For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Cities (Skylines to Street Photography), we picked this photo of the rooftops in Manhattan. It was actually the view from the hotel where we stayed and we found the rooftop garden and the various water towers to make for a unique scene.
One of the great things about visiting most major cities is that they all have locations where you can get a bird’s-eye view. Being able to see a city from above is a fantastic way to get an understanding of the architecture, the layout of the streets, and even how the city grew over time. Even if you’re afraid of heights, as we are, making your way to the tops of these landmarks is well worth the feeling of vertigo. It is also interesting to see the differences between the old world cities compared to more modern cities. Both are beautiful in their own ways. For example, New York City with its array of skyscrapers is vastly different from the sprawling views of Paris. You can almost feel the hustle and bustle of New York just by looking down onto its busy streets. When looking out over Paris, you feel relaxed and calm, ready to sit in a café, read a book and have a cup of coffee.
New York City has two great options for viewing the city, Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building. From the Top of the Rock, you get incredible views of Central Park as well as mid-town Manhattan. Obviously the Empire State Building is iconic and conjures images of King Kong hanging onto its side. The views of the city are amazing.
In Paris, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower to see the tremendous views of the city. Seeing the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe and the way that all of the avenues lead to the arc is quite inspiring. You really get a feeling for the history and the architecture when you view Paris from above. You also get a chance to the contrast between modern Paris with its skyscrapers and the old Latin quarter.
Obviously there are plenty of other examples and these are just two cities out of hundreds of cities. When you do visit a large city, be sure to find out where you can go to see the panoramic views. Seeing the city from above will give you a true size and complexity of the city. It almost becomes a living organism with a pulse moving through its veins as you watch the traffic move along its busy streets. We’d even recommend that you make viewing it from above be one of the first things you do when you visit the city so that you have that bird’s-eye view prior to walking along the streets that you’ve seen from above.
At the time that we visited Paris, there was a transit strike occurring, which limited the availability of buses and trains. So, when we arrived early in the morning on our first day in Paris, we went to our hotel, which was really more of a bed and breakfast, checked our bags and headed out into the city, determined to make the most of our first day. We were staying on the famous left bank in the Latin Quarter, just a few blocks from Notre Dame. We had heard before we arrived that the strike was occurring, so we knew that transportation was going to be limited. Undaunted, we decided that we would simply walk to the places that we wanted to see.
Our first stop, the Eiffel Tower. Along the way, we walked along the Seine River, strolled through beautiful gardens, and gazed at the amazing historic architecture. Instead of being frustrated that it took as long as it did to make our way to the tower, we really felt like we were able to truly immerse ourselves in the city. This was the first time that we explored a city exclusively on foot and it has become our favorite way to really get to know a city. Do you need to be smart and avoid certain parts of a city, especially at night, of course you do. But as long as you’re smart about, you will be fine, even in cities that are known for crime.
Walking the side streets of Paris allowed us to find small shops with various goods that we would have never found otherwise. We discovered restaurants along the way that we would make sure to come back to later and enjoy a fine meal. One of our fondest memories was almost one of the most expensive impulse purchases we’ve ever made. We found an old book store that sold rare books, so we just had to go in and check out the old leather books that adorned their shelves. We spoke with the owners, who showed us a first edition of Don Quixote, which we examined wearing white gloves. We are huge fans of books and we were tempted to purchase the two-volume set, but chose not to blow our daughter’s college fund on such a self-indulgent gift to ourselves.
As the day wore on, we were getting quite hungry as 6:00 p.m. approached. Unfortunately, unlike the United States where you restaurants start getting busy around this time, in Paris restaurants don’t even open their doors until 8:00 p.m., so we couldn’t find a place to eat. We had decided to go back to our hotel to change clothes before going out to dinner, but we found that we were a little bit lost. We found a restaurant that, although not open for business, did have its doors open, so we went in and asked directions. We speak enough French to get by, but apparently didn’t put the correct accent on the street name, so it took several attempts, but finally it clicked and they were able to point us in the right direction.
Our first day in Paris was definitely a long, full day, but walking the streets made us feel like we were locals before the day was over. We fell in love with the city and enjoyed our time there immensely. We probably would have loved Paris just as much had we not been forced to walk around the city, but strolling down the streets certainly made it even more memorable. We often compare it to our trip to London, where we rode on the tube and “popped up” at the different locations, feeling like gophers who popped up, looked around, and then went back underground. We never felt that we got a true sense for the city like we did in Paris, so we’ve been determined to try and walk as much as possible ever since, just so that we see a city the way it is meant to be seen, on foot.
