Pere Lachaise in a huge famous cemetery in Paris. Many people know of it because Jim Morrisson is buried there but, in fact, there are almost one million people buried there, many also well know, such as Chopin, Colette and Oscar Wilde. I love to wander around here. I decided to visit it on November 1st which was All Saint’s Day. It is a huge national holiday in France and one in which many people visit the graves of those who have died, where the graves are tidied up and flowers are left. It is the day when florists sell their largest amount of flowers for the year. I took so many photos that I am going to split them up in to several postings.

Here is the sidewalk of a florist right by the entrance of Pere Lachaise. You can see the crowds of people in the background entering the cemetery. The cemetery was packed with visitors, and also large groups of tour groups.

The cemetery had done some beautiful landscaping. This one was inside the crematorium courtyard.

My eye was caught by these red geraniums as most of the flowers left by tombs were yellow chrysanthiums.

A dapper gentleman in full evening dress who has become a sort of fertility help, visited by women wanting babies. He was gunned down in front of a playhouse by a jealous husband.

I like this sculpture on the tomb of Gile, the original owner of the famous cabaret on Montmartre called Lapin Agile.

I always spot something new each time I visit. Not surprising as the cemetery is so large. This was new to me, a head reposing on a pillow, asleep forever.

The third Thursday of November is the time the wine called Beaujolais Nouveau is released. It is a way to taste what wine will taste like in the coming year, from what I understand. It is also an excuse for people to fight their way through crowded bars for a taste of the wine the minute it is allowed to be served and get roaring drunk. I first experienced the wine when I lived in Austin, Texas. It was a fun party and the wine was rather fruity and light. It isn’t a great wine but has become, due to really good hype, the thing to do if you like wine.

If you have had a great experience celebrating Beaujolais Nouveau, go to Blue Vicar at www.bluevicar.com and write about it, or just go and read about it when other people post. She has some interesting postings as well on Halloween in France.

On Place de la Madeleine is a high end gourmet store, Fauchon, that is fun to stroll through and which always has really fabulous windows. They are now celebrating 120 years of business as seen by this photo:

Love the can can girls

These little pink boxes contain some of their own brand chocolate, which can be good gifts for those who aren’t lucky enough to make it to Paris.

I’d love to have some of these

This is a tin of chocolate being sold in a shop next door. I want to buy it just for the container.

This one too. Aren’t they great?

One of the things that first amazed me about France, along with the cheese and the wine, was their mustard. Even the cheap stuff in the grocery stores tastes different than what I used to get in the States. The French add more horse radish to their mustard and it can really clear your sinuses and bring tears to your eyes if you get too much on your sandwich. I was also surprised that just about every area of France has their own mustard. It became a fun thing for me to do, to search out every village or area we visited to see if they had a locally made mustard.

Mustard, it turns out, has a very interesting history. It was considered medicinal to start with. Then it became a beauty product. Many mustards started in areas by a river as they used a stone water wheel to grind the mustard seeds into the paste used, mixed with vinegar, into mustard.

There is actually a mustard boutique shop in Paris called Maille Mustard. You can buy Maille mustard in the States but it won’t taste the same, plus you won’t find the many flavors available in this little store. (There is also one in Dijon).

Here is a photo of the front of the store looking very elegant, in the French way, for a place selling condiments. They sell their own line of vinegar and spices here as well.

This little display was in the window. It’s a mustard with peppers and chilies.

One of their new mustards made with curry and apricot.

Aren’t these cute? The store actually decants mustard made with white wine, into these little containers. Then the cork tops are forced tightly into the little jars for taking home. I have a funny story about these containers. I had some clients with me that I had taken into the store. They bought one of these but couldn’t wait to get home to try it but had some spread on bread with ham for an impromptu picnic. They put the cork back in and put it in their carryon for the trip home. A few hours into the trip the man sitting in front of them said, “What is that smell?” The cork hadn’t been replaced tightly enough and the mustard was dripping out of their carryon, through the overhead bin and onto the man’s shoulder. The plane smelled like mustard the entire 8 hour trip home. At least it wasn’t the mustard containing cassis which is a hot pink color. I always think of these people when I go in the Maille Mustard Boutique.

After you have been in Paris for a while you lose track of how many times you have seen the Eiffel Tower. The first look is rather breath-taking as you finally see it as you turn a corner and, there it is, the symbol of Paris and you are finally seeing it in person. Loving photography, I am always taking photos of it and, therefore, always trying to come up with different angles or different ways to get something original. After over 100 years of photographing this structure, there isn’t much to come up with that hasn’t been seen before.

When standing close to the Eiffel Tower it is hard to get the whole thing in a photo. Everyone is surprised at how large it is and many are surprised that it isn’t painted black. Maybe it was at one time but it is now a light brown color.

It is huge but still delicate and lacey, even feminine.

A view from behind a statue on Tracadero where you can get the whole structure into your photo.

A reflection in some water after a heavy rainstorm the day before

A view from a nearby street. How would you like to have this view from your apartment?

Seen through some leafy branches

Two lovers caught in their own world as the Eiffel Tower flashes its magic lights at night.

A reflection of the Eiffel Tower in a mirror at a brochante one day on Rue Cler.

A reflection in a door. I think this might be my favorite up to date.

Part of the fun of strolling around Paris is looking in shop windows. They are almost always very artistic and striking and they make you want to go inside the shop and buy it all.

I loved this plate with the cranky little cat looking at the fly on his whiskers.

These were in the window of a store selling antique books

It wasn’t until I looked at my photos on my computer that I realized that the photo I took of these “hands” were used to either hold pages of a book open or to save your place. I like them.

This display was in a window on the shopping street near where we live. They do sell macarons there but their best thing, in my opinion, is their chocolate cake. It costs the earth but, my, is it worth it.

A nearby florist. I always stop at their window as I love how they arrange their flowers. I’d love to have this little pot in my apartment.

I guess it was the English who started the concept of tea, as in when not only do you have tea but you have goodies to go with it. In fact, I was surprised many years ago when I was in England and given a full tea which was what I would just call dinner as it was a full roast beef meal. So the French have also arrived to the idea of having afternoon teas to get rid of that peckish feeling of hunger between lunch and dinner. As in many things they have added their own spin to it and made it more delicate and beautiful than the original. I didn’t actually have a tea the other day at Laduree but I took photos of the windows. They don’t allow photos inside for some reason. There was a huge crowd of people waiting to get in for tea. Laduree is known for its macarons, a dessert that must be tried to be believed.

A display in the window using macarons. Macarons are a cookie made with egg whites and almond paste and each color is a different flavor. My favorite in chocolate. Two of the cookies are put together with a creme in the center. You bite into it and the outside is crispy then it becomes soft and chewy. They are heavenly.

Some boxes full of Laduree treats for either a cat or dog lover.

A box of macarons all ready to go. I would never buy one of these as I would probably have it finished before I reached home.

I am lucky enough to live in Paris-someone’s blog says on their title page: “Don’t hate me because I live in Paris”. It is wonderful, of course. How can you walk around the narrow historic streets of the Left Bank or down the wide boulevards, such as the Champs Elysees, and not be thrilled to be living here? Among my favorite places, as my repetitious photos show, is Palais Royal:

This is in the entry to Palais Royal, some conceptual art that covers what was once a parking lot. I didn’t like it at first.

I like how people interact with the columns the most. I’m not sure if you can see the girl on top of one of them-she is doing a very gymnastic looking pose. I tried to get over there before she got down but wasn’t able to.

This little girl must have climbed on every column she could reach.

Look at all of these people sitting in the sun enjoying this “art”.

Further into Palais Royal is the garden lined with trees

One of my favorite fountains-love those unending reflections.

But, of course, after walking around Paris and looking at the loveliness, I have to go home and real life goes on. Sometimes, after an all day tour, I board the metro to head home. My feet are throbbing. I am surprised that they aren’t outlined in red with those wavy lines coming out as in cartoons to denote heat and/or pain. Almost always, when this is the case, there isn’t a seat to be found on the metro. Can’t those men see my feet throbbing, can’t they feel the heat from where they sit reading their papers? Apparantly not. It isn’t until a few stops from my metro stop when I finally get a seat. After exiting the train, there it is: the Mount McKinley of steps, the way out of the metro which I must mount if I want to go home. I trudge along the street to our apartment where I then have to climb to the fourth floor. It is so nice to take my shoes off, put on my ugly rubbery slide-ons and to sit down, usually with a glass of wine. At this point Maurice is un-wise enough to ask what’s for dinner. My reply: “Whatever you want to cook.” Still, I consider myself lucky to live here, sore feet and all.

in Montmartre.

Montmartre is a lovely little “village” over-looking Paris and one of the places tourists love to visit. It can be over run with said tourists but still has pockets of charm and that incredible view.

Any Impressionist painter you can name hung out in Montmartre at one time. Utrillo, found in the small cemetary there, was one of them.

Sacre Coeur up at the top of the hill is very wedding cake in appearance.

In the smaller and more charming church in Montmartre is St Pierre which has lovely stained glass windows.

Lapin Agile, a cabaret that was once the hangout of the Impressionist and which is still in operation.

Grafitti of an artist, fitting as there are so many at Montmartre in Place de Tertre

This sweet little girl was having her portrait done there and couldn’t wait to see it.

The Interior

Not only is the Louvre full of art treasures, but the interior of the building is also a work of art on its own.

This is the interesting stairs into the lobby below the glass pyramid

I turned the camera just to be a little “arty” to get a view of the exterior through the pyramid underneath.

A closeup of Michaelangelo’s Dying Slave

The foot of Mercury, the messanger god, being blown aloft by a little wind god.

Everyone likes to take photos of Venus di Milo

A pretty corner of a ceiling

The Three Graces

I remember the first time I saw the glass pyramid newly built in front of the Louvre. I was puzzled as to why anyone would put something so modern in the middle of a courtyard in such contrast to the surrounding buildings. I didn’t think it fit. I like it now, especially the way you can see the buildings through the glass of the pyramid and the fountains, which are mostly working now after a year, provide great photos. The lobby underneath is wonderful as well and was much needed.

The pyramid and the Louvre beyond on a sunny day

One of the fountains, working at last

Yet another view

I love getting reflections in the fountains. This is one that was working but now isn’t and is getting full of green sludge, but, still, it works for reflections.

Right across the way is the wonderful petite arch de triumph leading into the entrance of the Tuleries Garden. If you walk through the garden you reach Place de la Concorde. Keep walking and you are on the Champs Elysees and then the Arch de Triumph at the end, all perfectly lined up with the Louvre Pyramid.

One of my favorite places to stroll around in Paris is the Left Bank. Neighborhoods full of winding, narrow streets, Saint Sulpice Church, and the Luxembourg Gardens all add up to a pleasurable day.

Saint Sulpice Church, much visited now since the book, The Da Vinci Code came out, has a lovely exterior. There are two towers but one is covered in scaffolding and has been for over a year.

I always pass a patisserie on the way to Saint Sulpice with really wonderful desserts. This is a lemon tart that looks like a sunflower.

A pot of geraniums in the Luxembourg Gardens. They always have really gorgeous flowers here.

In a corner of the gardens is this Medici Fountain-very dramatic.

I love the loops of greenery on the side of the fountain.

Another pot of flowers

A close-up of the end of the fountain-two lovers being watched by a god.

A couple of people have written saying that they can’t easily read my site as it stays dark. I’m not sure what the problem is. I do know that when it loads it starts out dark but then turns light. I’ll ask my son, my web master, what is wrong.

In the morning when I woke up I looked out the window and could barely see the street through the fog. Happily, it all cleared out by late morning and Paris was left with blue skies, mild temperatures and sunshine-always a wonderful combination in Paris. I took a nice lady for a photo tour around Paris and was so glad we had a great day for it. Here are a few photos I took.

Here is a reflection of some lamps in some old windows still having the hand blown glass intact.

A sweet sign in a restaurant in the Left Bank called The Frog. I peeked inside and it has a wonderful abience. I wouldn’t order frog legs, not my favorite thing, but I may have to try this little place.

I am trying to pay attention to smaller details as I wander around Paris. This was a keyhole on the side of a building with a rather elegant background.

An old sign on the side of a hat shop. I like the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

An elegant old keyhole. The key to open it would have to have been huge-must have been hard to carry around.

We are back in Paris after the fast TGV ride up from Provence. It is always so nice to take a train-none of those security lines and check-ins three hours before boarding.

I will be out and about today with my camera. It is actually sunny with blue skies. I will probably be in the Left Bank but may swing by the Louvre.

I always see artists doing their thing around Paris

And I am sure to have something sweet.

We are getting busy tidying up the garden, doing last minute cleaning and emptying the freezer and refrigerator as we get ready to return to Paris. The weather has been so spectacular here that I almost hate to leave. The weather is 70 degrees everyday, the sky blue, the air crystal clear, all so perfect that I almost hate to return to Paris where the skies are often gray. I guess I’ve become a country person somewhere along the way. I always miss our house when we are in our tiny Paris apartment. Soon the energy, beauty and rhythm of Paris seeps into my blood and I am happy again but I will think back to my last sunny day in Provence walking on the roads around our neighborhood until we return in the Spring.

If I head downhill from our house I always pass the home of some neighbors from the Savoie area of France. They come every single week-end and they work like beavers from morning to night. They bought the home of an artist that wasn’t finished and which needed alot of work. We are wondering what is left to do. Every week-end we can hear the sound of wood been cut with an electric saw or a cement mixer churning away. This square box is the water collector. We have one too but it was just an ugly plastic thing which we finally covered with some left-over wooden steps while this is a work of art with a stainless steel water collector on top. I hope I get to see the interior of their home someday. They’ve certainly done alot to the exterior that we can see each time we drive past.

The leaves of a fig tree. I always pick a fig for Maurice when I pass it as it is wild. I got the last one last week. They aren’t my favorite fruit although I used to eat Fig Newtons. Maurice loves them.

Acorns are seen everywhere, mostly on the ground. We have an oak tree in our back and front yards and the acorns are scattered thick upon the ground. In the Spring, I spend alot of time pulling up tiny little oak trees.

A road stained purple with grapes from the vendage. There are still grapes left along the side of the road. I’m sure the birds must love them. Needless to say, there is a very strong odor of grapes becoming rather vinegar-ish.