Why would you want to visit Paris when you can just go to the South of France and see the trash version (not to be confused with Paris Hilton or the hotel in Las Vegas) for free? For almost two decades Gerard Brion has been recreating landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Sacré Coeur, out of rubbish in his back garden. The work starts in his studio where Brion handcrafts pieces of his authentic-looking mini-version of the City of Lights. It’s springtime year round at Brion’s house. Pieces of cardboard, soup cans, baby food jars and old concrete blocks were all used in the making of this new tourist attraction in Vaissac, France. It is not officially open to the public, but small group tours take place once or twice a week. Amongst the well-manicured flower beds and hedges in Brion’s backyard, visitors can see most of Paris, only in miniature form. Occasionally small portions of the already small Paris are lent to Parisian museums, so mini-Paris gets to see BIG Paris, which is nice. I wonder if this is what the dude in Casablanca meant when he said, “We’ll always have Paris.” Or was he talking about Paris, Texas? Hmmm…I might have to watch the movie now to find out.*
*Hey, I thought A Night in Casablanca counted as the real thing? SORRY!
