I just love the doors and entryways in Paris. Well, all of France I am sure. You never know what you will find. Aside from the wonderful door-knockers, I love the arched doorways, all of the ornate scrolled decorations gracing the entrances.
It’s as if certain ones call my name and beg me to enter. Why one over the other? I don’t know. It just is. Imagine how grand an entrance you can make, sauntering through those heavy old carved oak doors. It may take minutes (and a big bowl of Wheaties) just for the door to open enough to see who is on the other end.
In Paris I like to imagine who has entered before me? How many hands have rapped that door-knocker? How many clicks and turns of an antique key does it take to open that lock? Turns to the right or to the left? How many guests have been for dinner and what have they brought? Or better yet, what have they left with?
I love being surprised by what I may find behind the door. Secret courtyards, hidden from the rest of the world that just walks on by, not even giving a second glance. I love staring and wondering..hmm I wonder what is behind that one?
Is it just a courtyard, a museum, a restaurant, an art gallery, boutiques? Is there a garden? Is it a private home or a maze of Paris Apartments? Ateliers, perhaps? Are there flowers dangling from the balcony?
These blue doors against the sepia toned stone call my name, the detail so beautiful it could bring me to tears…
Someone leaves the door open a slice, teasing and tempting me to come closer…
Enticed and hungry for more I inch closer. I see empty cafe tables dancing with the cobblestones…
The mural on the wall and the fountain centered around the french windows make quite a scene…
Though it is quite clear what hides behind this doorway, the entrance still makes me draw closer to find out what specifically is behind that door. Library books never looked so good…
These doors open to a courtyard with a beautiful statue and garden…
And behind another door is a courtyard, with yet another archway. Who wouldn’t like to come home and walk thru this everyday?
For nine straight days we passed this set of doors, locked up tight as a drum, with the French flag flying proudly out front. Each time I would say out loud, “I wonder what is in there?”
It was not until the last day that the large doors were propped open, only to reveal…a French Firehouse, complete with trucks and all. That is the best looking firehouse I have ever seen!
What do you imagine behind secret doorways? What secrets have you uncovered?