So, this is my favorite street in Paris. Actually, it is the type of street that I liked the most out of my wanderings in Europe. It's a small, pedestrian only, slightly sloped cobblestone path, set between flat façade stone buildings, with fine pinnate leafed trees set in symmetrical arrangement. When I first saw it, I felt that I have seen this kind of street before (which turns out to be at Placa de Tossal in Valencia, Spain). From an urban planning vantage point, this is a very efficient street that does multiple things at once: it deals with a steep change in gradation, it provides an environment where people can gather and socialize (at the café), it has space for urban greenery, which in turns gives the street a "cathedral-like" effect (with its sun-bathed leaves), it creates a courtyard for the people living in the building and... it's simply darn pleasant to be in a street like this.
I stood there for a while to sketch, and wondered what is the secret to this intimate street? As a larchie Living this modern and car-invaded cities, I want to make a street like this. A calming street, a kind of street that makes you forget the worries of your daily life, and enjoy the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. A kind of street that makes your transitory passage feels homey and comfortable precisely because it is an ephemeral experience.
An ideal street, a magical street,
the kind that mostly exist only in children's book.
Speaking of literature... places like this reminds me of the mythical café under the trees that are conjured up by Zeráfiel's poems. If only I can tell him, how haunting his words continues to be.
"What was said I have forgotten already
as the sun falls into the grasp of the tree,
leaving shadows across empty cups of coffee."
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