Yesterday, while at the bookstore, I came across a relic from my past; several children’s travel books ( now newly reissued) by author/illustrator M. Sasek, entitled This is…………..Paris ( London, Rome etc).
Someone once remarked, 'you can’t go home again', but they were wrong, because once I opened this wonderful book, my childhood came rushing back!
Originally published in 1959, Miroslav Sasek’s This is Paris is a leisurely tour through the city’s avenues that stops to take in landmarks, caress street cats and say bonjours to a café garcon, apartment concierge, street painter, policeman, flower girl, and the Mona Lisa. It is non-fiction presented on the sugared spoon of a cartoon with French vocabulary and history intertwined painlessly into the simple text.
The tour makes a stop in tranquil Luxembourg Garden where toy boats glide across the reflecting pond.
It paints a picture of Paris presenting the sights and sounds of its rues: letter boxes and spindly street lamps, modes of transportation from bus to metro, and various markets from Seine-side bookstalls, to the bustle of les Halles, to the colorful Sunday bird market.
The charm of Paris is intertwined with that of the 50’s: curvy automobiles and kitsch meet eternal architecture, berets, reflections like puzzle pieces on the Seine River, grey skies and leafless winter trees.
Undoubtedly some things have changed in the 50 years passed since the book was written.
There are so many great places to see in France like Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower. Just to walk around is already an experience. Sipping a cup of coffee while cruising the Seine is one of the few things you can do to savor your trip.
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Lifestyles of Paris