Paris and Cannes

June 16–21, 2001

In France there are old electric locomotives, which look like French bulldogs.

They also have new electric locomotives, which resemble Shinkansen.

French post box.

Paris

I was astounded by the sheer size of the Eiffel tower. That is to say, I’d assumed that it was more than 10 metres tall, yet I hadn’t expected it to be quite so big. In my mind it was half the size.

Metro station entrances are done in the Art Nouveau style so as to add to the romance.

Cannes

What a surprise to come across a structure with a sign whose siblings graced the central squares of Moscow from the 1980s onwards (regrettably, they’re no longer there).

Animated (at least by local standards) pedestrian traffic light signals.

Signals of a more formal nature.

There is absolutely nothing to do in this place. Naive festival-goers flock here a couple of times a year. Afterwards they’re too embarrassed to admit that Cannes is a total backwater with a cinema on a beach.