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Paris--Day One
Thursday, April 15, 2004
I arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport at 6:30 a.m., headed for the hotel, and went to bed to finish the night's sleep. I got up five hours later and headed for downtown Paris. By then it was afternoon, and I took a little walking tour around some of the city, particularly in the area near the Pont Neuf (New Bridge).
Ironically, despite the name, this is actually the oldest bridge in the city, built in 1604. Boat tours of the Seine start and end here. I had intended to take one of those tours today, but I decided to wait till tomorrow.
As always, beautiful places attract artists, and the banks of the Seine are no exception. Pont Neuf is to the left, and the starting point for the boat tour is just under the tree in the upper right.
Pont Neuf is just about in the heart of the city (in the blue circle I've added to the photo above), while my hotel is quite close to the airport, out of range of the map, up beyond where the red circle is.
I've been struck by the quality of the light in Paris. I've always heard how it's so special, and wondered how light could be different here from anywhere else. I can't explain it, but it seems to BE different, especially in the latter part of the afternoon.
This guy was trying to be so polite. I wished he'd just kept walking, straight up. Anyway, you can see something of what I'm talking about in this shot of the park just above the boat tour station. You'll notice that it seems to end in a point, and that's because this is a little island in the Seine, called Ile de la Cite, shaped almost like a boat, and you're looking towards the bow.
I was fascinated by the play of light on the buildings, the people, and the water, and tried to capture it in some of my pictures. Here's a view from the Pont Neuf, looking towards the Tour Eiffel. The family in the foreground is no doubt exhausted after a day of sightseeing. As you can imagine, I took many more pictures than I can put on this page. Perhaps I can put them into an album later. I'll let you know.
They say Paris is for lovers. Well, I saw ample evidence of that today. Lovers seemed to festoon each sidewalk, the banks of the Seine, the bridges overlooking the water, just everywhere. (By the way, this couple is walking past the local headquarters of the Gendarmerie, so they'd better be good citizens! :) )
I must confess that watching all these lovers made me feel a twinge or two--since Erlinda is 4,500 miles away. Not too cool. Oh, well...next time.
See you later.
Ironically, despite the name, this is actually the oldest bridge in the city, built in 1604. Boat tours of the Seine start and end here. I had intended to take one of those tours today, but I decided to wait till tomorrow.
As always, beautiful places attract artists, and the banks of the Seine are no exception. Pont Neuf is to the left, and the starting point for the boat tour is just under the tree in the upper right.
Pont Neuf is just about in the heart of the city (in the blue circle I've added to the photo above), while my hotel is quite close to the airport, out of range of the map, up beyond where the red circle is.
I've been struck by the quality of the light in Paris. I've always heard how it's so special, and wondered how light could be different here from anywhere else. I can't explain it, but it seems to BE different, especially in the latter part of the afternoon.
This guy was trying to be so polite. I wished he'd just kept walking, straight up. Anyway, you can see something of what I'm talking about in this shot of the park just above the boat tour station. You'll notice that it seems to end in a point, and that's because this is a little island in the Seine, called Ile de la Cite, shaped almost like a boat, and you're looking towards the bow.
I was fascinated by the play of light on the buildings, the people, and the water, and tried to capture it in some of my pictures. Here's a view from the Pont Neuf, looking towards the Tour Eiffel. The family in the foreground is no doubt exhausted after a day of sightseeing. As you can imagine, I took many more pictures than I can put on this page. Perhaps I can put them into an album later. I'll let you know.
They say Paris is for lovers. Well, I saw ample evidence of that today. Lovers seemed to festoon each sidewalk, the banks of the Seine, the bridges overlooking the water, just everywhere. (By the way, this couple is walking past the local headquarters of the Gendarmerie, so they'd better be good citizens! :) )
I must confess that watching all these lovers made me feel a twinge or two--since Erlinda is 4,500 miles away. Not too cool. Oh, well...next time.
See you later.
