One of the things I like to do in a new place is pay attention to infrastructure.  Things like bridges, city systems...the 'back end' of what makes a city work.  I wansn't prepared for the huge size of Paris, and though my photos are mostly of the beautiful parts, much of the city - especially in the neighborhood where I was staying was crazy, dirty, full of loud people and cheap convenience stores. I wanted to experience that reality, and not just the tourist side of life in Paris.

Trash cans everywhere declare "Vigilance!"  "Propriety!"  Which is the best way I can translate what they are reminding the citizens of (third photo down).  I'm not sure what the signage in the second photo is explaining -  perhaps that means a lovely walk with a child awaits!  :)  The graffitti was particularly interesting in much of the city.

The last two photos in this set were to show how many people are swarming about.  For some reason, almost all of my shots don't include many people, but they were everywhere.  The second to last photo is at the end of one of the enormous boulevards I talk about in my next post, and the last is the hill of Montmartre, famous for being the highest point in Paris, and it was a short walk from my apartment through one of the craziest and dirtiest neighborhoods I experienced in Paris.

If I took any design lessons away from my visit, I would say the French from the 1600's through the early 20th Century were masters of drama and scale. 

For example, the central part of the city, as redesigned by Napoloeon, has massive, massive streets - huge concourses that stretch for a mile or more and end in a monument (such as the Arc de Triomphe, third photo down).   The reasoning behind Napoleon's design decisions (and the French royalty before him) was to increase the average person's sense of smallness and awe at the grandeur around them.  It is exhausting to walk along one of those giant streets, the scale is superhuman and it plays tricks on your perceptions of how far away things really are. 

Another example that I saw everywhere were enormous staircases, enormous sculptures, and enormous urns.  You can't swing a dead cat in Paris without hitting an enormous urn!  :)

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 There was a small cathedral somewhere near the center of Paris, and I can't remember its name, but it was emotionally thrilling to be in that space.  The way the arches soar overhead, and create such drama that really can't be explained in a photograph.  It has to be experienced.  I'm so lucky I got that experience. 

Speaking of spaces, the apartment I stayed in is in the photos below.  It was a beautiful space in one of the thousands of apartment buildings that Napoleon had built in the 1800's and were designed by Baron Hausmann (he wasn't really a Baron, but that's another story).  Hausmann's architecture defines Paris - 6 story apartment buildings with a particular size of window that always looks out onto a small balcony.   Those tall windows are all double french doors, and the way they are designed lets in a ton of light and air.  Really great design from the 1800's.  You can see the facades of these apartment buildings lining a typical Parisian street in the last photo.

One of the bridges crossing the Seine.  The custom is to declare your love, then write your names in permanent marker on a lock, then attach the lock to the bridge and throw the key into the river.

Versailles palace garden section - just one tiny section (tiny) compared with the entire place.  It is several square miles of endless formal gardens.  I was in heaven, of course!

The city of Paris trucks in tons of sand every summer for what they call "Paris Plages" or "Paris Beaches" so that the citizens can lounge at the beach next to the river.  Below is a photo from a rooftop of a portion of the city.  One of my favorite things is Paris was the color of the sky, that particular blue is so soft and beautiful.