Bridges

Because Paris is a city divided by a river, bridges have always played an important role in the city. I have two groups of pictures for this post. The first is of the Pont Neuf, or new bridge, which ironically is the oldest bridge in the city. It was ordered by Henry IV, whose statue stands at the headway of the Ile de la Cite. It's an important bridge because it connects the left and right banks, via the Ile. One of the oldest squares, the Place Dauphin, is located right next to the bridge, on the Ile. The pictures are of the bridge taken from the right bank, and then there's a close up of some of the metal work on the light posts. Since I included the oldest bridge in town, I though I'd also include the newest, the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir. It's a footbridge that connects Bercy Village with the newish Mitterand Library. I'm no architectural historian or aesthete, but to my tastes most modern French architecture is soul-less, but I think they got this bridge right. I love the way it dips up and down, and the wood contrasts the sterile glass buildings that it leads to. Bercy, on the other hand, is a lovely green area, although there's a Frank Gehry building right after the park. Again, not to my taste, but his style of deconstructionist architecture seems to be all the rage. At any rate, the Passerelle was an unexpected surprise, as was the two girls on the bridge who wanted to take their picture with me. I'm not sure who they thought I was, but I think it made them happy.