For years I’ve described myself as a ‘rambler,’ and called some of my posts ‘rambles.’ Essentially, they are collections of things I notice as I wander through cities—which is a good deal of what I do in cities I visit—and which don’t necessarily amount to a separate story of their own.

It’s been suggested to me that the term I really want is “flâneur”—a ‘person who wanders through a city to experience it.’ The word is meant to convey the idea that the mind functions best at a slow pace, and that curiosity can lead to a life of significance. I have two problems with that: I’m not sure I’m heading to a ‘life of significance,’ rather than a collection of enjoyable but insignificant noticings, and, my keyboard isn’t happy with the idea of producing yet another accented character.
So… rambler!

These images are from my most recent visit, a trip that was somewhat focused on Art Nouveau architecture, and which therefore sent me into 16e and 17e arrondissements, posher than my usual haunts, and seemingly quieter with fewer cars and pedestrians than I’m used to.
I arrived in Paris just after the Olympics ended—at the airport, I passed numbers of teams waiting to leave with their heaps of luggage and equipment. I’ve watched Paris in August seem less deserted each visit over the past 30 years, but the Olympics may have helped reverse the trend, at least for a moment. And perhaps posher parts have always been more deserted.
Paris obviously has quite a lot of Art Nouveau architecture; it’s where the term was applied to the style that spread across Europe in the few decades before World War I and was home to some of the leading practitioners. What I hadn’t noticed before was the care with which they affixed their names (and sometimes those of sculptors they worked with) to the facades of buildings.
Nor was I aware before that for several years the city conducted a search for the best facades of the year; the first-year winner was Hector Guimard himself, for Castel Deranger.
With each trip, there are changes to be noted: The sign above is a reminder that the Metro no longer sells the discount bundles of small cardboard tickets that came 10 to a ‘carnet.’ And now, the ticket itself will disappear at the end of this year, largely replaced by passes and by storing tickets on a phone or card.
Change is not all one-way: The new carousel, above, at the Jules Joffrin Metro station near my usual apartment may not be quite as charming as the one that was there for many years, but it’s certainly an improvement over the sad and temporary one that replaced it for a while.
Another welcome change: after suspiciously-long years of renovation, the Stravinsky Fountain, with its amazing animated characters—and that includes the youngsters playing along its shore— has returned to life.
Another institution on its way back—though not yet ready last summer—is Notre Dame. Even before it was ready for visitors, its site and reconstruction had become an attraction, complete with a viewing stand looking across the plaza. And the building itself has been scrubbed cleaner than it has been in, probably, centuries. Certainly cleaner than after its cleaning about twenty years ago.
On a perhaps less serious note, an American company is apparently trying to force its way into attention in a city where its rival Dunkin is well-established. Here are two ads, one with a bizarre visual pun, and the other playing on the long regional dispute over whether the pastry we know best as pain au chocolat is really a chocolatine. KrispyKreme proclaims “End of the debate.”
Each of the signs, by the way, carries a required line at the bottom from mangerbouger.fr, the official French nutrition and health site. One says: “For your health eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day,” and the other advises “For your health, avoid eating between meals.” When I first read those, I thought it was ironic humor by the donut folks; only later I found it’s the food equivalent of the Surgeon General’s warning.
A troupe of the very young, above, on their way near the Centre Pompidou; a rigged-together ‘truck’ of sorts, using an e-bike rental for power and a bird waiting to cross the street.
Metro with music this morning…
And a Metro butterfly… one of the last two originals of this type designed by Hector Guimard. Below that, Guimard’s own house on Avenue Mozart, designed to house his architecture firm, his wife’s painting studios and receptions rooms. To save space (the building is actually on a triangular lot) Guimard installed an elevator, but no main staircase.
A couple of pieces of trompe l’oeil—one a permanent artwork, the other covering part of the St Lazare railway station…
Near the Gare St Lazare, Printemps, one of the ‘grands magasins’ department stores on Boulevard Haussmann. This is one of my favorites.
I believe there’s a law that forbids writing about Paris without including the Eiffel Tower at least once, so here it is, peeking above the rooftops of the Rue de Grenelle, not far from the Rue Amelie intersection.
If you’ll forgive me for including one of my favorite churches again—St Eustache—I’ll point your attention to the unusual load carried by the truck at bottom right.
And now a few sculptural details to finish up. The building below was designed as a pump house for the Fontaine-de-la-Croix-du-Trahoir at its base; the architect was Jacques-Germaine Soufflot, better known as the architect of the Pantheon. He decorated the joints to appear as if water was pouring from the sides of the building as well as through the fearsomely-faced fountain .
And last, but not least, and in the spirit of The New Yorker’s cartoon caption contests, I invite you to examine the expressions on the faces below, and the object at their feet, and send in your idea of what one or more of them might be saying. No prize, but best answers will be published! The statue, by the way, is from the St Pierre de Chaillot church.
For TravelGumbo’s Art Nouveau posts, including recent ones on the Paris work of Hector Guimard and Jules Lavirotte, click HERE
Paris is such a beautiful city. Your photos made me feel like I was back again!
Thank you! I love walking in almost any city I visit, but Paris is the one that pulls me back, again and again!
Thanks! I love city walking tours