I was up until 3:00 AM that night because I wanted to go to Normandy on Saturday and maybe spend the night in northern France and was attempting to find transportation and lodging on the internet. I found a day tour from Paris to Normandy which had a pickup time of 6:30 AM. Everything was over the internet so I just had to hope and pray that they got my reservation. However, after waiting an hour for the van the street corner I decided that they weren't coming. It was kind of a blessing be cause I'd been pushing my body to the limit for several days and knew that the next week would be more of the same. So, keeping Ex 20:8-11 ("Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.") in mind, I went back to my flat and slept, and slept, and slept, and... well you get the point. So I spent the day relaxing and reading God's word.

As evening approached I figured it was my last night in Paris and that my camera and I should take advantage of the clear weather. The afternoon rain left Paris more beautiful than I could ever imagine! The setting sun seemed to set the town ablaze! Although I tried I simply couldn't capture how beautiful it was.









A couple of guys creating music!

Friday was another day of "winging it." I'd been "unwilling delayed" in London all day Thursday so I was up late, or early depending on how you look at it, buying a new train ticket to Paris for Friday morning and trying to find a hotel. Well, there were no available hostels or hotels anywhere near my price range for the weekend but luckily a friend of a friend of my sister lived in Paris. He was an awesome guy who let me stay at his flat for the weekend! Something I was very grateful for.



The flat


When I arrived at the Gare du Nord train station in central Paris in late morning, I rushed to my friends flat to drop-off my luggage and reorganize my camera gear. After catching my breath for a minute I hurried onto the nearby Metro to a veterans care center to interview a French WWII veteran who fought on the beaches of Normandy. After spending 30 minutes trying to find the place I was suppose to meet my contact (a military officer) I realized I'd been staring at the building the whole time.

It was by far the hardest interview I'd done because I only know about three words in French and although he could speak good english, he couldn't understand my english. However, I got a great sound bite of him describing what he would have done to Hitler if he'd had 5 minutes alone with him in a room. I'd tell you, but you'll have to wait to see it on the documentary.



Here's me with the first veteran.


Afterward I was surprised to find out that my contact had arranged a second interview for me! So I took off for the other side of town trying to get there before they closed the hospital to visitors. Upon arriving I was relieved to discover that this vet spoke perfect english and had quite a story to tell over the next two hours!

By the time I rapped everything up I noticed that I was getting extremely hungry. It was then I realized that I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours! I planned to head back to "my" flat, drop my gear, and head out in search of Paris' legendary restaurants! Well, that all changed when the rain began to pour. I was still 5+ blocks away from the nearest Metro station. So I ducked into the nearest shelter which "just happened" to be a nice little cafe with a good view of the street. Lets just say that I enjoyed every bite of that heavenly meal, that is until I got the bill. lol After a little while the sun came out and I was able to return to my flat and enjoy a wonderful nights sleep.



Paris in the rain






I'd been wanting to rent a car to explore the French country side but the $400+ daily rental rate and lack of park in the city quickly dissuaded me.




The Gare du Nord train station on a busy Friday evening.

All photos and photography are copyrighted by
JPWorthington & Jeffrey Worthington - Ruidoso, New Mexico.
Shoot Location: Paris, France
www.jeffreyworthington.com