August was super exciting, mainly for the fact that Paris happened, and it wasn’t a regular Paris, it was ‘Photo Shoot Paris’ this time. This of course means, that the city and I were modelling for what used to be the_sarcastic_photographer, now sony_alpha_guy, who I can’t thank enough, simply for the fact that he was one of the best people to walk around Paris streets with.
Les Jardins D’Eiffel
My choice to travel in heels (fringed boots I bought on Pigalle last time) turned out to be rather shitty (surprise, surprise…) so it was a rather painful beginning of the day. A feeling that evaporated quickly after I arrived at the Les Jardins D’Eiffel, a hotel in Paris 7, with rooms with Eiffel Tower view, excellent AC and an even better complimentary coffee. I baptized the terrace with a few photos, while I waited for my friend, discovering the Prisma app at the same time:
So Tumblr ❤
Almost Parisian
The project was, among other things, about making portraits based on my book Almost Parisian, the one where the main character generally roams around Paris, but mostly on Pigalle and Gare Du Nord, and yet, the fact that we spent a lot of time on Montmartre, also gave us the opportunity to capture some Anais From Montmartre as well. We talked about jealousy with a Moroccan artist who spoke ten languages and chatted with a couple who had a cat-themed wedding and spent part of their honeymoon in Paris. We watched South Park before we went to sleep and I had coffee instead of dinner, sometimes even lunch, and it was good.
The Full Moon and the Fire Trucks
At times, we couldn’t believe our luck. There we were, enjoying the tower and the shy clouds around it, tripod out and all, where Paris’ own fire department set up with two trucks to take photos of themselves for their website. Unbelievable, if we somehow thought of it ourselves, and tried to plan it, it wouldn’t have turned out that great. There’s proof:
A few days later, we were honored by the presence of a full moon, and we caught it after we spent some time worshiping the slightly hidden stairs that led to Montmartre. I don’t have all the photos yet, but Paris and I tend to be photogenic, so I’m happy. And I’ll post them soon.
“Well, Louvre, Notre Dame, Forever 21…”
…The answer I gave my boyfriend when he asked what I was planning one day. Turns out, Forever 21 deserved its place in that sentence, for it held the best stressed boyfriend jeans I could imagine, and like I said a number of times, I’ll be living in them now, thank you very much.
Also, look, an important prop from Almost Parisian:
By the way, did you know that after a horrible, claustrophobic set of 300 stairs, you can see the top of Sacre Coeur? I hated the world while climbing, but it was so worth it in the end. I know people who live in Paris and haven’t seen that, and I understand why perfectly.
Because, look:
Ew.
But then…
RIGHT?!
One more time, my conclusion that I could come to Paris and spend ALL THE TIME on Montparnasse and Montmartre ONLY, was confirmed. Some parts of them are dodgy, but they are. just. so. home. With a price tag of EUR 10.000, the square meter in Paris is something I’m leaving for somewhere in the future, maybe. MAYBE. Maybe NEAR future. Okay, I’ll stop.
The Loot
I bought the best jeans, like I said, and then shirts (one was too cute with jaguars on it, NOT jaguar print), and then a sweater, and then boots, but my favorite thing I bought was How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are – Love, Style and Bad Habits. I’ve been eyeing it for some time now, and it was super convenient to buy it in a bookstore on Concorde. I read it on the plane back and it’s somewhere close to a Bible now. It is.
I also took Almost Parisian to Gare Du Nord and Anais from Montmartre on Montmartre:
I’ll share the photos as soon as I get them in higher quality. In the meantime, I’ll probably be translating Almost Parisian and taking notes for the third book because right now, it’s a messy pile of dialogue parts in my head and has no genre whatsoever.
You can follow the author of the better photos here:
And then my Instagram.
And my Facebook page.
And get my Almost Parisian: How To Survive Your Late Twenties… In Paris here.
And Anais From Montmartre here.
Love,
J.
Almost Parisian 