The corner of the Louvre

French Journal Day 142 (Travel Diary Day 222)

Today’s exploration of Paris took us to a place where we really didn’t belong. Our being there wasn’t really a choice. I had to pick up a package at the UPS depot in northern Paris. We’d been warned about visiting various parts of the north and when we got off the subway we could understand why.

Gangs of hooded youths hung around street corners that were over-shadowed by dilapidated apartment blocks. Occasionally we spotted what seemed to be an affluent dwelling, but each one was surrounded by large security fences.

Although the area was certainly poorer than where we’re staying in, it wasn’t exactly The Bronx. I didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable. I was glad, however, that I didn’t bring my camera with me. After searching around a trading estate that was also home to one or two abandoned cars, we finally reached UPS and collected our parcel.

It wasn’t until we were a few hundred metres from the subway station that we noticed the flood of flashing blue lights from police cars. The police had cordoned off an entire street. Obviously this wasn’t a good situation. In fact, the sheer number of officers on the scene was evidence that it could be an exceptionally bad situation. Naturally, I stopped to see what was going. Rachel was pulling at my arm, trying to get away from the place as soon as possible – chicken!

Unfortunately for us, the police had also cordoned off the entire subway station – this must be serious, we thought. We were now miles away from home, in a more-than dodgy neighbourhood and with no idea of how to get back. Fortunately, two girls who were in the same predicament said we could take a bus with them to the next station.

The bus journey involved us sitting opposite a young fella with clear behavioral problems who kept shouting out and threatening to hit the man next to him, who I think was his dad.

It was nice to finally arrive back at our little bubble along Canal St. Martin.

The package I received was the Promote Control, an advanced camera remote designed with HDR in mind. I’m sure it was worth the effort.

Today’s Photo – The corner of the Louvre

I wasn’t going to post another shot of the Louvre this week, but I particularly enjoyed this photo. I’m also going to post a surreal version of this photo later on today. Connect with me on facebook if you’d like to see it.