Midnight in Paris

This was taken from the Pont St. Louis.
That's the Hotel de Ville on the
right, the Tour St. Jacques on the left.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"mood"

And the mood is good!
This is the finale of Fuerza Bruta, which
I've featured before, here and here.
The guy in the white shirt enticed audience
members out into the middle of the floor—and
whether these folks knew what was coming or not,
they all seemed to enjoy the shower.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—C is for "ceiling"

(and chandelier too)
Last week, my photo for the letter B was taken at the
Hungarian State Opera House, in Budapest.
This one was too—of what you see when you look up.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Paris Plage

This shot was taken well after the sun
had set (which is at about 10:30 at night—so
not a lot of little kids up and enjoying
Paris Plage at that hour) . . .

but still quite a few (mainly young)
people making the most of this
temporary beach set up by the city,
this year along the quais on the Right Bank
west of the Marais and east of the Louvre.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Tour de France

I left Paris the day before the exciting
finish of this year's Tour de France, so I didn't
get to see the riders pedaling up the
Champs Elysées or this year's winner in the
yellow jersey.  But I got the general 
idea when I visited this toy store last Friday.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows.]

Back in NY

I love what they've done with these
planters near my office—and they make sure 
the flowers don't wilt in the NYC heat.
Just hope no one actually wants to
sit on those benches.

[Linking back to Today's Flowers.]

Time to head home

It's one minute past midnight, the coach is
once again a pumpkin, and Cinderella
has to get on a plane and return to reality.  Sigh.
But it will be fun to get my pictures up on
the computer and see what I have to share with you.

[To see more of The Weekend in Black and White,
visit Dragonstar's meme.]

la verrerie

In the window of the Hermès store in
St. Germain des Prés, gorgeous
glassware in a "more is more" display.
See anything you like?

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Le Train Bleu

This Gare de Lyon restaurant gets my vote for 
"most elegant place to get a meal—or just a drink—
in a train station."  It's been here since 1901
but was renamed in 1963, for the overnight express 
train (with the dark blue sleeping cars) 
that carried the rich and famous from Calais 
down to the French Riviera.

[Linking back to Signs, Signs and to Weekend Reflections.]

ABC Wednesday—B is for "Blanche Dubois"

. . . who likes to tag along when I travel
(elle adore Paris, naturellement).  Last September, 
she got to attend the opera in Budapest . . .

where she enjoyed the performance
along with Teddy, Oskar, and Bunny
—the special friends of my special
friends (you see, I'm not the only one).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Paris, I assume

Given the color scheme—blue and red façades
and the elegant white chair—and that
 (perfume) shop is called "Marie Antoinette"—
it could hardly be anywhere else!

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Une jolie maison jaune

Near the Panthéon and the rue Mouffetard market street
is this pretty yellow building where I would
love to live.  However, an online search and some
quick calculations tell me that property values 
at this well-located address average 15,388 euros/sq. meter
—which means that for a place smaller than 300 sq. ft.,
I would need to plunk down more than $500,000.  Oh well.

[To see more Monday Mellow Yellow posts, visit Gemma's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

I took this shot of Notre Dame from the
Pont de l'Archevêché last time I was here, in September.
We get it: You're in Paris and you're in love (with each
other or maybe just with the city itself).  Mazel tov—really.
But how about showing some love for the bridges
of this beautiful place (and not cluttering up
the view of this gorgeous cathedral)?
The locks that made part of the parapet on the
Pont des Arts collapse were removed in early June
and I hope these are gone by now too.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

Le Weekend en Noir et Blanc

I don't know exactly when this building was built,
but these ladies have probably been holding 
that balcony up for a couple of centuries.  First rule of
strolling around Paris with a camera: Remember to look up!

[To see more of The Weekend in Black and White,
visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Reflets du Weekend

The food pavilions of Les Halles were dismantled
in 1971 (random fact: one of them was
re-erected in Yokohama, Japan).  But although
the market is no longer, there are still lots of shops 
that cater to cooks–both amateur and 
pro—in the area just north of where it once was.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"favorite"

The perfect prompt for where I am now.
Actually, I'm having lunch up there today—
it's one of my favorite things to do at my
favorite monument in my favorite city.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—A is for "autographs"

Here we are at Round 17 of ABC Wednesday
and this is my 350th ABC post (!)

If you collect autographs (and I don't mean
Justin Bieber's, for example), head to
St. Germain des Prés.  This shop is on the
rue Jacob and there's another right around
the corner on rue Bonaparte.
(Have you ever asked a celebrity for their autograph?)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.
Also linking back to Weekend Reflections.] 

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

Happy Bastille Day from the place you 
want to be on the 14th of July!
Since I'm posting ahead, no shots of parades 
up the Champs Elysées or fireworks from
the Eiffel Tower—but if I'm lucky, maybe later.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Blue Monday / Lundi en Bleu

If I had a terrace in Paris (I wish!), this would be on it.  
This shot was actually taken in November, 
proof  that Paris florists have 
irresistible offerings at any time of year.

[To see more Blue Monday posts, visit Smiling Sally's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Up in Montmartre, you can't miss the imposing 
Sacré-Coeur basilica, one of the newest 
churches in Paris (it was opened in 1914). In its 
shadow sits Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre, a
charming little church that's been here since 1147.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Though actually being out of my usual rut—
whether in a place I know and love or a new
destination—is the best part, I still enjoy the voyage
itself (despite all the security, etc.) and also
 the anticipation (OCD confession: I'm packed on
paper long before I put anything in a bag).
What's your favorite part of traveling?

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Skywatch Friday (sort of)

Guess where I'm flying off to tomorrow!

It's a much-anticipated trip with my brother and sister-in-law. 
 I'll get to enjoy the city through their first-time 
perspective and I hope they'll love it as much as I do.
I won't be entirely off the grid, but will have only
an iPad with me and may not be visiting
my blog pals as much as usual.  But I've scheduled
my posts for the next couple of weeks
and hope you'll still come by while I'm away.

{Et un très bon anniversaire à ma belle Lila!}

[To see more (real) Skywatch posts, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"sound"

I recently showed you some of the high-flying
performers of the wonderful show Fuerza Bruta.
The music was an important part of the performance
and the drummers kept the crowd dancing
(we were already on our feet, because that's how
you experience this lively show). 

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—Z is for "Zoltar"

Remember this guy from the movie Big?  
When I saw him at Coney Island
recently, I definitely didn't ask him to
make me bigger (or older)!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Fat Boy

That's the name of this sculpture by Leonard Ursachi.
It was in Florida for a couple of years and now
lives right in my Brooklyn neighborhood—in front of
the beautiful red-brick Litchfield Villa, in Prospect Park.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Meet my BFFs

These guys came by the office to see me recently.
Admit it—you're envious, aren't you?

[It's Blue Monday—and who could be more blue than my pal
Cookie Monster?  To see more, visit Smiling Sally's meme.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

I find myself hoping for sunshine and
searching for shadows wherever I travel—
and found both in abundance at the
Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

The year I took this shot, a little (!) fog
was not going to deter these folks (or me)
from getting to the beach for some
Fourth of July fun. If you're celebrating
today, I hope you have sunshine!

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Iconic

The NYC skyline is always evolving,
but the Empire State Building still takes
pride of place in this view (one I
never tire of on my morning commute).

[It's Skywatch Friday. To see more go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"motion"

In Paris, the #4 metro comes rolling into the Cité
station on its way to the Marché aux Puces.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—Y is for "yum or yuch?"

Not for me, thanks.  Frankly, the only thing 
here that appeals to me less than fried 
oreos (seriously, why?) is the pink and blue
cotton candy.  Are you a fan?

[To see more ABC Wednesday posts, go here.]