After a few days in Provence, I needed to travel to Paris for my flight home. The timing did not work to connect from train to plane, so I was forced to overnight in central Paris (darn!). On Saturday evening I took the opportunity to enjoy a full French meal in a delightful brasserie, then ambled back to the hotel among the throngs of summer tourists and Saturday-night revelers. I woke at sunrise on Sunday morning to stroll around the city while it was cooler and quieter. Read on and check out the photo gallery.
To my surprise, there were many small groups of young partiers still hanging out along the Seine, which was littered with hundreds of beer bottles and the other debris of all-night partying. The police ignored the open liquor bottles while the city workers did their best to clean the sidewalks before the day’s throngs of tourists would arrive.
I circled Notre Dame, surrounded by wide construction fencing and busy with activity even this early on a Sunday morning. So sad to see this beautiful structure damaged by that terrific fire.
I crossed over to the Louvre, and was rewarded with a fascinating opportunity to capture the stately palace buildings and the angular pyramids in a lovely morning light (top photo). There were only a handful of tourists, but I was definitely not the only photographer… indeed, I saw no fewer than five couples there with their wedding photographer to shoot in the golden hour. One bride was wearing a bright red dress, and another a bright yellow dress, which added a real ‘pop’ to these photos.
On my way back to the hotel the streets along the Seine were being barricaded in preparation for the Garmin Triathlon. Over 4,800 participants swam, rode, and ran through Paris despite the morning heat. I positioned myself near some of the sharp turns in the bicycle course and shot over 1,300 photos, pushing hard on the Nikon D500’s 10fps and experimenting with exposure and panning to see what I could get. I’ve included my favorite seven photos in the gallery.
Speaking of which, don’t forget the photo gallery.
Here is one more photo to whet your appetite:
David Kotz 