Prima mea intalnire cu Parisul s-a intamplat mai demult si la intensitate maxima. Eram copil, abia incepusem sa merg la scoala si am ajuns dintr-o Românie comunista, terna si speriata, intr-o zi de decembrie la Paris. Ningea, era cu cateva zile inainte de Craciun si peste tot era lumina, veselie, sarbatoare, erau multe culori si mirosea frumos. Oh, atat de frumos… A parfum, cadouri si libertate. Si auzeam in jur o melodie, de fapt, erau cuvintele pe care le rosteau parizienii, pe care nu le intelegeam, dar mi-au ramas in minte ca un cantec, cu o melodicitate aparte, care a fost impulsul sa invat ulterior limba franceza. Dar despre aceasta aventura a copilariei va voi povesti altadata. Acum va invit doar intr-o plimbare de zi de vara, prin Paris, cateva decade mai tarziu, adica in iulie 2019.
Escapada franceza a fost pentru Vallée Loire, iar cu Parisul m-am reintalnit atunci pentru a patra oara din copilarie, intr-o zi de inceput de iulie, cand am umblat pe strazi aparent fara tinta, dar cu cateva repere de demult in minte. Iata cum arata o zi de vara pana-n seara in cateva fraze si vreo 30 de imagini.
Am inceput plimbarea din apropiere de catedrala Notre Dame, inca santier in reconstructie dupa incendiul devastator de acum cativa ani, pe care am salutat-o doar inconjurand-o rapid, neintelegand grupul de turisti asiatici adunati gramada in spatele catedralei, care fotografiau asiduu o cladire suferinda. Mentalitati diferite? Cu siguranta. Valori diferite si perceptie culturala diferita? Oh, da.
M-am afundat pe stradutele din jur, unde am dat peste bistro-uri pitoresti, precum Au Vieux Paris si Au Bougnat, bistro français fondée en 1949, care serveste un boeuf bourguignon delicios si un café gourmand cu crème brûlée savuros, indreptandu-ma apoi spre Quartier Saint Germain.
Pauza de pranz pe iarba verde in Jardin du Luxembourg, cu multe amintiri si porumbei galagiosi, apoi din nou la drum.
Am ajuns in Jardin des Tuileries, unde prosoapele lasate pe scaune erau urme ale scaldatului interzis in fantanile arteziene dar oarecum trecut cu vederea, si unde roata imensa a caruselului mi s-a parut ca nuca-n perete, desi inteleg cumva ratiunea de urban entertainment, apoi, prin Place de la Concorde am asistat, en passant, la un photo shoot pentru o revista de moda. Am continuat spre Montmartre, cu metroul pana la Moulin Rouge, mai putin stralucitor en pleine jour, dar iconic, totusi. Urcand catre Sacré-Coeur pe stradute, drumul e presarat din plin cu bistro-uri si boutiques vintage, dar si magazinase cu tricouri si bazaconii turistice.
A fost prea putin si prea scurta incursiunea mea pariziana de aceasta data, insa m-am bucurat ca orasul era liber, in ritmul unei zile obisnuite de lucru din timpul saptamanii, inainte de vacanta de 14 iulie. Un Paris autentic, fascinant si irezistibil, cu tot ce presupune asta in prezent, chiar daca amintirile nu se mai suprapun in intregime, insa asa arata realitatea.
Va urma.
English translated story:
My first meeting with Paris happened earlier, longtime ago and at maximum intensity. I was a child, I had just started going to school and I arrived from a communist Romania, dull and scared, one December day in Paris. It was snowing, it was a few days before Christmas and everywhere there was light, joy, celebration, colors and it smelled beautiful. Oh, so beautiful… Scent of perfume, gifts and freedom. And I heard a song all around, in fact, it was the words that the Parisians were saying, that I didn’t understand, but they remained in my mind like music, with a special melody, which was the impulse to learn French later. But I’ll tell you about this childhood adventure another time. Now I invite you only for a summer day walk through Paris, a few decades later, in July 2019.
This French getaway was for the Loire Valley, and I met Paris again for the fourth time since childhood, on a day in early July, when I walked the streets seemingly aimlessly, but with a few landmarks long in mind. Here is how a summer day looks like in a few sentences and 30 images.
I started walking near Notre Dame Cathedral, still under construction after the devastating fire a few years ago, which I greeted only by surrounding it quickly and did not photograph it out of respect for its greatness, not understanding the group of Americans and Asians gathered behind the building, who assiduously photographed a suffering building. Different mentalities? Surely. Different values and different cultural perception? Oh yes.
I went into the surrounding streets, where I came across picturesque bistros such as Au Vieux Paris and Au Bougnat, a French bistro founded in 1949, which serves a delicious boeuf bourguignon and a gourmet café with tasty crème brûlée, directing me then to the Saint Germain district.
Lunch break on the green grass in the Jardin du Luxembourg, with many memories and noisy pigeons, then back on the road.
I arrived at the Jardin Tuileries, where the towels left on the chairs were traces of forbidden bathing in the artesian wells but somewhat overlooked, and where the huge wheel of the carousel seemed like a nut in the wall, although I somehow understand the reason for urban entertainment. Through Place de la Concorde I witnessed, by the way, a photo shoot for a fashion magazine. Continued to Montmartre, by metro until the Moulin Rouge station, less bright en pleine jour, but iconic, nonetheless. Going up to the Sacré-Coeur on the streets, I pretended not to see the multitude of shops with cheap T-shirts and tourist bases, unavoidable but still, too kitsch.
My Parisian foray was too little and too short this time, but I was glad that the city was free, in the rhythm of an ordinary working day during the week, before the July 14th vacation. An authentic and very fascinating Paris, with all that entails at present, even if the memories do not completely overlap, but this is the reality check.
To be continued.
Photo credits: personal archive Ruxandra Chiurtu