During the month of June I enjoyed a variety of what France had to offer. A French perspective of Paris, visiting a friend in the Alps and then moving south toward the Spanish border, to the edge of the Pyrenees for a volunteer project.
I have not shared anything since I first stepped foot on French soil, so let me start at the beginning of my journey.
I was lucky to be able to meet four friends during my Paris weekend, all of whom I had met whilst in New Zealand and Australia.
On knowing I would be in France I did not hesitate to message every French person I had met along the way that may be in the country, Cedric was one of these people and greeted my message with heart warming excitement. Having met during my first week in New Zealand, back in March 2015, we have had very little contact since. It is a beautiful thing how meetings that began almost as acquaintances can materialise into solid friendships, as happened with Cedric over this weekend.
Beginning our journey together at an underground Metro station, we immediately delved into such animated conversation as to miss our stop! This would become a theme of the weekend as our distracted travel style enabled us to catch another Metro in the wrong direction and to nearly miss our stop on at least one other occasion.
Both of us were visitors to Paris, and both knowing other people that lived or were from the city, we ended up as part of a small group, friends on both sides gathering, taking the opportunity to catch up. So it was on Saturday that along with Cedric, we were joined by my friend Xavier and three of Cedric’s friends.
We visited a photography exhibition meant to shock the eyes and evoke empathy. Sights that were hard to view, that a person may instinctively want to look away from, were enlarged and spread along the walls. War, famine, natural disasters. The effects of all of these, and more, were shown on the people that had to face these challenges, the suffering that they were going through etched on their faces, on their bodies. The photographer has dedicated his life to putting these images to as wide an audience as possible, encouraging people not to turn a blind eye. Though I cannot currently recall his name, I feel as though his goal has been met with me at least, as I cannot fail to remember the people that have and continue to suffer.
The remainder of the day took us from one part of the city to the next, sometimes by choice, other times by necessity. Our first stop was in a popular garden spot for lunch, though we had barely eaten when armed police arrived and began to evacuate the park, due apparently to a bomb scare. From here we walked down to the river, the weather inviting anyone with time to spare to relax among the grassy embankment.
Day turned into night as we ate dinner and then went in search of a drink, and in particular in search of a shot of Chartreuse, a shout out to mine and Xavier’s boss in New Zealand who has a penchant for the French liquor.
It was an interesting experience, being in a capital, touristic city, yet finding myself in a place without tourists. We were in an area that attracted only the locals, away from the brighter, eye-catching streets designed with an aim of drawing in strangers to the city. There was a strangely relaxed and dim ambience along the streets we walked through, seeming to reflect the image I had conjured of the city – calm, yet focused, where people are happy with a steadier flow of life.
My final day in Paris was spent wandering the north eastern part of the centre. Cedric and I walked through Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, a popular garden complete with lake and ducks, and even an artificial cave. My eyes were captured, as always, by the brilliant natural contrasts of colour as we meandered through.
I feel lucky to have seen Paris through the eyes of others during the days I was there, seeing it beyond the perspective of a wide eyed tourist. I felt no urgency to visit any ‘must see’ sights, instead enjoying as we wandered away from the central area, experiencing and seeing the variety of lifestyles spread throughout the city.
