"Eiffel Tower at Night" by Zeny Cieslikowski (Photo by Zeny Cieslikowski) "Notre Dame and Boat" by Zeny Cieslikowski (Photo by Zeny Cieslikowski) "Notre Dame and Moon" by Zeny Cieslikowski (Photo by Zeny Cieslikowski) "Figures Along Seine" by Zeny Cieslikowski (Photo by Zeny Cieslikowski) "Notre Dame and Books" by Zeny Cieslikowski (Photo by Zeny Cieslikowski) "Eiffel Tower at Night" by Zeny Cieslikowski (Photo by Zeny Cieslikowski) As a 24-year-old, I flew to Europe for the first time. The societal and political upheavals in the United States due to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
were still a year away as were the exhilarating Prague Spring and the Troubles in Ireland. Those events and the huge student protests in Paris and throughout France were to blossom a year later as well. I was thrilled and overwhelmed to be walking on the same sidewalks where Molière, Pablo Picasso, Émile Zola and even Paul Cézanne may well have walked.
I had a well-read, dog-eared copy of Arthur Frommer’s “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” as my guide, and I actually stayed pretty close to my budget for hotels and meals. To save money, I took a bus from Orly to a central bus terminal in Paris and then got a taxi to the general vicinity of the Left Bank, where my hotel was located. I don’t know why I didn’t ask the driver to go directly to the hotel.
I practiced the French phrase for “please drop me off on the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain and Boulevard Saint-Michel” about 20 times and I still fumbled it in my wide-eyed excitement of being in Paris for the first time. The taxi driver stopped on the side of a busy boulevard; I unloaded my suitcase from the trunk and the many camera bags from inside the taxi. After everything was stacked on the sidewalk, I paid the driver with francs I had purchased in California.
Here I was in Paris. In my youth, I had never expected to experience a moment like this. In 1967, on that bright morning, my most enduring memory from my first trip to Paris happened almost immediately.
Many unfamiliar-looking cars, trucks and buses whizzed by me on the broad avenue with odd-sounding horns blaring as people speaking French walked past on the wide sidewalk. I stood in that spot and simply absorbed the Parisian architecture that I had only seen in photographs or paintings in museums and books. The signs, colors and sounds were all new and exhilarating to me that morning.
I stood on the sidewalk, absorbing the general chaos of the new and unfamiliar; I was ecstatic! From my spot on the sidewalk, next to my bags, I looked all around in wonder and amazement. I was in Paris and I was happy. Those minutes are still with me.
Paris is such a rich city in material and subject matter for artists that choosing what to concentrate on for a collection of work is difficult and demanding because there are so many subjects from which to choose. The Olympics this year were held in Paris and because the Seine played such a central role, I’m going to focus on this historic, timeless and beloved subject. It’s been integral throughout the history of Paris and is central to my photography of Paris.
We can see the Palais de Justice, Notre Dame and the Petit Pont in my photograph entitled “Notre Dame and Boat.” The Petit Pont, built in 1853, occupies a site that has had a bridge since ancient times. The Seine reflects not only the lights along the quay, but the moon rising above the cathedral.
I’ve been fortunate to have photographed the Notre Dame Cathedral often before the tragic fire. Notre Dame has always been the center of Paris for me. I’ve made numerous trips to Paris and have never tired of its beauty, strength and its place in the history of Paris and Western civilization.
I’ve spent many unforgettable hours walking along the Seine where I saw lovers, fishermen, people walking their dogs, clochards (people experiencing homelessness) sleeping, artists, writers, book aficionados at the bouquinistes stalls and tourists strolling. The Seine is a singular treasure flowing for miles through Paris and lined by some of the most iconic, striking structures in Europe. There are always, in every season, artists painting and photographers trying to capture that “perfect” shot along the Seine.
The Seine flows like blood through the body of Paris, giving it life and sustenance — physically, emotionally and spiritually. Paris has occupied my mind and soul for more than 50 years — in all seasons. It has cautiously and subtly revealed the secrets of its people and history to me.
Paris is sometimes calm and tranquil and at other times incredibly chaotic and noisy. It almost never disappoints me whether in the heat of August or the windy, bone-chilling temperatures of winter. To me, Parisians have been kind, generous, witty and occasionally aloof but always Parisian; I respect that.
Paris has shown me its cultured elegance and style but sometimes its cruel, selfish side. It also has sometimes displayed its indifference to me and others but more often than not has given its warmth and charm. Paris has always been and I believe will always be that beautiful, incomparable City of Lights with the Seine, its swift-flowing, beating heart coursing through its veins.
Zeny Cieslikowski is a Corte Madera resident. IJ readers are invited to share their stories of love, dating, parenting, marriage, friendship and other experiences for our How It Is column, which runs Tuesdays in the Lifestyles section. All stories must not have been published in part or in its entirety previously.
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