Paris Part I on Film

Hi Film Friends! How have you guys been? Hope you guys had a good Chinese New Year holiday? Can you believe it’s already going to be the third month of the year? Anyway, I’m writing this blogpost in the middle of the night from my friends, Des and David’s family home in Sorsogon, Philippines. They run a travel and lifestyle blog and they take really good photos! Definitely check them out! It was a pretty eventful day today. We slaughtered a pig and trekked through rice paddy fields. But that’s a story for another blogpost.

Today, we’re gonna be exploring Paris! City of Lights and Romance! I arrived in Paris via plane at around 12pm and made my way down to my hostel, Absolute Hotel which was situated in République, close enough to the main sights to walk but far enough to be affordable.

Once I arrived in the hostel, the helpful concierge advised me to check out all the outdoors sights that day as the weather forecast predicted that it would be raining the next few days (I swear, I’m a rain child). And so, I made plans to check out the Arc de Triomphe to get a good overview of the city.

To go up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, you had to pay €12, which I gladly paid. For that price, I thought the ticket was really worth it compared to other European sights because it was really well maintained and there was a mini exhibition about the soldiers of the French Empire and their uniforms where I spent a good 20 minutes.

According to french law, people are not allowed to build above a certain height and the arc has a good vantage point because of that making, it a good photo spot. You get to see the whole layout of the city.

After staying for probably too long at the arc, I strolled down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and just slowly made my way to the Musée du Louvre soaking in the Parisian scenery.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Fuji Natura 1600. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

I reached the Louvre at around evening time and somehow as if to welcome me, the sky turned a beautiful rosy hue and just lit the buildings in such an astounding way. I had so much fun just capturing the exterior of the museum compound that I didn’t have time to visit the Musée du Louvre itself. I didn’t visit the Musée du Louvre throughout my time in Paris, but will definitely want to visit in the future.

When the sky got dark, I decided to grab dinner at a small little place called Bistrot Paul Bert where the late Anthony Bourdain dined once. I had Scallops with mushrooms and garlic as an appetiser and Beef Tartare (Raw Beef) for my mains. The Beef Tartare came with a side of fries and some salad which I did not fancy. The meal ended with a very delicious desert of which I can’t remember the name. The food was all very good and the waiter that attended to me was very prompt. Dining Al Fresco (Outdoors) really completed the whole Parisian dining experience as well. Great first dinner in Paris! With a full tummy, I had a nice evening stroll back to my hostel to rest for the next day.

The next morning, I woke up, feeling hungry for some iconic Parisian food. So I opened up Google maps and looked at my list of places I wanted to try out. To maximise the amount of stomach space I had, I decided to just have small snacks interspersed within the city. Along the way, I took many interesting stops for photographs. Paris is truly a city that is meant to be walked.

First stop was to Jacques Genin, a desert institution in Paris serving up the most delicious caramels in the world. I grabbed an assortment for my family to try and headed of to my next food destination, L’as du Fallafel.

First time witnessing a mini protest march in my life.

There are always skaters in the Place de la République.

Autumn colours again. You can never get enough of that golden foliage.

Soon, I entered Jewish quarter where L’as du Fallafel was located. It was kinda cool because I have never seen a Jewish person in real life before and seeing some of them in their traditional Jewish outfits made me really excited.

When I arrived at around 12pm, L’as du Fallafel already had a line cutting into the next two stalls. They were that popular. Without hesitation, I joined the queue, not wanting to wait any longer. The line moved really quickly and I was soon ordering. I ordered their most popular option and did takeaway as the place was packed. Finding a corner right outside the stall, I dug into the Fallafel.

I’ve never had Fallafels in my life before and people who know me, know I hate vegetables. But man, after the first bite, I was a convert. The humus, yogurt sauce and chilli sauce tied the vegetables and falafel (Deep fried ball made of grounded chickpeas and fava beans) together and the big and fresh pita bread blanketed everything. The portion was huge and I took nearly 20 minutes to finish it. I thought it was a snack.

Le Marais, the Jewish quarter of Paris is one of the most beautifully decorated parts of the city.

I can still taste the Falafel in my mouth just looking at this photo.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Agfa Vista 400. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

This brings us to the end of this blogpost. I took so many photos while I was in Paris, I’ll probably have to do three blogposts for it. It’s safe to say I’ve enjoyed my time in Paris a lot and I hope to share everything with you guys! So until the next blogpost, keep shooting film friends!