ABC Wednesday—L is for "Lucy"

I'm thinking of my darling grandmother today,
on what would have been her 130th birthday (this
photo was taken circa 1900). Miss Lucy did
make it to 94 and even at that age could rattle off 
the stats of every player on her favorite
baseball team.  She was a steel magnolia, a Southern
cook of the first order—and my, the woman could work a hat!

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

Happy Tuesday

This was one of several photo shoots that I
encountered while crossing the Brooklyn Bridge
during Fashion Week (including this one).  
On this morning, there were two—and
both of them featured balloons.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday, Our World Tuesday
and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).]

And this is . . .

Do you know?  (I cannot tell a lie—I had to look it up.)

Okay, these are Physalis, aka cape gooseberries,
aka ground cherries, aka husk tomatoes.
The fruit inside the papery husk is just a
tad larger than a pea and tastes
something like a tomato, only sweeter.

[Linking back to Macro Monday and Monday Mellow Yellows.]

inSPIREd Sunday

One more reason I love my loooong lens:
The view of Sacré Coeur (and to the left of it
Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre, the oldest church in Paris)
seen from the terrace of the Musée D'Orsay

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

A game of pétanque

 All along the shores of the Bassin de la Villette—
which links the Canal de l'Ourcq and the Canal St. Martin—
you'll find Parisians playing pétanque (and
strolling and picnicking and cuddling and bike-riding . . . ).

[Linking back to The Weekend in Black and White
and to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

Weekend Reflections

I've been going up on the Eiffel Tower
for 50 (!) years now, but until my
last visit had never climbed the steps
from the first to the second level—I counted
420 of them, which wouldn't have been bad at all 
if it hadn't been 99°F (37°C) at the time.
It was well worth it, however, for 
this reflection and for the view:

And since it's my photo and my blog, I've taken
the liberty of removing the hideous Tour Montparnasse
from this otherwise beautiful vista.  So there.

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

sunrise

Though I was here for a few days only,
 I can't imagine this ever getting old—even
if you do have to get up before dawn
to enjoy the full experience.

[Linking back to Thursday Photo Challenge ("sun"),
Skywatch Friday, Weekend Reflections,
and Orange You Glad It's Friday?.]

ABC Wednesday—K is for "keys"

These were at the Marché aux Puces,
and I love they way they're displayed.  It 
would be fun to know what each of these old 
keys once opened—but then again, 
maybe more fun to use my imagination.

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

whirling dervish

Last week was Fashion Week here in NYC,
and one day I encountered three photo shoots on my 
morning commute over the Brooklyn Bridge.
This model reminded me of a whirling dervish . . .

she was beautiful, graceful, and fierce.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday
and to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).]

Destination shopping

This is the beautiful dome of the Galeries Lafayette 
department store, built in 1912 in Paris.

[Linking back to Blue Monday.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Wandering through the Louvre, you'll find
way more than just paintings and
sculpture—there's a vast collection of objects,
furnishings, even jewelry that belonged
to various important personages.  I neglected
to note whose flatware this was . . . 

but I can tell you that this coffee grinder
belonged to Madame de Pompadour 
(though I kind of doubt she
ground her own coffee, don't you?).

[To see more Sunday Shadows, go here.] 

The Weekend in Black and White

One more post from the beach: and  it 
was absolutely worth getting up at the crack
of dawn to have this all to myself.

[To see more b/w shots, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Finally made it to the beach for the first time
all summer, and even though I live very
near some of the best beaches in the Northeast,
I wound up traveling all the way to North Carolina 
to walk barefoot in the sand.  Whatever—it was heaven! 

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

Thursday Challenge—"clothes"

When I was in Paris in July, I went to
Galleries Lafayette to see what they were
giving away in the biannual sale.  If
these leftovers from Valentino's winter 2015
collection were on sale, I would sure be
curious to know what the original prices were!

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

ABC Wednesday—J is for "jewelry"

It's a little bijoux—only 2,634 diamonds—
that belonged to Empress Eugénie,
the woman Napoleon III married for love. 
At one time it was in the hands of the
Astors, among others, but made its way
back to the Louvre six years ago.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

good—and good for you

They're low in calories, carbs, and sugar,
and have no fat or cholesterol but tons of fiber.
Is this the perfect food?  Well, maybe if
you paired them with dark chocolate and ate 
that while reading Shakespeare's sonnets 
on the banks of the Ganges. 
(food for the body, senses, mind, and soul)

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

Blue Monday

I don't know why this building in St. Germain
is lit up like this—but I'll guess that
it's probably a hotel.  At any rate, I like it.

[To see more Blue Monday posts, go here.]

Chez Monet

"I am following nature without being able
to grasp her. . . . I perhaps owe
having become a painter to flowers."
—Claude Monet

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

The Weekend in Black and White

There are many, many carrousels (in French, manèges)
to be found all around Paris.  This is one of
the most charming, I think—the dodo manège, with
fanciful creatures to ride (a gorilla, an ostrich, a panda) as 
well as some that are extinct (a dodo, a triceratops). 
 It's located near the northeast corner of the Jardin des Plantes. 

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

Fourteen years later, the memorial garden now 
fills the space where the twin towers stood 
and the new 1 World Trade stands guard over it. 
The winged structure in the foreground is the 
World Trade Center Transportation Hub
(or as some call it, a $4 billion subway station). 

[To see more Skywatch Friday posts, go here.
Also, Orange You Glad It's Friday?]

Thursday Challenge—"tranquil"

Sunset over Loon Lake, in Maine.
I took this picture 40 years ago, when 
I was on my way home from my 
honeymoon (so TBT too)—and it was 
very tranquil here, at least until 
the loons started calling each other.

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

ABC Wednesday—I is for "Invalides"

This shot was taken from the garden behind
Auguste Rodin's house. Must say, the artist had 
a pretty nice view of Le Dôme des Invalides,
beneath which is the final resting place of 
Napoleon Bonaparte.  Oh, and there's also that 
other pointy-topped doodad peeking out 
from behind the trees on the left.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

The Garden State

Actually, some parts of New Jersey are truly
beautiful—this, however, is not one of them.  The
refineries along this stretch don't exactly 
smell like a garden either, but for now I guess
they're still a necessary evil.  After 
all, I took this shot from a plane fueled 
by what's down there.

(And, yet again, would it kill them to 
clean the windows on the plane?)

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

painted lady

I spotted this one last week, while I was
riding around the little town of Southport, N.C.
Right behind it is the Cape Fear River.
Like this one, a lot of the houses in this town
have a plaque near the front door that give the home's
original owner and a bit of history.  Most date
to the Civil War era or before.

[Linking back to Blue Monday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

I've never visited the actual cathedral of
Notre Dame de Laon, which was built before the
ones in Paris and Sens.  But I did find this
incredible model in the Cité de l'Architecture et
du Patrimoine (which also has a great view).

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

The Weekend in Black and White

This is Andrieu d'Andres, one of the brave burghers
of Calais immortalized by Auguste Rodin
in his famous sculpture.  Here he's depicted
(in a separate study that stands in Rodin's garden)
thinking that he's going to a certain death at the hands
of King Edward III.  In fact, all six were saved by
Edward's wife, Queen Philippa.

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Mme. Monet's batterie de cuisine could give
any cook a severe case of envy.  Someone has been
polishing these copper pots and pans, too  . . .

and there are a lot of them!

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

Thursday Challenge—"seat (2)"

This shot was taken in November and it was
a bit chilly for café sitting.  I do see two
small glasses on a table, though, so apparently 
a couple of people had parked themselves on 
these cold metal chairs and enjoyed a nip.

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

ABC Wednesday—H is for "heirloom"

This is what's left of a child's tea set
that was brought here from France in the
1800s by my great-grandmother.
(This is all of it that I inherited from my
grandmother, and I'm pleased that it's still intact.)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Bonne nuit

A nice glass of rosé in good company on
the terrace of the Flore—my idea of the perfect
way to cap off your first night in Paris.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.
And it's the 1st of the month, so I've posted to my Paris blog.]