MM: week 9
A tightrope walking Angel
Seven years ago we used to live by the Bastille. It was a great place to live, close to everything you might need: cinemas, restaurants, museums and shops. We had a beautiful view over the Bassin d'Arsenal, it was lovely to be able to look at boats and water from our living room window. The only problem for me, was the traffic, giant boulevards with the continual roaring of cars, day and night. Just before we left there to move to Montmartre our daughter was 4 years old. I remember I was forever crouching down as we walked along so that I could hear what she was saying over the noise of traffic.
Where we live now, in Montmartre, the scale of the city is much smaller, the streets are smaller, the traffic is much less heavy, cars actually stop to let you cross over zebra crossings...(occasionally)! I love it up here, I love the narrow cobbled streets curling up the hill towards the Sacré Coeur, I love the fact that the kid's friends all live less than five minutes away, I love the density which means that everything we need to live is pretty much on our doorstep.
There are a few things I miss from the Bastille though, and one of those things is the 'Angel' on top of the column in the middle of the Place de la Bastille. The 'Angel' is called the Génie de la Liberté the "Spirit of Freedom." We always called it the Angel. I loved the way that, depending on which direction you approached the Place de la Bastille, the Angel looked different: sometimes gambling across the roof tops, sometimes skipping across the tree-tops, sometimes tight rope walking across some bunting, sometimes glowing brightly in the street lights. If we'd been away, we always knew we were nearly home when we caught a glimpse of the Angel.
Here is the Angel tightrope walking along a lamppost.
Every Monday, Magical Monday, I post a photo that is hopefully puzzling, fantastical or unexpected. No Photoshop allowed!
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