This is my favorite photo during my trip to Marseille. I don’t know the man in the photograph; I didn’t speak to him or get his name. I just felt like it had a story to tell. The buildings are aged and covered in the marks of time and experience. The white-haired man slowly worked his way up the stone street toward the unknown… at least for me.
Maybe he is heading home after a morning walk to the market. Buying something wasn’t his goal; he just strolled through the vendors and chatted with friends along the way. Maybe he’s walking to meet a companion and enjoy the beautiful morning in a park or to the city center to catch a glimpse of the entertainment before the bull fight. Maybe he is returning home after an evening with a lover. Age knows no limits when you’re a romantic Frenchman. The people of France seem to age so gracefully; he could have been doing anything. What’s your guess?
Bucket List Publications 
Great picture! I have a similar one I took on a street in Bratislava.
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That is a place I haven’t been. What can you tell me about it? What’s special?
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Wonderful photo, I love the colours and composition!
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Love this photo. My thoughts? He’s just out for a walk, filled with gratitude for such a wonderful life…
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It seems to be the case with so many in France 🙂
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just strolling, picking up the local gossip along the way!
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It’s his routine…a walk around the block (or a mile…Europeans are fit!) and then he meets his male friends at a cafe to discuss politics, sports…or to read your blog and guess where he’s going! Grin.
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Where are you from Bobbie? I love how fit and active most Europeans are.
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A guess of someone living in Paris:
He had his morning cafe and maybe a pastis with ice, too, and is now heading home for a siesta.
Guesses that contain more imagination are:
1) He went to buy a newspaper but decided otherwise after seeing awful world news
2) He walked to the harbor to see if the sea is calm, and now that he knows it is, he returns home to get his swimming suit
3) He paid a visit to his wife at the cemetery
Anything is possible!
PS Enjoy your trip Lesley!
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I love the idea of a siesta in the middle of the day or mid morning. Have you been to the south of France?
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Hi Lesley. My first-ever trip to France long time ago was to Montpellier. Since I moved to Paris (1999), I have been to the South at least once a year: Côte d’Azur, Avignon region (Luberon is fantastic), Saintes-Maries de la Mer, Arles, Toulon region, and Marseilles, too (did you have time to see Les calanques of Marseille?). And I got married in Corsica 🙂
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I love this its very personal to look at by the way in which it stirs images and memories in us all 🙂 Great photo
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You always seem to capture some great moments – some are your adventures but this one is full of mystery
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Even though I know nothing about him, this man was one of the most memorable during my trip. I was fascinated by him. I wonder if he noticed me watching him 🙂
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LOVE the photo!!!
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Ditto on nice colors and composition. What camera do you use for most of your photography?
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A Canon T2i but I do edit my photos.
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Nice work.
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AH I just got back from Marseille!! Definitly LOVED that city! Cant wait to go back.. Beautiful photographs!!
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You should share some of your favorite photos with me and maybe I could add them the Bucket List Publications; with credit to you of course. 🙂
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O I would LOVE that!! should I send them to your email.. now they won’t be near as amazing as yours 😉
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[email protected] 🙂
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What a beautiful pic. It reminds me of a similar scenario I had when I was on a trip in Paris. My friend and I were wandering the streets of the 1re arrondissement, and this old, kind gentleman approached us and asked if he could be our personal tour guide. So he took us to Jardin des Tuilleries…I’ll never forget that day or that lovely soul of a man who showed us the sights of his amazing home city😊
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Superb photo, Lesley — resonant and so very evocative of the incomparable Mediterranean charm it captures. My eyes feel good when they look at pics like this.
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Great shot. 🙂
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Your comment adds such depth to the photo…it makes me think of ways to think that will make me take better and deeper photos. thank you!
Marseille in the spring…I just added it to my Paris itinerary which was flexible anyway!
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love it. this photo can create millions of stories.
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Beautiful image…..love the colors and mystery
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LOVE this photo! You’ve captured a moment beautifully. Did you use a special camera setting or photoshop because those colors are amazing!
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Great photo.
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My question is, what brought you to Marseille?
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I’ll answer that question this evening in my next post 😉
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The moment, the possible: the life of he who is captured…
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Great shot! What a cool photo! This really is a photo with a 1,000 words!
http://WanderingInHeels.com
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The man looks so dwarfed between the weary buildings. I guess they are both a little tired. I believe ‘Jacques’ has a routine at his age. People in Europe live their lives a lot differently than we do in North America. They don’t park their bones in a rocking chair waiting to time to pass.
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I love that about Europeans. I want to live every day like it’s a gift because it is. 🙂
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They DO appreciate ‘living’ as opposed to North Americans who work 60 hours a day and don’t see their wife and kids or vice-versa.
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The pic is beautiful…
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Love this – makes me wish I lived somewhere with the beauty and history and color of these walls and buildings. Oh to be a ‘gracefully aging’ person in France. Thank you for sharing this.
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He’s on his way to while away the time by the river and smoke a cigar. “Sittin’ by the dock of the bay…”
Read my latest blog
http://www.virtuallyallsorts.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/follow-the-blog-clickety-click/
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Wonderful picture. It’s one I wish I’d made. 🙂
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Incredible photo!
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Love this photo, and your take on it. What a wonderful trip.
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He’s going to buy his daily baguette. All French people do that.
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What a wonderful story picture!
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Lovely, thank you! You have captured a beautiful moment and wonderful colours. My best wishes to you.
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Love the brilliant colours composition here! My guess is it’s a routine for him, after coffee he walks into a memory lane of yesteryears trying to reconnect with the past and present. 🙂
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this is amazing =)
Maybe he is going for a long walk. Alone. silently, wanting to think. Leaving the sad memories behind entering a new different colorful world. wanting to do what he wants for the lat few years of his life.
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Reminds me of my stay in Nice..I have a weak spot for Europe in general and walking among old buildings in different states of decay is one of my favorite activities. It´s even better when you get lost, from my experience that´s when you discover the true gems of the city. And I´m not talking about monuments, but rather moments..like the one you captured here.
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I loved the photo and, yes, I can see a story there.
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