A Parisian date with Valentine and a 'teuf-teuf'

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To some people, St. Valentine's Day is as good a day as any to bury themselves in their garage and try to fix or improve something on their car. There's nothing wrong with that at all, but there are others for whom the occasion takes on a certain romantic significance, and who might wish to mark it with a bouquet of flowers, a candle-lit dinner or a stroll in the moonlight with their wife/husband/fiancé(e), etc.

There's no reason why old cars and Valentine's Day shouldn't mix, and the lady in the photograph here seems to have the right idea. She's found a lovely car, an 1898 De Dion-Bouton vis-à-vis , and a beautiful, atmospheric location, the St. Paul district of Paris. The only problem seems to be the De Dion's empty passenger seat; she just needs to find a charming man who understands the workings of a temperamental and high-maintenance machine...

If you're wondering about the picture, the beautiful mademoiselle who looks like she might have been a muse for Monet or Renoir is in fact the French actress Juliette Villard in the rôle of Valentine Blondeau in the 1967 film adaption of Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes, one of the finest stories ever written, and a suitably romantic one for the occasion.

If you're worried about having to sit through some tired rom-com for the umpteenth time, we hope this picture gives you some inspiration for a better Valentine's Day. And if you haven't anyone to share it with, we hope you find your Valentine... or an early De Dion, if that's what you'd prefer.

Words: Zack Stiling
 

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