Gill - Le romance et la foto

Quelqu'un m'a dit_Carla Bruni

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A photo that I loved, the adventure of travelling and saying Yes.

Dedicated to Gill who gave me this beautiful moment.

I will tell you the story of this photo.

I had always wanted to travel and I had always looked for a way for it to be through studies or work because otherwise, I would barely have been able to do it. So I worked for many years in a company where I envisioned that at some point they would send me on a trip to visit clients. Don't think that the trips came to me easily or quickly, but I wanted them so much that I asked and asked for them. One trip, two trips, the first ones were very spaced apart. Until one day everything began to happen in such a way that I had many, many trips to the point where between between one and another I spent about 6 months working abroad and the other 6 months (interspersed) from the office.

... I had always wanted to travel... so much that I asked and asked for them... until.. I had many...

Something extremely interesting was that I almost always had to travel alone and that was a great experience (from which several stories emerge). Traveling alone empowers you, gives you wings and makes you more confident and dazzles you with everything that comes out of nowhere, with all the people who approach you precisely because you are alone and in my case there would undoubtedly be something that would tell the others that they could come approach me. I traveled calm, attentive and happy. Observing everything and open to the world, I took care of myself, I was a little distrustful of strangers just in case and at the same time I always treated everyone with kindness and the utmost respect. The truth is that even though I wanted to be serious as a precaution, the smile appeared on me immediately by nature. So a good chat, who knows with whom, arose in the blink of an eye.

... I almost always had to travel alone and that was a great experience ...

A couple of years before this story, I had traveled on my own on vacation to San Francisco. Beautiful city and I left that trip without having decided to visit Alcatraz Prison, which I regretted. It was a shame, something so representative of that city, a historical icon and I was afraid I would feel sad if I did it. It was known to me that if one day I had the opportunity to return, I would go for sure!

Well, life brought me that second chance when at work I was assigned a trip visiting a client in San Rafael, very close to San Francisco. You can go by car (I didn't have a car on the trip) or by ferry across the sea. As soon as the trip was confirmed, the first thing I did was buy online from home the ticket to visit Alcatráz. I was very happy to secure that visit because this time I wouldn't miss it.

... As soon as the trip was confirmed, the first thing I did was buy online from home the ticket to visit Alcatráz....

Once settled in San Rafael, early one Sunday morning, I went to the ferry terminal and boarded. I was relaxed, standing, reclining, leaning on my arms on the railing of the ferry looking at the landscape when suddenly someone came very close to me and asked me in English (I am an Spanish native speaker but also speak English) if I could run over to take some photos. I was almost startled and almost embarrassed, I replied: "Oh yes! Of course! Sorry! I didn't realize you were there. I'm already running." He smiled and told me: "No, no. It's you I want to take photos of. I'm a photographer and I was looking at you. I would like you to face the camera to take some photos of you, if you allow me."

... asked me ... if I could run over to take some photos... I replied ... "I'm already running.." ...He smiled and told me: "No, no. It's you I want to take photos of."...

"What?? Ehhh?? OMG! Oh, I can't believe it! It can't be!!" those were my shocked thoughts in a microsecond. I also looked at him and thought with distrust, if he was crazy, a pervert, why would he want the photos, if it was true that he was a photographer, etc., and I answered: "Ok! Yes, of course, we can take them." It's that just in another micro second my most positive thought was: Why not? How fun! It could be true, we'll have to see. After all, what harm could it do me for some photos?

... looked at him and thought with distrust, ... and I answered: "Ok! Yes, of course, we can take them." ...

He simply asked me to look at the camera and took the photos. There was a lot of wind in the bay and my hair was flying everywhere while he was taking the photos, so I tried to hold it with my hand. And just like that Gill photographed me, he told me that his camera loved my eyes and my gaze. Ahhhh!! Gill was a man older than me, handsome, very educated, somewhat mysterious and he surprised me at every moment.

... And just like that Gill photographed me, he told me that his camera loved my eyes and my gaze ...

When we arrived in San Francisco Gill left me his business card and I gave him my email address so that one day he would send me some of the photos. When I got off the ferry he asked me where I was going to, I told him that I was going to visit Alcatraz and then tour the city center. Immediately he asked me if he could accompany me and again I said yes. On trips you make traveling companions for a while, for an afternoon, for a moment, so even if he was a stranger, it was a trip and only for a while.

... he asked me if he could accompany me and again I said yes ...

We walked and talked for a long time from the ferry terminal in San Francisco to the pier where I was leaving for Alcatraz. Gill was not going to Alcatraz, he told me that he was sad that the meeting ended there and he asked me if he could wait for me to return from the visit to Alcatraz so we could continue touring the city together. It kept surprising me that he was so interested, would I do well to continue walking with him? Why not? Once again I told him yes. After all, the idea of someone waiting for me was nice and Gill was a super polite person, a very good talker and he had a particular charm for me: he was French! Oh lala! I spoke some French and loved the language. Anyway, on the trip we communicated in English since he had lived in Edinburgh for many years and back then I was more fluent in English.

... he asked me if he could wait for me to return from the visit to Alcatraz so we could continue touring the city together. Once again I said yes. ...

Upon my return from Alcatraz, Gill was there on the dock, happy to see me again. He had even bought me a souvenir, a little blue badge, like the ones on car license plates, that had my name on it. Wow... but there was more, he told me that he had bought it because he couldn't stop thinking about me (my jaw must have dropped at that point) and he added: "Because you are such a beautiful lady and it is a pleasure to spend some time with you." And me inside again Woooow!! and again, won't it be too much? It's not common to find people like that. Gill said what he wanted and felt and did it with complete courtesy. He was friendly and attentive. He also smiled genuinely and calmly. And I enjoyed the surprise, the praise... everything.

...he told me... he couldn't stop thinking about me... "Because you are such a beautiful lady and it is a pleasure to spend some time with you." ...

Gill was visiting San Francisco for the first time and only had at most one more day to be there. He was taking a very long personal trip traveling the entire route 66 alone. I was in San Francisco for the second time which almost made me an expert because traveling alone I pay a lot of attention to everything and remember the places well. So I had a lot of fun being his tour guide for a day and for him it was the perfect plan to take advantage of the hours and we went for a walk around San Francisco!

... and we went for a walk around San Francisco!...

I took him to all the main streets and important places. He accompanied me to make a purchase and we continued. Market Street, Powell Street, Union Square and Chinatown. I know it was April 14th because while we were walking through Chinatown, I told him that I had to call my friend Vir to wish her a birthday. Gill didn't speak Spanish, or at least that's what he said, and if he understood something from my talk with Vir, it was fine. I didn't say anything that he couldn't hear but I briefly told in Spanish to my dear friend about my brand new adventure and although I wanted to hide it, the moment was very fun. I even handed him the phone for a second so Gill could wish her too a Happy Birthday.

We continued walking and at the corner of Powell Street and Union Square Gill took more photos of me, this time riding one of the classic and picturesque San Francisco trains. I was a shy, still I had fun.

The hours passed and we had to return to the ferry terminal to go back to San Rafael. Already at the ferry building I told Gill that he was going to call my mother because with the time difference between San Francisco and Montevideo, it was getting very late in my city. So I called my mom and told her about my amazing, wonderful day! I was happy enjoying my trip, my experience and my mom was excited and laughing at my story. Plus she also loved that Gill was French, haha!!

It was a very nice moment. Mom was always happy with my calls and I was happy to talk to her. Look, I couldn't lie to you or exaggerate because while I was talking to my mom and telling her about Gill, he took me the first photo that I showed you at the beginning of this story. Gill gave me a great memory. I will be grateful to him forever.

... I called my mom ... Iwas happy ...and my mom was exited laughing ,..

... while I was talking ... he took me the first photo that I showed you at the beginning of this story...

When we arrived in San Francisco, Gill told me that he could stay one more day to see us again. However, the next day he wrote to me and said: ¨...I also realized we had to keep it at this moment...because you are the kind of person I would fall in love with as you are such a kind, interesting , intelligent beautiful lady.¨ I read that sitting at the desk in my hotel room, I stepped and said: ¨Whaaaat???? I can't believe it!¨ and I did Plop! and I fell back on the bed. Everything about him was so respectful and gallant. I still didn't know him and he kept surprising me with nice things.

... I did Plop! and I fell back on the bed...

Gill was a person who lived and breathed The Elegance of Love. He truly connected with the world through a loving gaze, he was like that with everyone and everything. In Edinburgh with his sister they had a volunteer foundation (still exists) that helped adults with learning disabilities.

That day that we spent together he had told me that on his trips he liked to photograph "beautiful people" beautiful and unknown people. He had been totally honest. I found that his website had beautiful photos with all kinds of people in whom he saw beauty. His website was called “Just a Drop” and one of the pages was called “Beautiful People” and there, among others, were some of the photos that he took me. It was all true and it was all beautiful.

...he liked to photograph "beautiful people" ...

We were in touch every now and then for a few years. He had plans to come to Montevideo but he couldn't make it happen. I traveled to Europe and came to London, we were going to meet there but he couldn't go. Then I didn't hear anything more about him.

A few months ago I wanted to look at your website again and noticed that a lot of the content was missing (there's nothing left). I looked for him on the internet and sadly I found out that he had passed away. I was very surprised and it was a great shame because actually he was one of the "beautiful people" in the world and he gave me the gift of a beautiful memory.

Gill Fonteyn, thank you for that great day of my life, thank you for an unforgettable story.