The University 'Hood On The Left-Bank
Read Lex's introduction to the Footloose project »
In a hurry?
Click any image to view all as a slideshow
Today was all about the Latin Quarter on Left Bank, through which I'd beelined en route to the Panthéon on a day when aggressive rainfall made my curiosity finite. Revisiting on this dryer and breezier day, I got happily lost in its streets as dense and criss-crossy as a student thesis, with the Sorbonne University periodically reminding me this was its neighborhood: some great hunk of storied masonry here, a book store whose bestseller rack was all philosophers there, and happy-go-lucky "cheap eats" places that are catnip to undergraduates every darned where. The experience reminded me very much of my days at Oxford, complete with the overrepresentation of dudes in its statues and the apocalyptic posters about the world's end (then/Oxford: the Iraq War; now/Sorbonne: climate change).
The Sorbonne building. In the 13th century, this housed the college of the same name, one of the first universities in the world. The awkward angle of my shot, necessitated by that lil thang called traffic, doesn't fully capture the grandeur of the building, which stretches the full length of the block and seemingly the full height of the sky. I believe only a drone could capture it in its entirety. Rue des Écoles, 75005 Paris. Lexia Snowe, 2020
Flanked by twin murals, this high-rise is the centerpiece of the Pierre and Marie Curie Campus of Sorbonne University, the renowned public research university seeded by that 13th century college. Rue Jussieu, 75005 Paris. Lexia Snowe, 2020
This scene is typical of the streets around the university buildings: verdant, old timey, and with a statue of some dude thinking. Square Michel-Foucault, 45 Rue des Écoles, 75005 Paris. Lexia Snowe, 2020
Remember this, my friend: philosopher, oil magnate, or garbage collector, we're all just a perch for the birds in the end. A statue in the Square Paul Langevin, 31 Rue des Bernardins, 75005 Paris. Lexia Snowe, 2020
The Grand Mosque of Paris, whose intricately maintained grounds are open to the public. I didn't have time to explore the grounds that day, but I intend to return. 2bis Place du Puits de l'Ermite, 75005 Paris. Lexia Snowe, 2020
Another angle on the Mosque. The building is hard to photograph cleanly from the street precisely because it is so very much a part of it -- not at all standoffish but doors always open, with Ubers triple-parking outside while families here to worship tumble out and head in, passing teens taking V-sign selfies in its doorway, et cetera. This is one of the most socially vibrant religious buildings I've ever contemplated. Lexia Snowe, 2020
The François-Mitterrand Library. I loved the way the glass played with the sun, and the tendency of Parisians that it captures: they will ass park for hours on almost anything. The crusty rim of the Seine, church steps, bridge steps, bollards, statue toes, and so on. I haven't quite traveled enough yet for this to be an entirely scientific pronouncement, but I believe Parisians may be some of the least fussy sitters in the world. Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris. Lexia Snowe, 2020