See you in November

I've borrowed this photo of Recoleta Cemetery
from my daughter Lila.  She took it
a few years ago when she was in Buenos Aires,
where I've been this past week.
Now I'm in Montevideo, and tonight I'm going
to board a ship and head south, where
there will be only the sketchiest Internet connection—
or, more likely, none whatsoever.
I'll be home and blogging again on Nov. 28.  
Please come back then; I'm hoping to
have a whole lot of pictures to share with you. 

[Linking back to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

The Weekend in Black and White

At my favorite Paris restaurant: Circonstances.
We were saying goodnight to Franck and Karin, the
very talented owners of this place—and I
noticed that they were ready to pour the wine
for the next day's lucky customers.

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

Weekend Reflections

This is the Pavillon du Lac, in the Parc de Bercy,
which I visited for the first time on my
recent visit to Paris.  It's worth traveling to
the outer arrondissements—where I never went
when I lived there long ago, because it
was considered too dangerous.  A whole lot
has changed in a half century (!).

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

signs, signs

This sign is across the street from the 
Eddy Varekamp Gallery.  You can find reasonably
priced linocut and stencil prints at this
Amsterdam shop—a great gift or souvenir.

[To see more signs, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—P is for "pretty pink pigeon perch"

. . . in the piazza.  I think Venice has some
 of the most beautiful street lamps
in the world.

[To see more abc posts, go here.]

lady in red

I always try to visit the Louvre pyramids
at night when I'm in Paris.
Last time, I saw four or five Asian couples
posing there.  It was Paris Fashion Week—but
I think all of them were there strictly
for themselves.  Brides and grooms, probably.
At any rate, they all looked beautiful.

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

pin one on

Not sure what you need to accomplish to earn one
of these, or whether you can actually just
buy one (seems wrong if you can).  They're on display 
at Bacqueville, one of my all-time fave shops 
in the arcade of the Palais Royal, in Paris.

[Linking back to Macro Monday and 
Blue Monday at Magical Mystery Teacher.]

the chapel

Late-afternoon shadows fall across the
Agnietenkapel, at the University
of Amsterdam.  We came back to this
neighborhood after dark, to check
out the famous red light district, right
around the corner: an extreme example of the
difference between night and day!

[Linking back to Sunday Shadows
and inSPIREd Sunday.]

Saint-Sulpice

I showed you a detail of this church
last Sunday, but there's something to see
everywhere you look, inside and out.

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

Weekend Reflections

Reflected in a window along the
Egelantiers Canal, in Amsterdam, the
steeple of the Westerkirk.  I can't
swear that the bells ring every 15 minutes
24/7, but I'm pretty sure that's
what woke me up at 3 AM.  Didn't really
mind; I love the church bells.

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

keep it clean

I posted an image of a shop window the other day—
and if you had to guess where it was, your 
first guess probably wouldn't be "the Netherlands."
This Amsterdam sign is for local dog walkers,
however.  Pretty easy to tell what it says, even if
you don't speak a word of Dutch.

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—O is for "opera house"

This is still one of the most beautiful buildings
in Paris, especially when it's all lit up
at night.  Since the (not at all attractive, imho)
Opéra Bastille was opened in 1989, the
19th-century Palais Garnier now hosts mostly
ballet performances.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

beep beep

Parking is an issue in the Jordaan neighborhood,
in Amsterdam—unless, of course, 
you happen to be driving one of these cute
cars, which fits on the sidewalk and
is barely bigger than a bike.

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

Monday mural

I love this large mural, which I found in Paris—
don't remember exactly where it is,
but somewhere in the 3rd Arrondissement.
Also don't know what it means, but
I could come up with a couple of scenarios.
What do you think?

[Linking back to Monday Mural
at Oakland Daily Photo.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A detail in Saint-Sulpice, a 17th-century
church in Paris—and the city's second-largest,
only slightly smaller than Notre Dame.

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

The Weekend in Black and White

This tattoo parlor is in Amsterdam.  So,
knowing that, is there anything
about it that strikes you as unusual?

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

Weekend Reflections

You'll notice that these card players are in
a coffee shop but are not drinking 
coffee.  That's because it's one of those
Amsterdam "coffee shops" where
you go to smoke hashish.  No, I didn't, but
I did get a little contact high walking
past and that was more than enough for me.

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

laundromat?

There are signs like this on many of the
buildings in Amsterdam (often with
 no words and probably dating
back to a time when many people
couldn't read or write).
I'm having a hard time translating this,
and finally decided it could be the
name of the proprietors, who specialized
in . . . laundry?

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—N is for "Netherlands"

And a pretty canal in the just-
quiet-enough district
of Jordaan, in Amsterdam.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

somewhere in Paris

This almost never happens: to spot a
beautiful, colorful, photogenic
door—without a car parked right in
front of it.

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

blue lantern

I was very struck by how clean Amsterdam
is and by how little graffiti there is.
The stoops are lined with flowering plants
 and there are lots of pretty decorative
elements—such as this blue lantern—everywhere.

[Linking back to Blue Monday at
Magical Mystery Teacher.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is a small part of the Catholic church
of Franciscus Xaverius, in Amsterdam.
It was filled with people when
I just happened to step in at 5 on a Saturday.
Now I know they have a high mass,
sung in English, on Saturdays at 5:15—in case.

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

les roses roses

Masses of pretty pink roses, for sale at
the Marché d'Aligre, in Paris.
They also had yummy figs (we got 1/2 kilo
for 3 euros) and avocados were six
for 2 euros! I just paid $3
for one avocado here in Brooklyn.

[Linking back to Pink Saturday
at How Sweet the Sound.]

Foucault's Pendulum

Proof (if you needed it) that the earth rotates 
can be found right here in the Musée
des Arts et Métiers, in Paris.  (I was taking it
on faith because the explanation is a
bit over my head.  So I'm glad I saw Foucault's
pendulum in action.)

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

what's for dinner?

Another image (like Tuesday's) from rue Paul Bert,
in Paris. No thanks to the veal kidneys but
a big yes please to the roasted figs.
Maybe I'll just have dessert for dinner.

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—M is for "Monteverdi"

Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer, string player,
and choirmaster, died in 1643, and is buried
here in the church of the Frari, in Venice.  Even now,
almost four centuries later, I've never seen his
gravesite without flowers left by a fan.

[To see more ABC photos, go here.]

foodie street

This is rue Paul Bert, where you find the
famous bistrot.  I've never been there,
but I was passing by here on my way to one
of my fave Paris restaurants, where I'm
always the lone American among the (friendly)
locals—and I like it that way.

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

counting crows

Here and there you can find some pretty
decorative tiles in the subway
—if you keep your eyes peeled for them.

[Linking back to Macro Monday and to
Blue Monday at Magical Mystery Teacher.]

in the corner

I showed you the exterior of this old church
on Friday.  Here's the interior—
so simple. I love it.

[Linking back to inSPIREd Sunday
and Shadow Shot Sunday.]