OK. Lets get the facts out of the way, real fast. Paris: the capital of France, a city of over 2 million people, on the River Seine, at the centre of the Ile-de-France, the region which is home to 10 million folk. Oh, and plus one: me; the keen tourist.
The Paris conquered by the Romans n 55BC was a small flood-prone fishing village on the Ile de la Cité, inhabited by the Parisii tribe. A Roman settlement soon flourished and spread on to the Rivé Gauche of the Seine. The Franks succeeded the Romans, named the city Paris and made it the centre of their kingdom.
Paris in Winter-Hôtel de Ville (The Town Hall). D3000 f/6.3; Exposure 1/200sec; ISO-100. Aperture Priority
17th Century France was the place to be, epitomized by the glittering extravagance of Louis XIV – the Sun King – and his court in Versailles. Paris’ first newspaper La Gazette was launched in 1631, and 7 years later Louis XIV was born.
150 years later and the Montgolfier brothres make the first hot-air balloon ascent.
Paris in Winter. D3000 f/6.3; Exposure 1/160sec; ISO-100. Aperture Priority
But not was all enlightenment and scientific reasoning, for most Parisians were living in squalor and poverty as they had since the Middle Ages. Rising inflation and opposition to Louis XIV culminated in the storming of the Bastille, the king’s prison, in 1789. The Republic was founded 3 years later. Oh and that very same year, the Guillotine was used for the first time: April 1792.
Paris in Winter. D3000 f/5; Exposure 1/80sec; ISO-100. Aperture Priority
Intelligent, gutsy, well-connected opportunists see chance and grab it. During the instability of the new post-Revolution government a brilliant general named Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and in 1799 he installed himself in the Tuileries Palace as First Consul. He crowned himself Emporor in May 1804.
What Bonaparte brought to France was reform: centralized administration, a code of laws, a system of education, and set out, with great success, to make Paris the most beautiful city in the world. However his power was always to be fragile as it was dependent on incessant wars. The inevitable occurred: Bonaparte was defeated in Waterloo and died in exile in 1821.
Paris in Winter. D3000 f/5; Exposure 1/800sec; ISO-100. Aperture Priority
Peace came, as it always does, in 1871, and with it a life transformed: the motor-car, aeroplane, cinema, telephone, gramaphone and a cabaret-club scene all contributed to the enjoyment of life and the Belle Epoch – or beautiful age.
A new style emerged from this energy: Art Nouveau. Buildings became decorated and objects became desired. Impressionist painter Renoir captured the joie de vivre of the times. In 1889 the Eiffel Tower was built, and in 1895 the Lumière brothers introduced cinematography.
Paris in Winter. D3000 f/6.3 Exposure 1/125sec; ISO-100. Aperture Priority
From 1920-1940 Paris was a mecca for artists, musicians, writers and film-makers. Who else but Simone de Beauvoir would fight for the liberation of women? She did so from Paris, in the 1950s and as the life-long companion of Jean-Paul Sartre. What a gal.
As for me? I fought hard to get a turn on this merry-go-round. French kids fight back. But I won!
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