Thursday, July 3, 2008

Goodnight, Sun

If you've ever been to Paris, or have heard people talk about it, you know that it's an exceptionally beautiful city. Filled with incredible architecture, flowering, spacious parks, and wide, tree lined boulevards, The City of Light faces few competitors in the aesthetics department. But one aspect of this city's beauty often goes unmentioned. It has nothing to do with a physical structure - monuments, cathedrals or museums - and everything to do with nature. Spends some time wandering Paris at dusk and you'll see what I mean. Parisian sunsets are second to none.

If you think that the best sunsets take place over the ocean, or in the mountains, or in the county, you might change your mind when you see one in Paris. Viewed from a rooftop apartment, the entire city sparkles under a color-changing sky. Viewed from a bridge on the Seine, the water reflects the fading light while the monuments in the distance set a picturesque landscape. And no building looks more amazing when the sun goes down as Les Invalides. The façade takes on a glow that is impossible to describe.

When you live in a city, even one with lots of parks, you sometimes feel out of touch with nature. The air is filled with exhaust, there is litter on the streets, and wide open spaces seem so far away. A beautiful sunset can be a breath of fresh air in a concrete jungle. When the world's most fantastic man-made structures serve as the backdrop for a nature-made phenomenon, the result is simply breathtaking.

2 comments:

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Anonymous said...

You're right. I did change my mind about sunsets.