“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” This quote by Hemingway played over and over in my mind over the 14 days I spent there. From the grand architecture of the late 19th century to the birthplace of impressionism and the salon society, Paris has inspired the artists and their craft for centuries. In the sun, the city’s white stone and gold accents dazzle and in the rain, the boulevards look like a Gustave Caillebotte painting, with the reflections of well dressed Parisians strolling on the cobblestone. I have dreamed of Paris ever since I read about the artists of the impressionist, expressionist, and post- impressionist periods. The first time I saw the sparkling lights of La tour Eiffel and the street lamps, I was with the one I love. This experience surpassed all expectations I could have imagined. By day Grace and I explored the museums and the many cafes we had been wanting to visit for years. By night we walked the Seine and marveled at the florescence of the lights against the water. I was hooked on her charm and I was already dreaming of the day that I could return. About a month later my dream came to fruition.
Paris the second time around was just as beautiful. It was cold but I felt more inspired than ever before to create. I spent a week there from the 12th to the 18th of February studying the architecture from the 16th century to the 20th century. The grander of the Louvre and the turn of the century architecture of the D’Orsay and the Petit and Grand Palais to the sleek white shapes of the early 20th century, allowed for a wide breadth of ideals in design and the space they created. Each inspired me in different ways but the style that stayed with me the most was the beautiful collision of grand classical architecture with the industrial steel of the mid to late 19th century. This was the architecture of Paris during the time of the artists such as Claude Manet and Monet. Known as the Belle Époque, this was a period of great advances in technology and industry which created a swing away from realism in the art scene and thus created the beautiful art movement of impressionism. It was the golden age of art, architecture, and culture in Paris and she still felt very much alive as I walked alone through the galleries and along the Seine.
This time around I was able to explore more of the parts of Paris I hadn’t before and spend more time exploring the D’Orsay and the L’Orangerie. I was also able to return to Grace and I’s favorite places in Montemontre and the Jardin des Tuileries and relax in a few of the many cafes I’d been wanting to visit. It was the perfect balance of new discoveries and nostalgic memories.
Paris reveals a poetic world of inspiration to those who experience her alone and a world of beauty and magic to those who experience her with a loved one. I was fortunate to have both experiences and I love them both for different reasons. Just as Hemingway said, my time in Paris will be with me wherever I go in life. One day I will return and she will, like an old friend, welcome me back into her beautiful embrace. I tried to capture the essence of my experience through these pictures but one has to experience Paris on their own to truely understand.
