Lost in thought...This young woman was alone in Jardin du Palais Royal, sitting quietly on the park bench, no acknowledgement of our presence or of others scattered throughout the park. Was she in deep contemplation, waiting for a friend? When we walked past this spot several hours later she was gone, no visible evid…
Hier et Aujourd'huiWell, here it is... my favorite restaurant in Paris -- Hier et Aujourd'huiIt is out on the edges of the 17ième arrondissement but worth the trip! Pudlow Paris, a restaurant guide listed this restaurant as "Best Value for Money" in the 2007-2008 edition. It allowed that Franck Dervin was trained und…
Église Sainte-François de SalesRue Brémontier in the 17ieme is one of the streets between the Metro Wagram and our favorite restaurant in Paris. We recognize familiar landmarks along the way and Église Sainte-François de Sales assures us that we are headed in the right direction. When I was introducing Marie and Virginia to Franc…
Ready, Aim... Fire!Well, it was an overcast, cold day... This was just for pretend!Les InvalidesRue de Grenelle…
Zoom-zoom - rougeThis little number may be all over Europe, but this was the first time for me... BMW, rouge, sleek... It had it allWant to go for a spin?You may remember the brightly-colored cafe cups I posted on January 15th... Well a talented painter asked to use the photo as inspiration for one of her original p…
Carrousel VI -- Place Prosper GoubauxRain mixed with snow did not dampen the enthusiasm for riding this carrousel, found in the 17ième arrondissement, next to Métro Villiers... The children were with parents and grandparents on this Saturday afternoon.I do not have a name for this carrousel, but with the help of some friends I have beg…
Escalier en spiraleThis Chambered Nautilus of a staircase with the worn marble steps is found in Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF) on Rue de Richelieu. Built in 1868, the library held the largest collection of books in the world by the turn of the 20th Century. The elegant grand staircase is in another section …
Beaux-Arts - Palais GarnierThis is one of my favorite buildings in Paris, the opulent home to Opéra national de Paris. A renovation started in 2000 is nearly complete on this exquisite building which was a part of the great Parisian reconstruction overseen by Baron Haussmann between 1862 and 1873. The difficulties during con…
Galerie d'ArtAs Holly and I were walking wearily back to our apartment in December, we found this chic art gallery on Rue Saint-Honoré...Although I am not a window stylist, do you not think that this nude would have "presented" better had it been placed in front of the wall on the right rather than the wall on t…
Cathédral Notre Dame de ParisIt was a dark and stormy night...But viewed from the east side, Notre Dame lights up the December Paris sky.Bon dimanche.…
Paris en hiver... Jardin des TuileriesIn December the Jardin des Tuileries was full of people braving the frigid weather. This photo was taken on the west end of the garden and you can see the Musée de l'Orangerie in the background. In posting this photo I could not decide between the color shot above or the black and white below. It…
Marché aux Puces, St-Ouen IIIAbundant treasures can be found at the Paris flea markets (Marché aux Puces). Whether you are hunting for a specific item or just wandering on a Saturday morning, the markets are a great venue for people-watching. Marché aux Puces, St-OuenPorte de Clignancourt…
Les BouquinistesLes bouquinistes or used book sellers are seen all along the quais, particularly near Notre Dame. They have been an installation along the Seine since the 1500s and are now regulated by the city of Paris. It is estimated that it takes 8 years on a waiting list to be assigned one of these dark green …
Tourists? Who are these people?This sculpture of a family appears outside Les Halles on the east side entrance to the underground shopping mall, the Métro, and the RER. In addition to this group is another singular man running and a dog... Again, who are these people? Corner of Pierre Lescot and RambuteauLes HallesAnswer:o2 of Pa…
French friend... la boulangèreNot far from Saint-Eustache, we happened in this boulangerie and met this sweet girl, French through and through, a native Parisienne. Who can say that the Parisians are not friendly?We bought two warm sandwiches and fresh baguettes to share with Peter at our apartment and all was delish!…
Backstage - Dress Rehearsal?These Repetto tutus are ready to go, awaiting the ballerinasOpera GarnierParis…
Chaises - Église Saint-EustacheOnly three hours of sunshine during a December week... Where would you go for photos as the sun makes its appearance? I was looking for shadows and think that the empty chairs at St-Eustache made a proper subject. Another photo here.Bon dimanche…
Chocolat chaud? Tu en veux?Why does a stack of cups need to be photographed? I assure you that I do not know but the silly American took their photograph.Can you see the name on the inside of the cups? "Cafés Richard" was founded by Henri Richard to offer the finest blends of coffee, roasted to perfection.Café Étienne14, rue …
En hiver...You do not see many full length fur coats on the streets in Paris... She looked much warmer than I felt snapping this shot…
Pâtisserie Hunt - AokiEach trip to Paris includes at least one "pâtisserie hunt" and our destination on this snowy day was Sadaharu Aoki. We wanted a single delicacy... the tarte au caramel beurre salé. There was success in our purchase. We took it back to our apartment to devour in private, and it was out-of-this-world…
La PorteWhile on a pâtisserie hunt in December during a soft snowstorm, we happened upon this beautiful old door with this interesting door-knocker. If I have 500 photos of café chairs, then I have 1,000 doors in Paris. Based on our June trip last year, I think that mon amie Marie has that many photos of …
Chaises en orange et bleu...Café chairs I have learned come in many colors and styles...These are posted today for my Daddy, sister Cherie, my husband, and... bien sûr pour Virginia.War Eagle! (Guerre aigle ou cri de guerre ou aigle de bataille) …
Veggies - des Champignons?With all the sweets and treats of the holidays, I have promised myself to eat more vegetables and foods that are healthy. Somehow, as lovely as these mushrooms look, I think that they might be marzipan... Does that still count as a vegetable? (miam-miam) Stohrer51, rue Montorgueil…
Église Saint-Roch... Les CiergesI never tire of seeing the candles in the magnificent churches of Paris or watching quietly the parishioners as they light une cierge. Saint-Roch was the first thing we saw every morning and the last that we saw each night from our apartment. The bells serve as a morning alarm clock reminding you no…
Père Lachaise - room with a viewKnown as the "grandest address in Paris" this cemetery of over 100 acres is the final resting place of both the famous and the infamous. It is a great place to wander with a purpose, perhaps to find the tomb of Chopin and Delacroix, or to flâner the cobblestone paths admiring the beauty of times pas…
Reflections on the SeineWalking along Quai de Bourbon with an eye on the Seine, the clear sapphire sky made a nice contrast to the moss on Pont Marie. The water and lights provided a green-tinged reflection in the cold, dark river. For more reflections look here at James' Newtown Area Photo.…
Lagnaippe -- a storyI have never posted twice in the same day but this is a story which does relate to Epiphany, la galette des rois, and fèves. Do you remember the cake from Christmas Day with the petite manger scene on top (fèves anciens)? Here are photos of the characters and the original cake...The Story:Sunday whe…
Janeen Koconis -- portrait of an artist and friendJaneen is the propriétaire of the lovely apartment you saw on my recent post. She is a delightful former New Yorker who sold everything and moved to Paris three years ago with a few black t-shirts and jeans (and 200 books!) She created a thriving business called koco new york in 1989 the idea of whi…
Jardin des Tuileries -- Carrousel VIn the Paris snow, this carousel was a bright, noisy spot. In the late afternoon heading towards the carousel, it was an unexpected treat to see this magical blue and white wedding cake of a merry-go-round in full operation. The children were bundled and all had rosy cheeks from the cold, none seemi…
Paris apartment, wine, friends....As you can see from the photo, all of the baguettes and cheese had been consumed and most of the wine. In December Holly and I invited Peter (of Peter's Paris) for un goûter before the paparazzi team hit the streets of Paris. It just does not get any better than this! (unless we could have stayed un…
Galerie Vivienne... Martine RamaThe Galerie Vivienne was originally named Galerie Marchoux when it opened in 1826. It was purchased by M. Marchoux along with Passage de Petits Pères. His intention was to create a covered passageway lined with shops, the future vision of present-day shopping malls. This little art-framing gallery w…
Basilique Notre-Dame des VictoiresThe Basilique Notre-Dame des Victoires can trace its history back to the 17th century and struggled to survive as an active church until the mid-1800s when it was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin. Since that time it has thrived with nearly 10,000 ex voto offerings left by the faithful. You can see…
