31 December 2015

Hands on


A gallery wall in the Marais district.
 
***
 
- Bonne Année / Happy New Year 2016 -

30 December 2015

Paris at dusk




The magic of a Paris street just before night falls and when lights start to come on.

29 December 2015

Marché Raspail




Open Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays when it's a marché biologique (organic), this Left Bank market goes on for blocks.

28 December 2015

Sign of the times


This year's holiday window display theme at Galeries Lafayette department store is all about the new Star Wars movie.

27 December 2015

26 December 2015

Yule log


In France, no Christmas table is complete without its Bûche de Noël, the traditional Yule Log dessert, and every bakery and pâtisserie gets well stocked.

25 December 2015

Deck the windows


All over the city toy stores, like this one, stayed open late Christmas Eve anticipating last minute Père Noëls.

24 December 2015

Bagel on the block


New York style bagel shops have sprung up around Paris. Today's bagel at this one in Montmartre (seccond from the right) is, "Christmas spices."

23 December 2015

Three kings


Life-sized figurines made of silk, satin and brocade decorate the courtyard of a luxury hotel.

22 December 2015

Christmas lights

 
Just as it gets dark festive lights appear in corners and overhead.
 

21 December 2015

Aftermath


It's a strange sensation to walk down familiar streets and see photos of the dead; neighbors, familiar faces posted in doorways where they lived.

19 December 2015

Get Rihl


Whimsical tote bags by Barbara Rihl flirt from a shop window on a side street in the fashion district.

18 December 2015

Bakery on the Butte


A photograph of the Basilica of Sacré Coeur covers a wall of this Montmartre bakery.

17 December 2015

16 December 2015

Candy man


This corner stall has been a permanent fixture year round, rain or shine, on Boulevard Saint Germain near Odéon.

15 December 2015

Doorway


Details such as the tiny oval window on one side, make this door unique.

14 December 2015

Clopes


Big Tobacco is thriving as evidenced by the many brands on offer at any corner tabac, the most popular by far being Marlboro and not, as expected, Gauloises.

12 December 2015

Choux in

 
At La Maison du Chou flavored cream fillings are pumped into airy choux before your eyes using a pastry syringe.

10 December 2015

Métro exit

 
Buildings behind this métro sign create a sharp angle at the exit.

9 December 2015

Enfants Rouges


The Marché des Enfants Rouges covered market dates to the 1600's and is named for orphans dressed in red.

Above: florist at entryway

8 December 2015

Smarter


The latest "smart car" is an efficient way to buzz through narrow city streets.

7 December 2015

Place de Furstenburg

 
The tranquil beauty of this Left Bank square never fails to stop me in my tracks.
 
 

5 December 2015

Saint Sulpice organ

 
The massive Cavaillé-Coll organ dominates the interior of the Church of Saint Sulpice.

4 December 2015

Un café noisette


This is the French version of Spain's café cortado, an espresso to which a drop of milk the size of a hazelnut (noisette) has been added, just enough to turn the coffee the color of hazelnut.
 

3 December 2015

Designer vintage


In Paris, experimenting with and discovering one's own personal style is de rigueur.

2 December 2015

Autumn in Montmartre #7


Montmartre can astonish with quiet passageways, artists' studios and single family houses.


1 December 2015

30 November 2015

Autumn in Montmartre #5


  This stairway leads to the street where Vincent Van Gogh lived with his brother Theo.
 
 

27 November 2015

Autumn in Montmartre #3


Scattered leaves and a parked bicycle.
 
Above: it's early and below, in the distance, a boulangerie and a café open for business
 
 

26 November 2015

Thanksgivings past



To past Thanksgivings and Thanksgivings yet to come, a very happy one, wherever you may be.

Above: the table is set as fireplaces and candles are lit in anticipation of dinner;
finishing touches are put on an appetizer, Russian "coulibiac" pies made with fresh salmon, dill, spinach leaves - as guests don aprons to cook, nibble, tipple, and chat
 
*** 
 
- More photos in upcoming December newsletter -

Thanksgiving at:

- a farmhouse in Normandy
- Châteauneuf-en-Auxois in Burgundy, "one of France's most beautiful villages"
- a Paris rooftop apartment
- Bar 228 in the Hôtel Meurice (an elegant pre-Thanksgiving apéritif)
- more....


25 November 2015

24 November 2015

Autumn in Montmartre


Fall colors seem to be more intense in Montmartre, the hilltop village of tree-lined streets that abruptly rises out of the city.
 
 

23 November 2015

And the band plays on


A street corner band at a market in the Latin Quarter district performs every weekend, brightening up winter days.

22 November 2015

Chocolate stop


Patrick Roger's chocolates are my favorite chocolates anywhere. And I don't even have a sweet tooth.

21 November 2015

Empty and waiting


Usually this café, heat lamps on, gets so busy at lunchtime that it has to turn customers away.

20 November 2015

18 November 2015

View from a square

 
place looks onto the street where artist Toulouse Lautrec lived in Montmartre.

17 November 2015

Deserted


In Montmartre, the usually animated Place des Abbesses with its carousel and cafés, almost deserted.