A Room With a View, #WheninParis for Eurostar

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I’m a big fan of Eurostar, so it was a pleasure to help them launch their new #WheninParis campaign by taking a mini excursion to the city.

Eurostar sent me to Paris with a mission. To capture stories in Paris. My Paris.

Ten years ago, a coach took me to see the surprisingly tiny Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and Kandinsky in the Pompidou Centre.

Kandinsky at the Pompidou
Kandinsky at the Pompidou

It was a school art trip that saw my friends and I snickering on the Metro to the red light district, visiting sex shops and Le Chat Noir. By day we visited the Notre Dame. We raced each other down the hill from the Sacre Coeur. We ascended the Eiffel Tower and braved the fierce winds that howled at our faces.

And then couple of years ago I went to house sit for a family friend in Noisy-le-Sec, on the outskirts of Paris, which has a large North African and Algerian community. The station was also where many soldiers left from to serve in the Great War from 1914 – 1918 and a plaque there commemorates this.

Great War memorial at Noisy-le-Sec station
Great War memorial at Noisy-le-Sec station

The English friend in Noisy-le-Sec had lived mainly around that area for 30 years. Her flat was up a curling French staircase and was cosy and colourful. This somewhat grittier version of Paris, with many main roads and flyovers to tackle on foot, involved negotiating RER trains to get into the centre, where I visited Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père Lachaise) twice, as well as Montmartre. Friends took me on a film tour of Montmartre, that included the vegetable shop and cafe from the film Amelie.

The vegetable shop from the film Amelie
The vegetable shop from the film Amelie

The following summer I returned again, on my way to Palermo, Sicily, by train from London. I stopped over and stayed at a friend’s apartment in central Paris and visited the Catacombs.

Bone and skulls in the Paris Catacombs
Bones and skulls in the Paris Catacombs

He took me out to Nouille on 1 rue Faidherbe, where they make their own noodles and then to drink margaritas in a Spanish bar called Candelaria.

Candelaria bar, Paris
Candelaria bar, Paris

This time, with Eurostar #WheninParis, I wanted to filter these experiences into what a typical visit might be for me. I was put up at the Mercure Terminus Nord right opposite Gard du Nord. The room was on the fifth floor and had quite simply, the best view I’ve had from a hotel.

Mercure Terminus Nord
Mercure Terminus Nord
Gare du Nord daytime
Gare du Nord by day
Gare du Nord by night
Gare du Nord by night

I arranged to see both friends I had previously stayed with and to revisit the Notre Dame and Père Lachaise.

The first evening, I met the family friend and she took me to La Paella, not far from Gare du Nord, where we ordered tapas.

I found the French Hunter S. Thompson…

Man in La Paella by Gare du Nord
Man in La Paella by Gare du Nord

I went back to the hotel via Gare du Nord…

The lights Gare du Nord
The lights Gare du Nord

And after a good sleep, I was up early to visit Père Lachaise…

Jim Morrison's tree
Jim Morrison’s tree

Afterwards, I met the friend who’d once shown me the noodle bar and we walked beside the Seine, from where the river comes out of the ground, to a wonderful French Bistro called Chez Prune.

A man enjoying lunch at Chez Prune
A man enjoying lunch at Chez Prune

I ordered a steak with potatoes dauphinoise and a glass of organic wine. My friend had the fish parcels. After lunch I took the Metro to the Notre Dame and photographed people on their way to wherever they were going.

The Metro system Paris
The Metro system Paris

One girl posed for me and smiled…

On the Metro
On the Metro

When I arrived at the Notre Dame it was raining and there was a queue. Two elderly tourists had bright umbrellas that blew upwards in the wind. I took their photograph.

Tourists by the Notre Dame
Tourists by the Notre Dame

I went inside. Tourists filed around the cathedral rustling and clicking. And I left following an epiphany of sorts. The story was no longer in the landmarks for me, it was in the people. And when I thought about, this was probably true of most places, for me. I vowed to visit the people before the obvious landmarks in future.

I passed a man making Nutella crepes and bought one before scuttling back on to the Metro to take photographs and returning to the Gare du Nord to catch the train back to London.

 


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A Parisian in a sharp suit on the Eurostar

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Samuel Jeffery

    Sophie,

    I’m really excited to have found your blog. I plan to travel extensively by train in Europe next spring 🙂

    1. Sophie

      Aw, thanks! If you have any questions just let me know. Happy to help.

  2. Stuart Forster

    Thanks, inspirational stuff, Sophie. How did you find the reactions of Parisians to being photographed?

    Paris is, of course, widely as a photogenic city and you have done a grand job of capturing people going about their lives and sightseeing in the city.

    I look forward to heading there to see what I can capture with my camera.

    1. Sophie

      One of them swore at me so I promised I wouldn’t take his photo but the people who I did photograph smiled and even gave me the thumbs up. I’m a big fan of Paris. You must go!

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