covet these handbags; they’re not my style — they’re a bit old-ladyish — and the cats would destroy them, anyway. But I like knowing that Chanel still makes them, and that they look exactly the same as they did when my grandmother lived here:
And isn’t this necklace delightful? Isn’t this window beautiful? (And who buys necklaces like this? What do they wear them for?)
Here I was trying to take a photo of the orchids and the tea set, but I accidentally took a photo of myself. (You’ll see, soon, that I’m the only woman in all of these photos who’s staring at her phone. The realization that no one else was looking at their phones had only just hit me when I took this.)
I decided, then, to stroll through the bookstores. Paris still has thriving bookstores. I’m torn about this, because politically, I’m on Amazon’s side: If people want to buy their books from Amazon, I think they should be free to choose. But I do see why France wants to keep its bookstores. They’re essential to the city and its culture, and something would really be lost if they disappeared:
Paris also has thriving music stores, by the way:
And stores that sell things like this — and no, I don’t know what it is. (Calling @jlikeks.)
And it has flower stores, too, lovely ones, where the flowers are arranged with such care:
Here I decided, “Enough window shopping,” because I began to see things like this. (Are you hungry? You will be, soon enough.)
I bought this cake (or its ancestor), once. I brought it to a party. It was every bit as delicious as it looks. It’s got three different kinds of chocolate mousse in it, and two layers of thick chocolate cake, and those petals are made of pure chocolate. I have no idea how they make the petals like that. I’m just thankful that people who know how to make flower petals out of chocolate exist in this world:
Shellfish! And my feet. The foot on the right is the one that hurts a bit when I walk on cobblestones. They look like comfortable shoes, don’t they? But they don’t have enough arch support. I was almost too vain to post this, because the double-angle of the mirror makes my ankles look short and stumpy, but I decided it was sufficiently important for you to see the shellfish that I shouldn’t bother with my vanity.
This gentleman embodies everything I mean when I talk about charm. A photo can’t capture the way he entertains every customer, the way he flirts with all the ladies, the young and the very old alike; the immense pride he takes in his cheese, its origins in the terroir. He makes the experience of shopping for cheese a huge entertainment, a pleasure in its own right. Here he’s offering a customer a sample to taste:
I seem to be in this photo, too, as kind of a ghostly presence. I’m the ghost of the poire caramel, which I’m dying to try:
I’ve never tried these, and I have no idea what they are. But they’re so pretty, aren’t they? Lined up like schoolgirls waiting to be asked to dance:
This is not a desert! It’s goat cheese with figs, cinnamon, and nuts. To be honest, I don’t like goat cheese, so I include it in the show only because it’s so charming to look at:
The macaroon tower. (If I’d realized I was in the photo, I would have smiled. It definitely brought a smile to my soul.)
It’s cherry season — finally! But they’re still far too expensive. Almost ten euros a kilo. I was spoiled forever by cherry season in Istanbul, where I could buy so many at once that I made myself sick every single day of the season. So last night, I just admired them from afar:
I don’t yet know from personal experience, but I’ll bet you those strawberry things are as delicious as they look:
The chocolates on the upper right are like works of art. (I don’t know if I’d be able to eat them: I’d feel bad about eating a work of art.)
You’re missing the best part of this: The smell of fresh-baked bread. You can smell it half a block away:
By this point I was getting really hungry. I called my father to see if he wanted to join me for dinner, but alas he had already made plans. (My father, the social butterfly.)
I’m not sure what those drinks are, but I do know they’re really expensive. So I figured I’d skip the drink before dinner and have a nice, refreshing glass of tap water when I got home. Discipline, your name is Claire.
This is one of my favorite street corners in Paris. See how no one’s looking at their phone?
This little guy was too happy to sit still:
And so was I, so I changed my mind about sitting in a cafe. I wanted to keep walking. I stopped first to have a look at the booksellers’ stalls. (Look, it’s a biography of Napoleon! The books are much better value than the fruit: You could have that handsome biography of Napoleon for less than the price of a bag of cherries.)
Strictly speaking, this cover violates our Code of Conduct, but I’ll make an exception because I’d like it to be known that no, nothing in Paris has been censored; and yes, Paris is still Paris:
I think I’ll let these nekkid ladies slip past the CoC, too: They’re tasteful enough, right?
Speaking of nekkid ladies, I have to include a photo of this. This shop is proposing that ladies pay them to massage their breasts. Seriously.
I know, you’re still marvelling at that. But back to the booksellers. I wonder who buys these? I think it must be American tourists, right?
Now let’s go down and walk by the water. (Yes, he’s got his camera out, but that’s because he just bought a new motorcycle. That’s got to go to Facebook immediately, lest his ex-girlfriend miss the news.)
You can’t tell from the photo, but this little girl is just going nuts with excitement. She’s at that stage where all she wants to do is go to the park to go down the slide, and tonight, she got her wish:
This woman, on the other hand, is at that stage where all she wants to do is go to the park to lie in the hammock. And she got her wish, too.
Right about here is where I realized my shoe was bothering me. (If you know Paris’s geography, you realize these photos aren’t in order — but never mind that.)
You’re missing the unmistakable smell of urine under this bridge. I don’t know why it’s a Parisian tradition to pee under this bridge, but it most definitely is, and an ancient one:
I saw not one, but two weddings. (This couple came from China, I think, to have their wedding. Someone should have told them not to have it under that bridge.)
I reckon she’s thinking, “This is the happiest day of my life, but … what’s up with these Europeans, anyway?”
There are probably a billion photos of Notre Dame in the world. But I took one all the same:
Here’s wedding number two. (They’re locals. They knew to avoid that bridge.)
This gentleman is standing by to ensure that everyone’s photo of Paris by the Seine is a cliche. It’s his duty, and he executes it with care:
I was trying to catch the color or the balloons. He thought I was admiring him. It led to a bit of blushing:
The guy on the right is, maybe, taking a photo, but it’s hard to tell. Perhaps he’s doing yoga?
One day, everyone in this photo will be nostalgic when they think about this evening:
He was smiling at first, but when he realized I had my camera out, he suddenly decided he’d best look cool:
Ah, wait: She’s got her phone out. I just realized it when I looked more closely. Well, there’s an exception to every rule. It’s such a pretty dress that I’ll forgive her. (Bad sign for the rest of his evening, though.)
Check out her blue shoes!
Lovers by the Seine, and my shadow. In the hands of a better photographer, this would have been a better photo:
They were so intent that they didn’t even notice I was taking their photo:
Nope, not cellphones: They’re playing cards. The way people did before cellphones:
More nostalgia-in-prospect:
She brought a terrific-looking picnic to the Seine, where the picnic-tables are now open for the summer:
Spotted on the pavement:
She’s riding a Vélib, as every visitor in Paris would love to do — except that for some reason the system chokes on foreign credit cards, so tourists inevitably give up in frustration and disappointment. She’s a local, you can tell: She managed to rent a Vélib.
Here are a few street signs that caught my eye. “Here, the young Louis XIII was enthroned, an hour after the death of his father, Henry IV.” (Students of French: Note the use of the passé simple.)
Ici, la jeune Claire Berlinski prit un selfie, plusieurs années après Louis XIII fut intronisé. Owing to the gravity of the occasion, I did not smile.
I accidentally cut off the last letter of René Marie Alphonse Charles Capitant’s name. He was a prominent member of the Resistance:
I wasn’t sure whether to include this photo, since the subject of this post is happiness. But when I thought about leaving it out, it seemed wrong — as if I’d be forgetting them. This is the story behind it, and behind so many plaques like just like it, outside so many schools and playgrounds:
Pablo Picasso painted Guernica in this atelier, and Balzac’s novel, The Unknown Masterpiece, takes place in this building:
This is how French people are incubated: It’s a preschool. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
Charlemagne Street: King of the Francs, Emperor of the Occident.
What’s behind this mysterious door? I don’t know, but I suspect it is wonderful:
Summer begins officially in Paris when this guy shows up. (I think he flies south for the winter).
This gentleman was taking a quick birdbath in the fountain. By this point in the walk, I was feeling a bit warm, and I was tempted to do the same, but I reluctantly decided it would be unladylike:
Oh, since I’ve mentioned them before: This is one of those infernal unattended suitcases. Last night I saw one again. Can you tell me why this is just sitting there in the street? Does that look like common sense to you?
But let’s not close on that note: I walked past this church and peeked inside. This is what I saw:
And this is what I saw when I looked up:
And that was my evening. None of this can really show you what it was like, at all. it’s just a hint, a glimpse. But I wanted to try to show you something that will never be in the news — an evening, in Paris, so lovely that it made everyone put away their phones.
And to ward off the evil eye, I’ll close by returning to my normal life, to the whole point of this excursion:
That’s what I brought back with me: cat food, kitty litter, milk, and a sandwich. Mission accomplished.
Published in General
that works out to $2.72/gal. I buy the cheap stuff, which lately has been about 2.20, but you can pay up to about 4.00 for the fancy high-end milk. By the liter, of course, it’s a little more per unit, as it would be here.
My wife and I do not take a lot of pictures. We want to actually expereince the events.
Whew! I missed the decimal point on this the first time through.
Nice little travelogue of your evening. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Since I don’t taste the milk, really — I put it in my coffee — fancy, high-end milk holds no appeal for me.
Oh my gosh! I love this post – too many likes! You have a second calling as a photographer. I agree with you about Facebook – I disconnected and don’t miss it, but I love photos. I have boxes full – I’m the keeper of my husband’s family photos. My niece is in Iceland and Dublin, and is forwarding photos – she also has a gift, and they’re extraordinary.
First thoughts: a great story about the absence of cell phones (mostly) and fear of terror – life is thriving there. Go back and buy that dress even if you have to charge it. You’re too thin, buy the bread and pastries and a hunk of meat. Did you tote the cat litter or buy after? I agree with you on the Chanel purses – where’s the modern ones? Your feet sticking out in the one photo is hilarious – also time to buy good shoes, even tennis shoes – as my dad always said, take good care of your feet (it was an army thing). Your arches are a big deal as you age, (I had trouble with left) which brings me to another comment – you look much younger than you are – really!
The pictures you shared are wonderful, can’t decide a favorite, but what a great message. And since we at Ricochet weren’t there with you, it’s like being there sharing an evening with you, and I appreciate it!
What a beautiful city.
Thank you so much for that tour. It took my mind off everything–sort of like a little mental vacation. Lovely.
I used to love to be in Boston and New York on Friday and Saturday nights when the commuters were finally gone. The bustling city life would suddenly quiet down, and I felt as if I owned the city. :) So much grandeur all to myself.
I call “fake news!” Ce nest pas encore l’été.
Néamoins, je souhaite j’étais là…
You’re so sweet. I don’t have a second calling as a photographer; I’m actually a singularly bad photographer.I never do the things good photographers do. As you can see, I don’t even notice things like whether I’m in the reflection. I even managed to get half those pictures out of focus (which is damned near impossible these days, given how good the iPhone’s build-in camera is). But Paris last night was like one of those fashion models of whom it’s said, “It’s impossible to take a bad photo of her.” It’s the city, not me.
Oh, no! If I bought every pretty dress I saw in the shop windows here, I’d go to debtors’ prison. I like to look: I don’t need to own everything I like looking at.
As you can probably tell, I don’t need to be urged to buy the pastries. I love them too much. This is the city for people with a sweet tooth.
I picked it up on the way back.
I have really comfy tennis shoes that I wear all the time, but they don’t go with summer dresses. I’m thinking those shoes could use those slip-in padded insoles.
Thank you! I think it’s because I’m not wearing makeup. I look much more grown-up when I do, but I really don’t like the way it feels on my face, and since people tell me I look young when I don’t wear it, I’ve basically taken it as an excuse never to wear it anymore.
I’m so glad they succeeded in conveying a little bit of the pleasure of the evening to you. You know what would be great? To be able to share the smells. Especially the fresh bread, the honeysuckle, the cherries. I kept thinking, “There’s no way a photo could capture this smell.” And of course it can’t. But I should be careful what I wish for, because some clever monkey’s going to invent an app that lets us share smells, and then there will be even fewer small, precious bits of life that can’t be shared online.
One of the things that was most striking to me during my month living in Nancy was the almost complete absence of smartphone addiction. It was fantastic.
I’m in small town Ohio at the moment and I notice less of it here than in Pittsburgh. But still there are moms pushing children on swings with the left hand while the right hand texts. The phone getting the bulk of the attention.
Funny how, even if I’m off my phone, other people being on phones is so unsettling. You wouldn’t think it would matter much but it does. Streets are different, restaurants are different, everything.
Kept in perspective, pictures capture a moment that we ca later elaborate with words, beautifully crafted words.
I like your pictures, and the narrative you shared.
I take pictures that make me laugh.
This is the signpost inside my hometown’s historical museum.
Were they hiring!?
Perhaps likeks is what I should be called when I’m full of [redacted]. As for the thing in the picture, I figured it was ugly enough to be a 70s magazine for the disaffected, that’s what it was: MEPRIS was a magazine of graphic arts and experimental art. I don’t think it lasted beyond the third issue.
I know, right?! I figured I had to take that photo. The amazing thing is that they’re somehow staying in business!
Trigger Warning…Downer coming…
@Claire, I cannot believe you made this error! It’s MACARON, not MACAROON!!!
Beautiful pictures, makes us want to go to Paris right now.
I am a picture-taking fool whenever we travel, and I post them over at RushBabe49.com. I do many of the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenges, and my latest post has garnered a bunch of likes. Here’s one of the two photos I posted on the topic of evanescence.
Whoops! I just spotted another cellphone-looker in one of these photos. Anyone else see it?
I guess I have to retract my thesis that no one was looking at their phones. But many fewer than usual were.
What a lovely valentine to the City of Light! It’s such a great place to walk. Even though I’m an avid cyclist I never got the urge to try (and presumably fail) to rent a Vélib.
You mean the gal in the yellow top and jean shorts?
It does. It changes the texture of public life completely. Younger people here won’t even know what it used to be like, but we’ll surely all be telling them for as long as we live about the good old days, when people looked at each other — and made conversation — because otherwise they’d have been bored senseless.
A couple of weeks ago I watched an extremely attractive young lady and and extremely attractive young man walk right past each other in the street. They were both staring at their phones. I lived here in 1989, working as a fille au pair. Trust me when I say that in 1989, those two would have checked each other out, for sure. Probably he would have turned around after she’d passed, to look twice, and probably he’d have been thrilled to see that she did, too. Then he would have summoned up the courage to say something to her, and if that went okay, to ask her if she’d like to get a drink — and then they might have gone on to have a love affair for the ages, or at least a very exciting afternoon.
In 2017, they walked right past each other.
The very one.
It’s one of those weird things about Paris that everyone puzzles over: the world capital of tourism, yet they can’t manage to make the bike rental system work with foreign credit cards.
Ah, I see you’re one of those photographers who’s managed “focus.” I’m still working on that …
So, you’re saying cell phones are responsible for declining marriage and birth rates? :twisted:
Don’t be so gloomy. I predict this obsession with cell phones, like all fads, will pass. People will get tired of taking pictures of their meals and of themselves. Better yet,
it will become gauche. What am I saying, it already is gauche. It will be widely seen as gauche.You read it here first.
Old war horse one step ahead of the the glue factory. Well they haven’t got me yet.
Come to think of it my grandmother’s diamond engagement ring would match the blue dress perfectly.
If you are going to dream why not dream big?
Regards,
Jim
What evidence do you have that this trend will arise?
Was that a proposal?
Uh, nurse, better cut back on his meds. He might be delirious.
(Good to see that you’re still alive and kicking, though.)
This privilege will be gone soon!
History. Hula hoops are rarely seen today: not unknown, just not ubiquitous. Same goes for the Macarena and Baby on Board signs. They had their day.
Edit: I saw a Baby on Board sign last week. Made me laugh.