Dusting Off the Summer Blues

One of the pleasures of the warm weather in a city that sees more gray skies than most, is the abundance of exposed arms and legs, shoulders and necks, even bellies and cleavage. In this world we call Paris, the women are stylish and beautiful (of all ages), the men (particularly the young) are confident and handsome, and all those tanned fit bodies are simply eye candy.

When the weather is as glorious as it was yesterday, the other “woman” who shines is “La Grande Dame de Paris” herself — La Tour Eiffel. Silhouetted against the bluest of skies with nary a wisp of anything to mar its texture, she was as magnificent as any wonder of the world.

It’s shocking that in July 2007, the NEW seven wonders of the world, as per a popularity poll organized by the New7Wonders Foundation, didn’t include the Eiffel Tower, although it ranked among 13 semi-finalists along with the Statue of Liberty and Stonehenge. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/ )Considering that since her birth March 31, 1889 and up until December of 2008, that her iron ‘legs’ have welcomed 243,376,000 visitors, one would think the world would have taken more notice.

Never mind. We did. And so did lots of other locals and tourists on Sunday afternoon. In the Trocadero fountains at the Palais de Chaillot were dozens of adults wading in the green waters reminiscent of Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg sloshing around in the Trevi Fountain in Rome in Fellini’s film “La DolceVita.” Children were sliding down the granite sides being dumped into the pool as if they were plastic slides in a water park. Women had removed their blouses to sunbathe in their bras and no doubt, a good time was had by all.

Several weddings were taking place on the grounds of the Champs de Mars with family and photographers snapping up their good fortune to have such a perfect backdrop. Their decorated limousines were waiting patiently at the base of the monument to take them to their receptions. Meanwhile our shoes gathered the dust of the dirt pathways as the “pelouse en repose” (resting lawn) was fenced off to recuperate from recent trauma (thousands of people having picnicked there recently on Bastille Day).

My shoes are forever dusty this particular summer — with the demolition of “Le Saint Tropez” and “La Brigitte” under way (the studio and the “studette” that is no longer the “viager” it once was) and the finishing touches being put on “Le Palace des Vosges” for its inauguration next week. This is the final week of summer to be cleaned and polished up in preparation for La Rentree and all that is in store for them and where my feet take me in the days to come.

A la prochaine…
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris