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France encore

By Carl Fisher

July 13^th, 2024

Paris transit

I made it back to the big city after a little time in the countryside and was a little frustrated with the subway. It was the second time that I had an annoyance with the Metro. I bought a ticket into Paris from Versailles and was expecting to exit without incident. Think again. For some reason I was denied exit at the gate saying my ticket was invalid. Ok. But there were no instructions on what to do. I pressed the little intercom box and was assured that someone would respond shortly. After ten minutes, I was not convinced of this. What was extra frustrating was that I had gone up an escalator with my bags and there was no down from this spot. It was either exit through the gate or what? Here’s an idea. Allow one to add value to their ticket so that they could exit without having to wait for someone to assist. Fortunately, some kind woman intuitive my predicament and let me slip in front of her after activating the gate with her pass. Angels do exist.

Makes me wish I brought a bottle to join in.

Musique

It was good timing that I was there in time for Festival de Musique, which seemed to bring out almost everyone in Paris and then some into the streets. Folks were in a festive mood and were generally well behaved. All except for the place a few doors down from where I was staying which decided that 1 AM was far too early and had the music pumping till 2. Who needs to sleep while on vacation anyways ;-).

The party’s just started. Would have been nice to hang out for longer, but I had a rendez vous elsewhere.

This pic doesn’t really capture the energy. It was a pretty full night, even with a few sprinkles.

Call of the streets

In one of my previous visits to Paris, I went on a street art tour in the Belleville neighborhood. This time I figured “I don’t need no guide to hit the streets” and did just that. It didn’t take me much wandering to hit the motherlode. As expected, much had changed in the last 4+ years, which made for plentiful photo ops. When things are so dense, it’s hard to do justice to the place, but I did my best.

The pause that refreshes. A little artisanal cider.

Not a fan of tagging, but do like some of the lower stuff.

More streets

I had arranged for a guided tour before I got to Paris with the expectation that I would be taken to areas that I had not yet been exposed to. Thankfully, that turned out to be the case. I was expecting to join a group of fellow enthusiasts and was concerned about arriving late to Place D’ Italie, thinking they might head out without me. I needn’t have worried because it was just me and the guide. A private tour for the group price :-). My Guide was thetmotou who had apparently been doing stenciling since the 80’s. He doesn’t do it any longer (at least I don’t think so), but he continues to have an appreciation for it and continues to spread the love.

A little on the basic side but message delivered just the same.

Multitudinous

One of the takeaways of my tour was that I had a better appreciation for the many forms that expression can take. Chalk, hand crafted tiles, mirror fragments, stencils, spray paint, aluminum cans… It was a lot to take in. Good to know there will likely be plenty more fresh stuff to discover on my next visit.

The Motou man himself capturing something new.

Wanderer

After my tour I hit a few more places off the beaten path.

That’s a wrap

It was another great visit to the City of light. Some folks aren’t all that impressed by the place, but I always seem to find something that makes me want to return. I only scratch the surface while I’m there. And it doesn’t hurt that I have friends there who can be depended upon to make sure I’m entertained (as much as a I want to be ;-)).