Viewing Paris as a street-walker

There are streetwalkers and there are people who walk the streets, which I had the pleasure of doing for the first two weeks of June. Paris is an incredibly walkable city. Of course, it helps if you’re in shape and are wearing comfortable shoes, but getting around is easy on foot or with the help of convenient public transit. During my two-week stay at a writers’ retreat in the Marais district in early June, I employed both public transit and walking but walking the streets is my favourite. Every time I rounded a corner or switched directions at an intersection, I was presented with something new and exciting to explore.

Some of the wonderful sights I saw included café awnings festooned with flowers, an elderly couple making out in a remote corner of Rodin’s garden, a parade in my honour, everyone finally enjoying the freedoms from COVID restrictions, and the onset of beautiful summer weather.

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some pictures of my brief life as a Parisian flâneur:

*Sitting at an outdoor cafe we were entertained by a passing van-load of giant teddy bears. The rear view treated us to a row of ‘bear’ bums! On their way to a picnic, perhaps?*

*This woman displays fairly typical Paris streetwear. Underwear worn as outerwear is popular and underwear proper is optional as evidenced by the lack of pantylines and lots of butt floss.*

This woman sitting in front of me on the bus as we passed Place de Bastille epitomized classic French chic with her quintessential, dark French bob, round glasses and gorgeously saturated wisteria-coloured jacket.

*I missed peony season at home, but they were plentiful in Paris flower markets.*

I spotted this couple in a remote corner of Rodin’s garden and would like to know their backstory. She appears to be somewhat younger than him, but their lovemaking went on for a very long time with him continually stroking her hair and face between kisses. Inspired by Rodin’s sculpture of “The Kiss” I suppose.

Tempting as it was to show you pictures of people sleeping on mattresses on the street within walking distance of high-end designer shops, I figured we all see enough of that every day in our own cities. These pictures are meant to share the positive experiences I had walking the streets in Paris.

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