God bless Phil Lynott and Gary Moore for writing that tune. I had it humming round my head last week as I found myself unexpectedly footsore in Paris.
Unfortunately I arrived just as the French decided en-masse to go on strike. The Paris metro was running about one train in seven on some lines and on others, nothing at all. Taxis were scarce. You couldn’t book one, all the ranks had queues at them longer than the ones outside Northern Rock. Trying to hail one was evidently not working - as witnessed by the number of people literally running out in front of them waving money…..
So, I had to get round on foot….
Luckily the weather was great all week. Warm winter sunlight. Harsh yet soft. There’s a certain quality of light in France you don’t get anywhere else. I was tempted, albeit briefly, to rent a Velib and cycle my way round. But the reports are true. Paris traffic is at best fast and at worst chaotic. Most of the roads are occupied by a mix of cars and scooters who dart in and out of each other like there’s no tomorrow. I saw many a brave cyclist and wondered if they had a death-wish. Its was certainly not for me - last time I rode a bike without an engine was 1977…
The upshot of all this walking though was to drink in the atmosphere of such a wonderful city. The architecture is stunning, the food magnificent and the beer - expensive…
Still, I shot a load of images on my trip and when I get chance I’ll add a gallery of the images to the site.
Until then here’s a quick couple of shots I really like:
Until later…
J
Update: I’ve added larger versions of these and others from Paris in the “buildings” and “structures” galleries on my website portfolio
