In Retrospect: Paris

I know, Paris, yawn.

Paris, the City of Light, the city that has been photographed to death, was not the most imaginative place I visited on my travels. It, however, was the first place I visited at the beginning of my two years of on-and-off nomadic life before medical school. The time was September 2002, when I had a few more dollars in my bank account, before the US dollar embarked on its spectacular nosedive, and before I had any real experience living out of a backpack. Armed with my first digital camera, a compact Minolta F100 point-and-shoot, my sister and I joined the throngs of other tourists and canvassed the tourist sites, photographing them at different times of the day.

Yes, the stereotypes were all true – the wine was cheap, the food was good, the portions were tiny, and the waiters were rude. We were told in no uncertain terms not to touch the oranges we wanted to buy at a street market, we were accosted by slick street salesmen at Montmartre, we almost became victims of a mugging in a Metro station. Yet even with all that, it was hard not to like Paris.

These pictures probably look familiar, that’s because there is not one inch of Paris that has not been photographed a million times. But these are special, they are MY pictures.

Street scene in the middle of Paris

Over a hundred years on, Hector Guimard’s timeless Art Nouveau metalwork still framed Paris’ Metro entrances ever so elegantly.

A detail shot of the front façade of the Cathedral of Notre Dame

Tourists’ hushed voices reverberated throughout the inside of Notre Dame

What an impressive combination of the chandelier and stained glass window!

Various saints flanked the spine of the roof

Gargoyles in different guises and poses guarded the cathedral against evil spirits.

View of the Pantheon from top of Notre Dame

A closer look at the Pantheon

Looking across the tranquil courtyard of the Great Mosque of Paris

Colorful ceramic mosaic covered the ground and walls

Another courtyard of the Mosque provided an oasis in the concrete jungle

Le Basilique du Sacre Coeur sat atop Montmartre

The columns at the top of Sacre Coeur framed the panoramic view of the city



I.M. Pei’s pyramids created a perfect counterpoint to the French Renaissance and Baroque architecture of the Louvre.

The main pyramid served as the entrance to the Louvre.

The cold, geometric steel and glass pyramid, set against the warm and ornate stone façade, all reflected in the pool in the still of the night.

Multi-lanes of traffic encircled the illuminated Arc de Triomphe.

We went round and round up the narrow spiral staircase to the top of the Arc.

From top of the Arc, looking down the brightly lit Les Champs-Elysees and over to the ever-present Eiffel Tower

Just imagine living in the shadows of the Eiffel

Light and music show from the Trocadero

Try not to strain your neck

Just had to pay homage to Jim Morrison

We didn’t even check the guide book to make sure that Versailles was open before we headed out there. And sure enough, the palace ground was the only thing open the day we went.

So we had to make do with looking at the massive garden behind the palace.