In the week following the terrible events of 13th November, Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast sold out across Paris. When you look at his richly evocative prose, it’s no wonder – it captures the enduring beauty of a Paris we all love and those passages tinged with sadness feel ever more poignant after the city’s recent tragedy:

“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason.” (A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway)

Last weekend, I took a trip to Paris. I suppose I expected to find a city still in deep mourning and, of course, the feeling of sadness still very much rings through the air. But even in its mourning, this is a city united and shining through with those characteristics so often attributed to it. The lights still burn brightly; the streets are paved with tragic memorials, and yet are vibrant with the colours of the tricolore; and this wonderfully cultured and deeply artistic city has seen thousands flock to Spray For Paris, defiance and solidarity emblazoned proudly on ever street corner. As Hemingway so aptly put it:

“There is never an ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached.” (A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway)

Here’s my portfolio of Paris right now – a city painfully tossed, but far from sunk.

(All photos taken with Hipstamatic Classic or Canon 550D)