Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Madame
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I think this image makes me a bit sad. All over Paris I have seen elderly people making their way slowly through the streets. For them it must be diificult to walk to get what they need on a daily basis. Perhaps she had been to the boulangerie, but perhaps a longer walk that day.
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About Me
- Virginia
- Birmingham, AL, United States
- I am a former elementary school teacher, a full-time photographer, lover of all things French ( whose French is slowly improving), obsessive Paris traveler, enthusiastic church and community volunteer, and grandmother to 5 delightful grandchildren.
Paris je t'aime
I fell in love with Paris in March 2007. It was as the French say, le coup de foudre : love at first sight. As a result of that trip, my photography took another direction. Since that time I have pursued a career of sorts in photography and dreamed of returning to the City of Light. November 2008 found me strolling the streets of Paris once again. My first visit I was so overwhelmed with the incredible beauty of the city, I photographed it as a "tourist". In 2008 I returned and I looked at the city with more of a photographer's eye. I wanted to capture the unique, the small details, and oh yes - the people! This blog was started as a photo diary of that trip, but I have been most fortunate to return to the city j'adore 15 times since. Each time I leave, I wipe a tear and start planning my list for the next trip. Paris may well be a moveable feast, but I think it's best savored in person! Someone told me that once you have been to Paris, you will leave a piece of your heart. I left mine right there, but I brought home some wonderful memories. It is my pleasure to share them with you.
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22 comments:
Paris is really for the young and able.
But I admire her independence. There is an elderly gentleman, who is almost bent in half, who lives on my block. He makes the trek to the corner cafe several times daily -- for his morning coffee, his lunch, his afternoon beer. He's far too private and dignified to approach -- my kids and I just refer to him as "monsieur."
I have had this discussion with you before. I would prefer to see them moving slowly with their cane then sitting in an old folk's home. This lady is still doing for herself. Still getting out. Still involved. Still alive.
I don't agree that Paris is for the young and for the able. I have just spent a month in Paris getting around propped up by my cane in one hand and my other hand trailing my caddie. I took the metro everywhere (well, lots of places) and I walked for 5 or 6 hours a day. Yes, I wobble and I am slow. But I get there.
And I am fiercely independent ...
Tha activity gladens me but the black saddens me.
I like what Joe said. At least she's walking and that's gotta be a good sign. Hopefully she at least has her daily bread! Good eye, Virginia.
I think it's wonderful to have a reason to get out -- perhaps we see them because they are willing and able to move around (however slow). Better to see that than to see them just sitting in a wheelchair at the retirement home. I hope I am able to walk through Paris when I am old(er)!!!
Wonderful capture -- love the boulangerie painting.
Well don't get me wrong, I think it's wonderful that the elderly are able to be out and about in Paris. They do so enjoy the parks as well! Julie, I think you are amazing and how you captured all the fabulous photos while keeping up with your stick is a wonder. Do share what a caddie is! :)
V
Sad and/but very real!
I like it very much, sometimes better than photos show that all is ok with life!
Good and bad are in balance in life.
Wonderful photo, V! Tell Julie that I would be doing well to keep up with her! For someone needing ramps (wheelchair) Paris is not very easy to navigate.
Walking is such good exercise ... and the juxtaposition of the woman and the baker is superb!
Virginia, I do understand, I am now using a cane, due to falls and balance issues, another surgery coming up.
However I hold my head high, put on my happy face and try to make someone else's day. Pay it forward.
Last day to enter my Serena and Lily Giveaway!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Even this elderly lady in Paris looks smart and chic.
Walking in Paris is most probably keeping her active and healthy!!!
Love the way you composed this shot, V. When I'm in my dotage, I'd rather be roaming the streets of Paris (at whatever speed) than sitting in front of a TV in some home. Like the elderly in Venice (who have to walk everywhere), Parisians of a certain age manage to get around. But you have a point too—maybe they wish they could just drive to the store!
You capture that image so well. My thoughts are that although they are slower, at least they can get what they need fairly close by. Here in the UK our dependance on huge supermarkets mean that most small villages and towns have no shops left for anyone to walk to, I don't know how the elderley manage. xx
Julie, how did you manage all those steps at the metro stops? I think the bus would be a better way to go.
Harriet - At the metro, I used the bannisters ... and invariably ... someone helped me with my caddie. Most people are very kind, especially the young. I will investigate the buses in September. I took one bus out to Parc Bagatelle.
VJ - a caddie is the generic term in France for an old lady's shopping trolley. Do you have them? We do here in Sydney - I have my own over there in the corner. It has 4 wheels and adjustable top and you pull it behind you. Another good point of balance for those of us known as 'wobblers'.
I have to give her credit for carrying on though!!
I love that bakery painting. Paris is just incredible the way they advertise things. So unlike here!
So glad i can comment again!!
Julie, I applaud you for your fortitude! :) I thought the caddie might be what I have as a market basket. Good for you. I knew you were getting around as your photos were just so wonderful . As I think I said before, you were usually stopping more often and hence... the great portraits that I miss as I rush along. My knee is giving me fits so if I get lucky enough to see my Paris again, I might be taking long looks as well.
V
A good discussion today. Julie and others said what I would have said: She is up, she is out, she probably feels less badly for herself than an observer might.
Today I am strong and healthy, but my birth certificate tells me that those days are numbered. When I start giving out, I am going to be like Julie, fiercely independent.
The buses are the best answer to getting around Paris if you're handicapped. I find it very difficult to climb up and down the millions of steps in the métro, but getting on the bus is really easy. Also, they have a ramp for people in wheelchairs.
This is a beautiful photograph!
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