Is there anything more beautiful than the bridges over the Seine? This one is Le Pont Marie and I took this photo yesterday evening from Le Pont Louis-Philippe right when a Bateau Mouche was passing underneath it (you can see the additional light coming from the boat). Le Pont Marie (named after its architect, Christophe Marie) is very old ; it was built between 1614 and 1635 and at that time several houses could be found on it. A huge flood destroyed 2 arches in 1658 and several houses - and inhabitants! - were taken away by the river... They decided not to rebuild the houses when they fixed the bridge...
Beautiful! I love the light on the river and the ghost of a building in the distance.
ReplyDeleteBravo!
Mais non, Eric, there is nothing more beautiful than the bridges over the Seine. I love the golden water and the light on the grandure of the buildings of Ile St. Louis.
ReplyDeleteI was on Pont Marie and Ile St. Louis just two days ago to say au revoir to Paris after a wonderful week there.
Suzy, I thought of you when I looked out our apartment window at night. There was a view of the Eiffel Tower!
What a beautiful bridge! Thanks for this nice picture. I love the treatment of the lights, not to mention the mesmerizing history...
ReplyDeleteSee Suzy, I told you people would thnk of you when they would look at the Eiffel Tower! And then there is Eric...he is everywhere when you see something that will remind you of one of his photos.
ReplyDeleteI think Pont Marie is near Chez Julien which the Costes Brothers bought from my casual friend Luigi. The setting is dreamy as you can see, but the food isn't.
I asked Thib if he ever gets tired of the of the same views, and he said no, and that he would take a longer route for the more scenic ride. Don't we all wish we could say that about our cities.I love Paris in the Springtime, I love Paris in the fall, I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles,........
Phx, I'm with you --
ReplyDeleteI've been in love with the ET for 50 years, and yet now somehow Suzy comes to mind whenever I think of it!
Great photo, comme toujours, Eric! Je connais bien le Pont Marie.
Pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photo! Love the golden ripples in the water. Mood-evoking....
ReplyDeleteDirecting the boat to be just...there, was a stroke of genius.
ReplyDeleteMais oui! on the stroke of genius part, uselaine. I have to agree with you, Eric, that there are few things more beautiful than this picture. (Maybe the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night would top it, just maybe)
ReplyDeleteIt makes me think of the movie, Charade, with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. I'll probably have to watch that movie again very soon now!! :) Thanks, Eric!
Bridges look great at night all lit up.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo. Makes me wish I were there.
ReplyDeleteChristie -- oh yeah, Charade—I love that movie! Remember the guy in the nightclub, who does his routine in several languages? His name is Monty Landis. I met him originally here in NY, and he was one of the people who convinced me to move to Paris back when.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to watch that movie again very soon too!
Well that's pretty gorgeous. I will try and top it when I am there next week, Hopefully with no rain to speak of. Yeah right!!!
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I really love this photo!! I have spent many a November in Paris and this looks like it was taken right out of my memory file! I feel like I am right there, looking at the Seine...watching the Bateau Mouche glide under Le Pont Marie! Sigh...!! I could go to SFO right this minute and get on a plane!! Ohhh..I just woke up!! Soon I hope!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAS promised, Eric, here's my email:
ReplyDeleteCarrie.12345@yahoo.com. Write one, write all!!
What a lovely golden color - romantic and subdued. Yes, the river and the bridges just sail right into everyone's heart. My friend said: "I want to see the Seine before I go...."
We must have walked right behind you as you took the photo, Eric - your face hidden by the camera. We had dinner (salad with wonderful cheese on small tiles of gingerbread sliced thin and a honey glaze on top) on the Ile St. Louis. T
Then she had me take her on another forced march thruough the streets of the 4th, teeming with Saturday night revelers, so she wouldn't pass out from jet lag at the classical concert we had planned to go to at St Merry's Church, a lovely gothic stone and wood gem just down from the Centre Pompidou that's festooned with art and clearly big on community support.
We walked past BHV with lights aglow for Christmas and looked at its windows - The Legends of Christmas - that had a Unicorn and a Dragon in each - I have to find out what these legends are, because I was no help to my friend in explaining them! Anyone who can help me with the Unicorn & Dragon - let me know!!! : )
Lovely..and Eric thanks for the history lesson on the bridge. Another piece to add to my Paris collection Glad you're well enough to be out and about!
ReplyDeleteOooh houses on it, like London Bridge of old! I'm so interested in that idea. Gorgeous shot Eric.
ReplyDeleteAre you feeling better, dear Eric?
UKLynn,I am facinated by that too!!! In Hogarth's Marriage a la mode, in the last picture, Hogarth painted the London Bridge of old with all the houses on it, and even a severed head on a pole on one end to remind people of the dire consequences of being on the wrong side of the law. Most bridges of old had houses on them, and Ponte Vecchio in Florence is a last vestage of that fashion.
ReplyDeleteBloggers: Look back on what everyone wrote today. It is a poem to the romance of Paris. iT'S LOVELY. We all have stars in our eyes todaY!!!!
Beautiful! A tad too bright to be romantic, but beautiful nonetheless. ;)
ReplyDeletePhx that's so interesting. It used to be a popular place for suicides too, since accessibility, through the houses was easy. There was even a specific morgue sited beneath the London bridge, because there were so many bodies washed up there, there had to be a holding place until relatives could come to collect them, or for funereal officers to attend if the family could afford. The whole thing is FAScinating I think.
ReplyDeleteNo there´s nothing more beautiful than the bridges over the Seine. Well, there is the Eiffel Tower, and Montmartre, and Notre Dame all lit up at night... I could go on and on...!
ReplyDeleteEric didn´t know you were not feeling good. hope you´re better by now.
PHX I was "singing" that tune (I love Paris in the summer...) here at PDP just the other day, a few posts ago.
I think Pont des Gards, in the south of France, near Avignon, used to hve houses on it too, didn´t it?
You see, if there were wasn´t any other reason to go to PAris or re-visit it, just taking a look at this beautiful bridge at night like that would be more than worth it!!!!
Hi Rose! DIdn´t have the chance to ask before how was the halloween party? If you´re around and if you read this, beijinhos!
ReplyDeleteDear Guille I know you´re working and studying too hard lately, hope you were able to get some rest this weekend. I had to work for 11 hours yesterday so you see what I mean when I say I have no time to sleep these days!
Lynn what about you, did you see the film Piaf already? Did you enjoy the songs from Amélie Poulain?!
ReplyDeleteI know you´re working hard too..!
beautiful man!
ReplyDeleteThis is going into my favorites. Another heart-tugger.
ReplyDeleteYes Monica I'm pretty busy! I loved the songs thank you. No, I haven't seen Piaf. Groan. I wish. I shall have to fit it in at some point. Glad work is busy for you too x
ReplyDeleteIt was worth waiting after the commercial break! This is just a sublime shot. Nothing is more peaceful than a bridge over the Seine at night.
ReplyDeleteHave a very nice week back to work.
Thanks,Lynn!!!
ReplyDeleteRomantic without being cheesy. The light trails are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful color with a very calm mood. And when you click onto it to enlarge it, it's awesome!
ReplyDeleteLook out folks, two entries in one day! Here's what you miss when you decide it'll be a lighter load to leave your camera at home.
ReplyDeleteI took my friend to catch her early morning train and arrived inside the Gare du Nord by metro. I dropped her and went to see this famous facade for the first time. No photo - even tho there are many of them, and I could picture a steam engine crashed through the front window, somehow your own brings back your own moment.
So, I walked home from there and missed having these photos: the Gare de l'Est; the Sunday morning peace in the streets; the St. Martin Canal sand bargeman in earnest conversation with the locksman; the old man standing on the overarching bridge alone watching the boat go thru below him; the boatman's shoes below me, left in a coil of line that echoed the arcs the pilot made in the water as he rounded the bend just above a dim, empty, chairs-on-the-tables, Hotel du Nord, where Arletty famously let loose, and just in front of a wood and brass fronted bar named "Atmosphere Atmosphere Atmosphere"; loads of street art; and quiet Sunday morning walkers in meditation.
So....later I took my camera!
Last night's revelers were in bed as I walked past the fun and colorful Stravinsky fountain (the poubelle man seems already gone from the Pompidou pipes!) and the Fountain of the Innocents marking where many died. Next, the Bourse that Eric brought us and its neighbor the Bank of France - a mammoth building, I walked north and west on Rue Reamur which seemed to be part of the fashion district and was crossed by the very busy walk street, Rue Montorgueil.
Then the best part -- getting lost (!) I wandered into a square (Victoire) with a huge stature of Louis XVIII and later into a little place with a huge memorial to Moliere, on a street with the most ornate arabic doorways. Finally getting my bearings, I ended up hearing classical music and rounding a corner came upon a statue of what looked like a dancing fairy (still don't know who she is!) right next to the Comedie Francaise and watched as a tiny child who could barely walk stood transfixed by twenty musicians.
The Gardens of the Palais Royale gave me a chance to rest my feet and then it was off to the Museum of Decorative Arts. As the afternoon waned I walked the Tuileries and came to the Place de la Concorde, followed by a trip to the Grand Palais to try to see the Picasso and the Masters exhibit -- but just as in Los Angeles, it was a 3 hour wait to get in.
So, off to St Paul's to the very inviting Maison Europeen de la Photographie where Sabine Weiss's photos of Parisians in the 40s thru the 80s gave me smiles and chills.
Having had a chocolate to fortify me I headed back to the Place de la Concorde and walked to the Madeleine Church(Too bad La Duree was closed - I'll have to go back!) There was a mass in French being celebrated and as I left I wandered a few blocks away and heard singing (Russian?). I came upon a crowd flowing out the doors of another church, kneeling and standing on the front steps of the church. I never found out if it was a special service, but it was a traveler's moment for me. Their quiet piety contrasted with the John Galliano's shop across the street which blared fashionista color and flashed video images. A last stop at the Place Vendome, awaiting tomorrow's crowds, and then home to PDP. (And I got a few good photos along the way.....!)
Monica,
ReplyDeleteMonica,
ReplyDeleteMonica,
ReplyDeleteBlogger is playing games and refuses to register my comment.
The Pont du Gard, if this is the bridge you are referring to, was a Roman aqueduct. It's top gallery was too narrow to have any kind of house on top of it.
Carrie, your comments illustrate the magic of Paris. Keep 'em coming. I'm mesmerized.
ReplyDeleteThe bateux boats say that it is tradition to kiss your lover as you pass beneath the Marie Pont. Any excuse in Paris, to accomodate tradition, is wonderful,
ReplyDeleteCarrie, I think you need your own blog! So many interesting stories to tell. I would love to see accompanying photos.
ReplyDeleteScooter, I'm tickled pink that I am thought of when you look at the ET. I hope it's a good thought and I haven't ruined it for you! Too bad I can't be looking out that apartment window with you. Well, not in that sense, but you know what I mean!
Carrie, tsk, tsk, tsk... NEVER leave your camera at home! ;)
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