Square outside Eglise Saint-Medard
The highlight of the weekend for me was joining the crowds in the small square and watching the dancers.
I did take a break for a quick coffee before we walked back up the street.
This lady was sitting enjoying the sun outside a cafe.
Archway from Rue Jean Calvin
I waited for a while and used the archway to frame passers by as silhouettes.
Cafe Delmas
We sat outside the cafe and I had a Croque Monsieur washed down with a small beer.
Review of the the workshop images
I had chosen images from Saturday and quickly reviewed my images from the morning and came up with my chosen set of images. We crowded into the small basement breakfast room of the hotel and then spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing each other’s chosen images.
These images were straight from the camera’s mono rendering with no editing
Follow these Instagram accounts for more great images.
And be sure to pick up Valérie Jardin’s book – the reason I came on this workshop.
Dinner
After the review session we walked down the Rue Soufflot and went into a restaurant for a last drink together as a group. We sat and chatted and listen to each other’s stories.Those of us left that stayed longer had an enjoyable dinner and learnt more about how Valerie had come to be teaching street photography workshops.
Outside I had a final walk around the Rue Soufflot.
Back at the hotel I finished my packing and backed up my images.
Journey home
The bars outside my window were quiet overnight and I was ready at 7 am for my breakfast and my journey Metro ride back to the Gare du Nord. Breakfast was again in the cellar of the hotel.
At the Metro station I realised where I had made a wrong turn on Thursday as I had hardly any walking to do on the platform. The Gare du Nord was again a tourist nightmare with the Eurostar signing sometimes there and sometimes not. Luckily my ticket was able to get me ‘back in’ to the Metro station when I left through the wrong exits twice!
There were no niceties at the Paris end of the Eurostar and no announcement boards. I walked down to the gates and was told a very Gallic “Non”. It seems I was 30 minutes early for passing through. Then 30 minutes later I walked down again and was refused again as the train was delayed. This time my ticket was “helpfully” scribbled on that the delay was for 10 minutes! After waiting again (in the cold) and walking back down again(!) I was finally allowed through.
French security required the lifting of all baggage up onto a waist high belt for the security scan. Once through I bought a coffee and waited in a sparse cafe. Once the platform was called I went there joining a large throng of passengers by the doors.
My interest was fixed on a Chinese lady with two huge wheeled suitcases who stood and blocked the entrance and was impervious to be the instructions to move and clear the passage.
One the doors opened she ran with her cases to the lists and that was the last that I saw of her. My seat was again an aisle seat and once through the tunnel I did manage an image of the clouds as we passed through Kent.
