Time Traveling In Paris

One of the most amazing aspects of Paris is its contrast of ancient and modern.  You can go anywhere in this city and see buildings or statues from different centuries right next to each other.  One of my favorite little parks in Paris is located right outside Shakespeare and Company.  I normally go over to St. Michel and get a cone of gelato at Amorino and sit in the park and look up at the Notre Dame.  When I think of historical figures in Paris this is usually the first place I think of, this and Sacre Coeur.  It is a very surreal feeling so be next to something with so much history and so renowned across the world.  It’s incredible that a building of that stature has become something normal in my everyday life. Now that I think about it I think I do see the Notre Dame almost every day, I can see it from all of the usual places I visit, and it has become second nature to have this icon in the background of my life while living here. 

When we were giving tours of the city to Holly we went over to La Defense one day.  When I think of where the most modern contrasting buildings in Paris are located, La Defense is definitely the place.  It was a completely different world over there with no Haussmanian architecture at all.  I felt as if I had gone to the future.  It was different than just a city with tall buildings, it wasn’t like Los Angeles or New York City.  The architecture was still very different and abstract and very modern.  There is an abundance of modern art sculptures throughout that area, completely opposite of the ancient artwork inside the Louvre or Musee D’Orsay.  

One place that contrasts old and new that I do see every day is my apartment.  I am living inside a fairly modern apartment with very clean lines and when I look outside my window I can see the Viaduct.  This used to be a railway line that ran in the 1800s and it has now been transformed into Promenade Plantee that is covered in foliage and the location of some of my morning runs.  

The city is full of modern and ancient, but I prefer the ancient because it is the history of Paris that attracts so many people to come here and it’s what makes Paris so unique and distinguishable.