Gilded gate

The rays of the afternoon sun filter through branches that shade the exit of a gated mansion.

Chocolate ship cookies

Les Marquis de Ladurée on rue Castiglione specializes in just chocolate, and sails in with a cargo of chocolate macarons, chocolate tablets and unique chocolate gifts fit for modern day Marie Antoinettes.

Riverside deco

Gigantic lime green flower pots along the Seine brighten up concrete walkways.

Vélib'

While trying to get a shot of this Parisian wine bistro Vélib rent-a-bikes kept whizzing by.

Hats off

  A department store display of straw fedoras, still very much in season and perfect for sunny autumn sidewalk terraces.

Black on red

With most everyone back from summer vacation life resumes its rhythm. Here, a bicycle is parked in front of a window where inside, if you look closely, a sculpting atelier is going on.

Lady Rentrée

Today is the first day of back-to-school, the annual rentrée scolaire. This larger-than-life sculpture represents Science. The "Bac S" or baccalauréat scientifique is the most revered course of pre-college study in France.