Paris

Ah, Paris!!

My flight to the U.S. stopped for four hours in Paris – more than enough time to grab a train into the city and have a look around.

I lived there for a year, back during my "I disdain photography" phase. I've come to view my behavior at that time as bordering on criminal: In a year spent living in the world's most photogenic city, I took not one single photograph. Honestly, I could just shoot myself.

So I resolved to make up for that lost year in 30 minutes. Here are the results.

My first view upon crawling out of the subway:



I can't describe how happy I was at this sight. Senses blooming, heart filling with joy; you know, that sort of thing.



I never realized it before, but there's an Archaelogical Crypt underneath Notre Dame. I'm sure the torches and hieroglyphs and skeletons dangling from rusty wall chains would have made for a great photo. But the crypt was locked.



A closer look at the stonework of Notre Dame. Those medieval masons did a pretty good job, I would say. But beyond the technical skill, what impresses me the most is that those dudes – literally from 1,000 years ago – seemed to share our modern sense of hipster style.



For example, this little scene is interesting: Why is the one guy looking in a different direction than all the rest? It's just like the cover of that Beatles album where one of the guys is out of step with the others. You know what I'm talking about.

Also, check out the naked baby riding the horse above Saint #4.

Another example might be this funky mama, who wouldn't look out of place on a fashion runway next spring in Milan.




I was reading this concert billboard when I glanced up at the statues above. The nearest little guy seemed to be looking directly at me, like he had just turned and seen me standing down there and was not entirely happy about it. It creeped me out.


These gargoyles were actually intended as water runoff spouts. Why wouldn’t that work on modern buildings? It seems a bit more awesome than our current system.


I love when they fix these old things.


This guy is about to bust out the thumbs-up sign.


Peace out.