Category Archives: Paris streets

The balcony scene

The painter Gustave Caillebotte and his brother, photographer Martial Caillebotte, loved balconies. They frequently painted and photographed people standing on ornate balconies overlooking wide boulevards, gazing down at the passing scene below.* And sometimes they set up an easel or … Continue reading

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Don’t go there

On a recent trip to Paris, we arranged to meet up with a friend, a Canadian architecture-school librarian. As the three of us wandered about Montmartre, she asked us an intriguing question: “What are those spiked things for?” I replied, … Continue reading

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A palace of commerce and a 1904 rendez-vous

“Dimanche soir – reçu lettre ce matin. Compte sur toi pour mercredi. Embrasse tous. Jean.” Sunday night – received letter this morning. [I] count on you [to come] on Wednesday. Love to all, Jean. The date on the postmark is … Continue reading

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Traces of tragedy on a quiet street

Not many people walk the length of the rue Jean Goujon in the 8th arrondissement. Either they are strolling along the river, or gazing at the likes of the Christian Dior boutique on avenue Montaigne (fashion central), the next street … Continue reading

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Signs of Paris

On the first day of our first shared trip to Paris, signs such as this made me realize we were walking through history. We had bought the makings of a picnic lunch, which we ate on a park bench. We … Continue reading

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The photograph I didn’t take

It was winter and we were walking back to our rented apartment in the 14th arrondissement from Monoprix, with a borrowed buggy filled with basics – toilet paper, dried pasta, yogurt. We traipsed down a road called rue Campagne Première. … Continue reading

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Still life with bicycle

Paris has a long association with cycling. Consider the early 19th-century velocipede craze or Art Nouveau advertising lithographs by artists such as Alphonse Mucha. Since it began in 1903, the Tour de France always ends with a dash into Paris. … Continue reading

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A villa in the south

When we say the south, we don’t mean the south of France, we mean the southern parts of Paris, particularly the 14th arrondissement. And when we say “villa,” we don’t mean a detached house. The villas of Paris are cul-de-sacs, … Continue reading

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Men in green

The first one we noticed was right under the window of our hotel room. It was 1995 and we were staying on a narrow street in the 6th. Actually, it was the broom that caught our attention first. It was … Continue reading

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Papering Paris

December. Montmartre. Mid-morning. Falling snow melting on empty tables and chairs. Artists hastily covering their paintings with plastic sheets. And on the ground, delicate white deer tracks running across the cobblestones. Suddenly I was staring at a deer that stared … Continue reading

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