Looking at Paris

Thursday, 13 June 2013

▲ I’ve had a look at New York and at Naples so today it’s Paris, last week’s trip. Wandering through the Marais I noted this window display of Queen Elizabeths, each QE2 energetically swivelling her wrist in true British royal family fashion.

▲ Still in the Marais we paused at Place des Vosges, the iconic centre of the Marais district – well actually we paused at my favourite menswear shop, Emile Lafaurie, first and I bought a bright orange shirt. The Place des Vosges fashion was black leather rather than bright orange, it was a gathering of Mr Leathers from all over France, posing for photographs in front of a fountain.

▲ We crossed the Seine over a couple of bridges – Pont des Arts and Pont de l’Archevêché by Notre Dame – both festooned with tens of thousands of padlocks. You lock a padlock, with you and your true love’s name written, or better, inscribed on it, to the bridge then toss the key into the river. You could dredge the river for keys? But when did this start happening, I can remember it on my last visits to the city?

▲ And I headed underground to the Catacombs – the ‘empire of the dead.’ Somehow I’d avoided the descent on all my previous visits.

▲ Lots of skulls and bones.