Parisian Ambience

I’ve written before about my love affair with the city of Paris.  It’s beautiful, but there is something about the character of the city that is a unique mix of warmth and coolness, simultaneously.  It stimulates me and relaxes me to be there.  It matches my occasionally melancholic mood.

A few weeks ago, I spent a week in the city with no obligations.  There were no tours to guide, or meetings to attend.  I had the freedom to wander the  streets each afternoon and evening.  I was with a friend and we stayed in the Bastille neighborhood, an area I had never had an opportunity to truly explore in the years that I’ve been coming to Paris.  We walked up to the Marais  neighborhood, and get lost in its narrow streets lined with brown stone buildings.  The cafes  full of people, huddled together to keep warm, sipping tiny cups of coffee and large glasses of wine.  It’s a luxury for me to not have to ensure that the people I’m with see all of the “important sights” and are having a good time.  When I’m traveling on my own I can soak up the world around me.

On this trip, though, as I walked, I fell in love with Paris all over again.  The last few months have not been particularly good ones for me.  Stress from work and life, and a few disappointments had taken their toll.  I needed to get a way for a while and Paris called.

Before I left I determined that I wanted to make a short video about my Paris – they way I was seeing Paris and feeling Paris on this particular trip.  I wanted to create something that was beautiful, dirty, mysterious, old, new, and little bit sad all at the same time.  It needed to be a contradiction and yet work together.  For the entire week that I was there, I carried around a video camera with me, taking snippets of images that struck me for any number of reasons.  A little editing, a little music, and the video that sums up my Paris came together.

Check out the video below.  I’d love to hear from you.  Tell me about your Paris.  If not Paris, where do you go to when it’s time to recharge your batteries after life has left you drained?