In 1989 my husband Bill and I moved to a small town in France called La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, a suburb southeast of Paris. Before leaving the States, Bill gifted me with a Nikon N2020 35mm film camera. We moved into a lovely home, three houses up from the Marne River that flows nearby. I loaded up my backpack with water, lots of film, and the desire to explore our new location. I spent hours in my darkroom developing my photos while Chewy, our cat, waited outside the door.
Living in France was truly magical. The things those old buildings have seen and heard. Too bad they can't talk. Getting lost was typically unfortunate for anyone but not for me in Paris. I wandered endlessly and stumbled upon something new every time. Maybe because I knew this was not our permanent home, it made every day much more special.
A feeling of awe would wash over me as I walked down an alleyway or some random cobblestone street as I let my mind wander and imagined some of the greatest minds ever had walked these same streets.
Of course, we explored the obligatory things one must see and do-Versailles, Provence, Chantilly, etc. But we also visited towns we had never heard of, or someone from work would tell us, "You must see this place," and off we'd go. Sometimes a coin had to be flipped to see if we went left or right. We were never disappointed. It was like discovering something new-the sights, smells, and sounds different from one another-a photographer's paradise.
Those were beautiful days that I would never forget; days spent exploring and appreciating the beauty of life all around me through my lens-capturing memories that will last forever in my mind's eye.
The photos in this book are just some of the stories I wanted to share. Maybe they'll remind you of vacations taken, that first kiss, or when you walked down those same cobblestone streets or watched the sunset while drinking an espresso at a sidewalk cafe. Perhaps they'll inspire you to get out more and explore the world around you.
