(Color version on Visual Venturing.) A favored Paris tourist experience is to view the city from the waters of the Seine. Here, one of the legendary “Bateaux-Mouches” sails toward scenic Pont Neuf, while the Eiffel Tower and the Institut de France beckon in the background.

And, now, for those of us old enough to remember The Kingston Trio, I can’t get this song out of my head! (If you click on the link to listen, I guarantee you’ll never think of Paris or the Seine again without humming this song 😉)

The Seine

One night along the river at St. Germain de Pre,
I first met my beloved at a small sidewalk cafe.
We walked along the river, the shadows passing by
but we only saw each other, the shining water and the sky.

The Seine, the Seine, when will I again meet her there,
greet her there on the moonlit banks of the Seine?

Standing there across the river, mid sound of horn and tram,
in all her quiet beauty, the cathedral Notre Dame,
And as we passed beside her, I said a little prayer
that when this dream was over, I’d awake and find you there.

We walked along the river, ’till dawn was coming nigh.
Beneath the Eiffel Tower we said our last good-bye.
There on that splendid morning, I left you all in tears
and the beauty of that hour will shine within me through the years

The Seine, the Seine, when will I again, meet her there,
greet her there on the moonlit banks of the Seine.