Nobody Home

by Himiona Grace (New Zealand)

I didn't expect to find France

There is so much to love while travelling in another country. Coming from a place like New Zealand where crowds only exist in the big cities (we only really have one big city, Auckland) the culture shock of busyness, traffic, noise and pedestrians hits you immediately. And it can be quite overwhelming. I love people and culture and of course the amazing food on offer. But sometimes I like to get away from the maddening crowd, find a small cafe along a side street and chill over a coffee or cold beer. And to encourage me to do this I also love to set myself a challenge. Take photos and videos of empty streets in a city otherwise teeming with people. I didn't expect to find many places where I could do this. Especially in Paris. The queues to all those iconic places were like slow-moving rivers where you don't have that urge to jump right in. Once you're close enough to take in the historic building, famous art you have to compete with hordes of people taking selfies 'as proof' that they 'made it' to the destination rather actually experiencing it. The number of photos I took that were photobombed by hands holding cell phones is incredible. So I learned pretty quickly that to achieve people-less streets is to start the day early. Sunrise is always beautiful regardless of where you are. In the big cities, the morning is filled with anticipation. Walking is also much better than taking public transport or driving. Getting lost can be fun but tiring. I started my travels in Angouleme in south-western France. It is a beautiful place with a mix of ancient and modern architecture. With a population of 110, 000 I guess it could be classed as a small city. Of course, I chose to stay in the old part of the city with cobblestone roads and paths, boarded up windows and yes, empty streets. I was amazed. Where are the 110k people? My challenge was a huge success here. I travelled north-west through small towns, countrysides to the coast and met some amazing people. The food markets in all of these places were mindblowing. Seafood, cognac and truffles were quite the treat for someone from the South Pacific. All these places I managed to find many empty streets cafes, bars and restaurants to photograph. In Grenoble, I even found a cafe called Kai Iwi which is owned and run by a fellow New Zealander. The surrounding mountains are breathtaking and it did make me feel a little homesick. I had travelled for close to three weeks before I headed to Paris. This was a good decision. I had become accustomed to the place, had learned enough of the local lingo to order food or ask directions and I felt ready. Still, it was incredibly busy and confusing. I arrived at rush hour in the afternoon and had to negotiate my way to Hotel Eiffel Capitol which obviously sounded like it was very close to the Tower. Which means 'people'. Untold people. Millions of people! I thought my challenge was going to be impossible to achieve. But I was up for it. It took days before I got my first people-less shots. I was lost on the subway and have no idea where I jumped off. It was around 8.15 in the morning. I took an escalator down into depths, rounded a corner and lo and behold. An empty subway tunnel led to an empty platform. I couldn't believe my luck. I got to the Eiffel Tower early so the wait wasn't too bad. Once up there I turned into that tourist I was criticising earlier. Yep, I took selfies and posted them right then and there. Much later that day I went to the Louvre. I knew there was no point in going in but wanted to find my way there so it would easier early the next morning. It was how I expected, tons of people everywhere. But when I arrived the next morning my timing was impeccable. Not only did I get people-less shots outside the Louvre but inside as well. And I have photos to prove it.