Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

If you're thinking what I'm thinking, you're thinking:
1. Are we in Rotterdam?
2. Huxta needs to get her ass back there with a 4x5 camera.
3. Too bad there's such a clampdown on skaters in this area.

Friends, we're not in Rotterdam, we're in Paris, in the quartier of Beaugrenelle, near the Eiffel Tower and along the Seine River. I spent a lot of time wandering this spot with my camera in 2001 and 2002 while dogsitting for a friend who lived in one of the towers. It was a vacation from my life in a tiny room. Built in the 70s, this residential and commercial center is one of the few areas in Paris with skyscrapers, but the area slowly emptied out over the years. One of the towers was completely abandoned; birds circulated through the windows. This year the city demolished the tower and is in the process of renovating the whole area. The French architectural firm, Valode & Pistre, responsible for designing Bercy Village, won the renovation contract and plan to recreate a massive shopping and business center.