walking just to hear the sound of my new boots

place d'estienne (trinite square)

The church is encased by a half shell of cafes and wedding dress shops. In front is a small park of low hedges and green benches which i have never seen fully occupied. There is a small boutique with fancy hats and a chocolatier with a curtain to stop the sun melting its goods. The churches archways shelter the homeless, who curl up in the corners. directly opposite is royal trinite cafe, whose sign is in capitals and red neon, but i am in la rotonde which is always busy. inside are purple chairs with a round seat and purple and gold striped backs. The waiters and alert, fast and efficient. at one point you can see a slither of the kitchen, where the plates are put on silver shelves and taken on the palm of a waiter. its cool because the door is open but the concentration of people means it doesn't matter. i hear the coffee machine and the cling clang of spoons. the round tables are floating islands of conversations, the waiters bounce between them like dodgem cars of steam boats. The glass panes look out on to the metro where people disappear down the escalator. The floor is tiled with beige stones and the lights are striped orange and red. i have been sitting here so long that the waiter must have passed the thought of me leaving anytime soon. the round table is dark brown, almost black. i am saving this cafe. here is the only time i have thought about returning to Paris. i am listing the places i feel the urge to write about...buttes chaumont, the 19th, opera, gare du nord, montmatre cemetery, st Georges....i am suddenly intrigued as to my feelings of this city on return. i am a foreigner and so apparently their are secrets in this city that i am apparently denied. but i have secrets too. i share them with the city. and on return, i Will walk and retrace and smile..and no1 will know what i am smiling about. small bubbles rise from a shapely glass of kronenburg. two men in moss green coats rest on the bar. outside i can see the clock that is square with cut off corners, they appear on all useful lampposts. in the park are bright pictures and the church is lit up, not grandly, but just enough.

after this i walk for two hours in the company of my fairly new shoes that sound so good. I ponder on buying silver buttons. I decide what to do tomorrow. I discover how much i like rue du marche saint honore, as by day the glass walkway is filled with business people in black but by this time it is occupied by silent BMX riders, practicing, gliding and plugged in to their ipods.