If you've been annoyed by the lack of posts in the past 10 days, it's because I've been in Paris doing a bit of urban exploring. But now I'm back and I'd like to share some of my experiences with you. (Also, all the photos in this post are straight from my camera)
You may or may not remember my post about a little thing called Drift Deck. It's sort of a puzzle/guide for people like myself who love exploring cities. The cards are based around the theory of Dérive, a philosophy that strips you of your societal shackles and allows you to find a deeper connection with an urban environment.
I used these cards and an open mind to discover Paris. Not in any kind of beatnik Jack Kerouac way, but just as a person who is new to a city and wants to look beneath the tourist attractions to see how it really ticks. The first thing I'll say about Paris is that for the most part, it's a labyrinth. Unlike the organized and familiar grid of Manhattan, Paris's streets seem to have been laid out by random chance. Maps are little help to newcomers like myself because there are not clear directional markers. But while this makes tourism difficult, it makes exploration a dream come true. When you're trying to get a feel for how a city really works, it's best not to have any point of reference or sense of direction. When I really needed to get somewhere specific, I took the Metro (Paris's subway system) but during my free time, I let Drift Deck take the wheel.
One of the things I noticed in Paris is that you are never without art. From the Louvre to back alleys, the Parisians can't stop making their city beautiful. Even in the tunnels of the Metro, every square inch is covered with amazing graffiti and street art. Walking down the street, you're surrounded by some of the world's most beautiful architecture, which is where I guess I can offer the most insight.
In most cities, people build over old architecture either by remodeling or just knocking it down. In Manhattan, almost everything is fairly modern, with little glimpses of the original city peeking through the cracks. But in Paris, classic architecture remains the star of the show. There, it is the modern that is cast into the background, because it seems that no one is either capable or willing to compete with the old masters. Usually, it seems out of place.
Take the Montparnasse Tower (above) for example. When it was built in the late 80's, Parisians felt that the boring but massive office tower located within a mile of the Eiffel Tower was so destructive to the skyline that they passed laws prohibiting new high-rise construction anywhere but La Defense, Paris's "downtown suburb".
When a whale dies, its body floats down to the deep sea floor. There, its carcass creates a brand new habitat for crabs, monkfish, and bacteria. They make a new civilization within the decaying bones of a former giant. Parisians have done the same, except they are by no means parasites. The city grew in a very logical way. The original city was walled, and as it expanded, each generation knocked down the previous wall and constructed a new one. The current "wall" is said to be the Peripherique highway which rings the now massive city. Paris has evolved as a spiral, with the oldest in the center and the newest around the periphery. In most American cities, poverty is highest near the center of a city. Paris is the opposite, with the poorest communities forced to the outer ring because of high property values in the center. If you start in the center and move in a spiral, you will pass through several distinct architectural periods: Medieval Roman, Renaissance, neo-classic, Baroque, Rococo, Consulate, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Post-war, and Contemporary.
But your best bet is doing what I did and sticking to the Opera Garnier area on foot, where all of these styles mix together into a wonderful and intricate inner city. This is also where neo-classicism, my personal favorite of the Parisian styles lives. If you stop an look at even the most commonplace apartment building, you'll see the intricate detail that classic architects put into each of their works. Though they're generally a bit worn, the complex moldings below each window are still visible. The paint is a bit faded, but modern additions bring back the once vibrant colors. Parisians have built their modern lives not on top of these stunning classics, but within them.
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