A Day Trip to Nogent-sur-Marne

The Paris Vignettes series features the inspired work of street photographer William “Bill” O’Such in themed installments

Inspired by classic street photographers, a good friend suggested an adventure out to Nogent-sur-Marne to see the Willy Ronis exhibit. Since my friend was coming from one part of Paris and her friend from another, we decided to meet directly there. I took Ligne 1 to Nation (“nation en couleur”) and changed to the RER C. By some miracle, we all arrived at the same time!

After exploring the Willy Ronis exhibit and the permanent historical images of the area (“la marne avant”), we had lunch and set out to discover this new city. Naturally, our first stop was the City Hall, which featured a statue of Charles de Gaulle (“de gaulle”) who, we learned, was a frequent visitor to the city. The houses (“une maison typique”) we passed all boasted charming architectural details.

Passing again through the main area (“centre ville”), we headed downhill and eventually reached the Marne River. In some ways, it felt as though time hadn’t touched it (“le verger”), with the bridge (“la marne aujour’hui”) and rowers (“les rameurs”) appearing much like those we’d seen in the gallery, including a glimpse of the original Pont des Arts (“pont des arts”). As we strolled along the river, we even stumbled upon a lively jousting match between two boats (“qui va gagner ?”), each vying to push the other into the water.

The relaxing greenery of the park guided us along its paths, sharing the stroll with many others (“balade dans le parc”). Eventually, we made our way back to the station (“nogent sur marne”) to head home, filled with memories of a delightful day.