**Note, this was originally posted in August 2007, but I thought it would make a great edition to Love Thursday**
Before I left for my first trip to Paris, solo, I asked Chris if there was anything special he wanted me to bring back for him. I was expecting a beret, a bottle of wine, cheese, or something chees-y like an Eiffel Tower t-shirt. But non, he surprised me. He wanted some pictures. And not just any pictures.
There is a famous picture by Brassai, called ‘ The Stairs’. It is a truly lovely black and white photo and one of Chris’s favorites. So, his souvenir was for me to find and recreate this picture. Uh, ok, no problem. I didn’t know a tiny souvenir would turn into a project.
{The things we do for love}
So, I sat at the computer and let my fingers do the walking. After tons of web surfing… I found that the photo was taken in Montmartre. Hmmm, ok, so I need to look for a large staircase in Montmartre. Shouldn’t be too hard. Well, since Montmartre is on a hill, called the butte, there are stairs all over. Back to the computer. More research, more websites. Finally, I narrow down my options, go to Google Maps and discover,’ The Stairs ‘ is actually a staircase that runs alongside the funicular that takes you to Sacre Coeur. The staircase is actually named – Rue Foyatier.
Voila!
When in Paris, armed with the address and approximate location, I head to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. Mind you, this is several days into my trip and my tootsies have never done so much walking, hurt so bad, or seen so many ugly looking blisters…but off I go to find and climb a staircase.
{The things we do for love}
When I arrive at Sacre Coeur, I head to the left and there I see the funicular, which is like a giant tram that takes you from street level to Sacre Coeur at the top of the hill.
To the left of this, I see some stairs. I move closer, and sure enough…the street sign says, Rue Foyatier!
At last…I am so excited! Until I see how looooong the staircase is. It seems to disappear in the clouds. And that motorized tram is looking mighty fine to my feet that are on fire now. But…I promised.
{The things we do for love}
So I trudge up the stairs, turning back to look down at every landing to take a picture. Part of the problem is that I don’t know the exact angle or how far up or down the stairs the picture was taken from. So, I just keep snapping, and snapping…from the left, from the right to get the best shot.
The Brassai picture, has no people in the shot, which presents a problem. It was really busy when I went. Just when I have the best shot lined up, people begin walking up or down. It was very frustrating. Needless to say -I took at least 50 shots, some with people, some without. In total, I spent about an hour at ‘ The Stairs’.
{The things we do for love}
When I arrived home, we looked through the photos. Chris loved all the shots and chose the one he liked the best. We blew it up to an 11 x 17 black and white and we look at it often. Though it will never be as good as the original Brassai, especially since the conditions were not the same, it does serve as a wonderful reminder of my first trip to Paris, a sign of accomplishment, and above all it represents..the things we do for love.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!!
Photos: Around Rue Foyatier, Paris