Paris 2015

I felt rather at home in Paris. I can't speak French but my being kind of resonates with the quirkiness of Parisian Frenchness. Or maybe I'm just deluded but I really could grow accustomed to coffee and croissants for breakfast with a soft boiled egg and crispy bread thrown in. Cafe life and the handsome men strolling past. The dog poo on the streets I can do without and general tardiness make London look supremely glamourous. La Defense beats Canary Wharf hands down. I'm surprised I didn't trip while walking off the escalator as this surreal futuristic cityscape came into view. WOW! What design and colour. Undeniably quirky like the best of the French. I spent an afternoon walking the road that links La Defense with the Arc de Triomphe past the River Seinne in 30 degree heat. I met my friend Pietro at the Eiffel Tower and then off for some dinner and my God how magical to drink Provence Rose with a perfectly matched ensemble of courses in air conditioned refinement. Paris was an awkward city to photograph. I did try. Perhaps I overdid it walking around with two cameras armed like a guerilla fighter ready to fire away at fleeting moments of inspiration. Sometimes the monotony of the straight roads and uniform architecture got to me. The generally flat terrain. The chaotic madness of Gare du Norde. The worst moment for me trying to locate the Euro Star terminal in this maze of cris-crossed escalators and google maps couldn't help and suddenly not speaking French became embarrasing. What a city!!