Vintage Paris in postcards

Paris. I love Paris. And lately it seems as though Paris is everywhere, including amidst the storylines of several books that I have lined up to peruse over the coming weeks. Let's just call this 'The Coincidental Summer of French Reading'! Not that I'm complaining – it has, after all, been nearly a year since my last visit, so there must be something subliminal going on here.

But in addition to visiting this romantic city vicariously through the printed word, my vintage postcard collection appears to only have created space at present for those sporting Parisian photographs taken during the early to mid 20th century. Thank goodness eBay has plenty of these to whet my appetite!

So, I thought I'd share a few of my favourites here.

I love trying to find (or create) a story behind each photograph. Perhaps one day I'll use some of these as inspiration for a novel...?

Click on any postcard to enlarge the image

1900-1910

1900

1900s-1910s

1915

1919

 1920s

1930s

1940s

1940s

1949

1954

1950s-1960s

1950s-1960s

Paris in photographs

I thought I'd share some photos from my four-day trip to Paris last month, seeing as I'm short on time at the moment and can't give you guys a full recap. A lot of these are photos that I have previously posted on Instagram (you can find me as @SoapyCheese if you're on there), with a few regular shots in between. Hope you enjoy!

The Hotel De Lille where I stayed, about a two minute walk from Museé d'Orsay. I would only recommend this place if you want to experience something along the lines of Fawlty Towers!

  

Up ahead in this photo is the café I ate at my first evening in Paris. Oh, and they seem to love Smart Cars there; I saw so many!













The hotel wasn't all bad. In fact, the room was pretty nice. The bathroom had these beautiful Parisian windows which opened up all the way, and a great view.

 
A very gorgeous Parisian building right by the Eiffel Tower.

Authentic French Lavender garden, also by the Eiffel Tower.

No caption needed!

I wanted to go up, but the queue for the elevators was at least two hundred yards long (and no way was I taking the stairs)!

A classic Renault car. I think Marion Cotillard's character in the film A Good Year might have driven one of these?

I found these street stalls walking by the river Seine from Musée d'Orsay to the Latin Quarter.









They sold everything from souvenirs and posters to used French literature.










I managed to find a bunch of vintage French Elle magazines, and bought two for 10 Euros – one from the 1940s (left) and another from the 1950s (right)!












Also on my walk to the Latin Quarter, I stumbled upon the Pont Des Arts; a bridge covered in padlocks. The idea is that a couple will attach a padlock to the bridge, perhaps write a little something on it, then throw the key into the Seine. A romantic symbol of love perfect for Paris!

A quiet corner of the Latin Quarter.

The famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop.















A message from the owner, George Whitman, upon his retirement in 2004.

An American busker singing about Paris in the Latin Quarter. He was pretty good!

Notre Dame, and more street stalls.

 


On my last day, I was sat next to a lovely Australian couple in a café. They ordered snails, so were obviously feeling much braver than me! Also, check out that massive beer!












Heading home on the Eurostar. I can't wait to see Paris again!

A little on Paris

Ah, Paris in August. Good, because the weather is lovely if you like it to be hot and sunny. Bad, if you don't like to be overwhelmed by tourists and want to experience the city's truth.

I visited because, as mentioned in my previous blog post, I wanted to become inspired. While I do believe that happened, it probably didn't to the extent that could've been. It was just the wrong time of year (most Parisians leave the city in the summer, and tourists choose this time to flock). Although, knowing that I wasn't the only stranger had made me feel more secure.

I've also learned that if you really want to see Paris, and blend in as much as possible, you must not only visit out of tourist season but speak conversational French at least. And since I hate being identified as a tourist, when I go back I need to ensure that my vocabulary goes beyond "je ne parle pas Français", "Pouvez-vous parler Anglais", and "À bientôt"!

But, even so, I managed to really enjoy myself and become more aquainted with the city, which is something that I now know I needed to do, because I intend to visit every year or two from now on.

Anyway, stay tuned! A larger recap of my trip will follow soon.

See you later, England. Bonjour, Paris!

After six years, I'm finally visiting Paris again! My last visit wasn't great, but that had nothing to do with the city and everything to do with some of the company. So, as I'm going by myself, I'm looking forward to doing it my way this time.

I'll be there for four days in total – from Monday afternoon until Thursday night – travelling by Eurostar from London. Usually I like to stay in hostels when I'm travelling, but this time I've opted for a hotel.

I have long admired Starry Night Over the Rhone
by Vincent Van Gogh and can't wait to finally visit it.

I've already seen most of the sights, so I won't be focusing much on them. Of course, I'll definitely be going to the Eiffel Tower (no trip to Paris is complete without setting eyes on that icon), and visiting the Musée d'Orsay (a must for fans of impressionist and post-impressionist art, like me) but other than that my main objective is to just wander the streets, soak up the atmosphere, and become inspired.

I've travelled to many cities around the globe in my lifetime, but I can honestly say that Paris is definitely the most beautiful. To many, Paris is the cultural centre of the world, which would make sense as it's inspired all kinds of artists, and I'm hoping that it'll help me develop the intestinal fortitude to become more creative myself. For ages now I've been meaning to start writing my own fiction, but outside of classes I haven't been able to bring myself to do anything. And, seeing as I blame it on the monotony of everyday life for taking the cojones out of me, I'm praying Paris puts it back.

So, I'm expecting to take hundreds of photos, sit in a lot of cafés, maybe read a book, make some notes, and perhaps start building a story.

But I must make sure I experience Paris for real.

You know, even though it's tourist season and apparently most Parisians are in the south of France but, hey, I'm sure I'll manage.

À bientôt!