Felix Wong of Colorado

Paris

August 14, 2003

Regular readers of this site know that I am really not a big city type-of-guy. But let me tell you, I absolutely loved Paris. Talk about sensory overload: gorgeous buildings of historical significance on practically every other block; slim, well-dressed people all around; sumptuous cuisine; and sexy-sounding French spoken everywhere you go. I also loved the museums and even the cars.

I went to climb the iconic Eiffel Tower later in the evening to catch some night views of France. I was not disappointed... this is one of the finest places to be on earth!

The southwestern view of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

The southeastern view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower.

Northwestern view, facing the Palais de Challot, which is surrounded by many museums I did not get a chance to visit.

Northeastern view of the Seine and the City of Lights, as Paris is known.

Felix Wong admiring the night view of the lighted Eiffel Tower from L'Parc du Champ de Mars.

The view of the Seine near St. Michel and the Notre Dame Cathedral. (August 17, 2003)

There was a cheery band playing on the sidewalk right in front of the Notre Dame. (August 17, 2003)

View of Notre Dame from the pedestrian bridge just east of it. It took 2 centuries to build the Notre Dame, starting in 1163.. (August 17, 2003)

Bridge leading to the upscale and exclusive St. Louis neighborhood, which is an island in the Seine. (August 17, 2003)

Just east of the Notre Dame Cathedral is L'Memorial de la Deportation (Deportation Memorial), in memory of the French Jews killed in Nazi concentration camps. The sharp bars are symbolic of the camps. (August 17, 2003)

There are 200,000 lighted crystals inside the memorial representing the 200,000 French people who died in the camps. The feeling of claustrophobia here is intentional and symbolic. (August 17, 2003)

The triangles are representative of the identification patches inmates were forced to wear. Just to the right of this, above the exit, are the words, "Pardonne, n'oublie pas..." ("Forgive, don't forget...") (August 17, 2003)

Around the corner from the church of St. Julien-le-Pauvre is this small park.. (August 17, 2003)

View of La Friterie (no significance other than it's French) from the church of St. Julien-le-Pauvre. Here the concentration of cafes seem to increase. (August 17, 2003)

The Shakespeare & Company Bookstore was opened by American Sylvia Beach in the 1920s and is an all-English bookstore. It attracted the literary elite like Ernest Hemingway. (August 17, 2003)

I spent half an hour of peace and solitude inside the church of St. Severin, which (with its exquisite glass work) took a century longer than the Notre Dame to build! (August 17, 2003)

This is the skinniest house in Paris, just two windows wide, at #22 rue St. Severin in the Latin Quarter.. (August 17, 2003)

I believe this is the Place St. Andres de Arts, where there many cafes that literary Parisiens used to (and still) patronize. (August 17, 2003)

This is the St. Chapelle. Exteriorly, it is not nearly as attractive as the Notre Dame, but I hear the interior is exquisite. The queue (which you can see in the picture) dissuaded me from going in, though. (August 17, 2003)

On the Palais de Justice are the inspiring words "Liberte, Egalite, Paternite" (freedom, equality, and brotherhood) which are found in other places in Paris. (August 17, 2003)

An example of Art Nouveau at the Metro entrance near the Palais de Justice. You got to love a country where even something as mundane as a subway entrance qualifies as art! (August 17, 2003)

Down from the Louvre was Tour de France memorabilia, which I was heartened to see considering that I was about to do Paris-Brest-Paris just a few days later! (August 17, 2003)

At the Bastille, the most noteworthy piece of architecture is L'Colomne de Julliet at the rond point just outside of the Bastille. (August 17, 2003)

Nowadays (August 17, 2003)

L'Arc de Triomphe, where I stayed in a nice hotel just a couple of blocks away during my last days in Paris.. (August 17, 2003)

This is La Place de la Concorde at the end of the Champs Elys̩es. (August 17, 2003)

Everywhere you look there are architectural masterpieces all over Paris! Here's Felix Wong with L'Tour Eiffel in the distance. (August 17, 2003)

Riding through the French countryside during Paris-Brest-Paris in 2003. (August 19, 2003)

Photos by Felix Wong are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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