These are my nine most “liked” photos on Instagram for the year. Four are châteaux of the Loire and two are the flowers in my garden!
Top: Chenonceau, Sully, my wisteria
Middle: Grenada, foie gras and vouvray in front of our fireplace, Chambord
Bottom: Chenonceau (from the other side), spring blossoms in Chouzy, our Pierre Ronsard roses
Which is your favourite?
Since I don’t have a lot of time to post at the moment I thought I would share my favourite Instagram photos. The format on Instagram is square which is an interesting cropping exercise. What’s your pick?
I’m back from Lisbon (but there will still be more posts) so am resuming my weekly blogger round-up, beginning with a wonderful story about a Florentine pig from Margot from The Curious Rambler. Next, Andrea from Rear View Mirror, is celebrating her second anniversary on the road with a wonderful photo giveaway that I’m sure you won’t want to miss. And to end up, The Good Life France tells us the story of an Australian from Queensland who finally saw her dream come true with a visit to Paris and Provence. Enjoy!
I’m back in Florence studying Italian and my courses seems to be going better this time. I’m not confusing Italian and French anymore (at least during the first week). We rented a beautiful little apartment in a 15th century palazzo which has painted ceilings, huge windows, and terracotta floors. Florence is full of these wonderful old buildings and it’s such a pleasure to stay in one of them.
While I’m in Florence, I thought I’d take a break from writing about France and write about some of the curiosities of this city. Hope you enjoy the story of the Bronze Pig. Read more
It’s coming up to the two year anniversary of me handing in the keys to my Parisian apartment and hitting the road to travel full time. Two years of living out of suitcases, countless hotels, Airbnb apartments and one barely habitable hostel.
I’ve been fortunate to visit most of Europe’s capitals, wander quaint villages, swim in turquoise waters, go zip lining in a national park and hiking through gorges. I’ve found my way to the top of mountains and dipped my toes in glacial lakes. My hard drive is at capacity with sunset photos and even the occasional sunrise. Read more
Many of us dream of visiting France, especially Paris, the most visited tourist destination in the world, and Provence, high on the wish list of places to visit for so many, we talk to a lady whose dream came true…
We meet Carolyn Ansky from Queensland, Australia who says “for years I played the Marianne Faithful song ‘At the age of 37… she realised she’d never been to Paris”. I felt that at the age of 54 it was now or never for me. Read more
For an explanation of these expressions, you can look here. And for you non-Europeans, the sign is the international road sign for Danger! Since I am studying now to get my French driver’s license, these triangular signs are seared into my consciousness.
Read more and see the photo in full
The first day of the month is Theme Day for the City Daily Photo community, and the theme for April is “triangles.” In Paris there are two obvious and very large architectural structures which would pass the test: La Tour Eiffel and I M Pei’s Pyramide du Louvre, seen here.
Read more and see the photo in full
Heading into the city in search of triangles for April’s theme I was a little worried that it may not be that easy.. When really looking I couldn’t believe how many times the triangle features in Perth architecture, old and new. Discovering that the triangle pointing upwards is a strong masculine sign the BHP Billiton offices above takes on an almost phallic presence n’est pas 🙂 but if you look at the Central Park building in the background below there’s a whole lot of triangle action going on also! Read more and see the photo in full
It’s turning out to be a very rainy autumn. We don’t often seem to get much sun these days, but when we do, the Palais Royal garden is a good place to soak it up! I spent a couple of hours there last week with three new American blogger friends, all of whom have photo blogs. I’m sure you’ll love their different visions of Paris.
First, Genie from Paris and Beyond, then Alexa from The Road is Mine (and other blogs!) and Virginia from Paris Through My Lens.
This photo was taken just before sunset from the area behind Blois Castle overlooking the Loire River. The Tour du Foix is part of the old 13th century fortifications.
This winter we’ll be spending quite a lot of time in Blois. This photo was taken from the Mail Saint Jean riverside road looking towards Vienne with Pont Gabriel on the right. The second photo was taken downstream of the same bridge. The river as suddenly picked up speed.
This photo owes its existence to Australian photographer Wendy Smith who is currently living in France. We were walking along chatting in the Palais Royal after a sudden shower chased us off the terrace of the Café Nemours. Suddenly, Wendy said, “the light – it’s really amazing! look over there!”. I rushed to the fence and slipped my iPhone through. It was not until I saw the photo on Instagram that I realised there were TWO rainbows!
This Wednesday, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris takes us to the newest shopping centre in Paris, Beaugrenelle, which even has a Marks & Sparks; Daisy de Plume from THATlou Treasure Hunt at the Louvre whom I will be joining on the evening of October 30 for her Death Hunt, introduces us to the Dance Macabre; while Genie from Paris and Beyond, who has a photo blog about Paris, takes us to the famous Rue d’Aligre. Enjoy!
My neighborhood isn’t trendy like the Marais, exclusive like Saint-Germain-des-Prés or charming like Montmartre. It’s a residential area that attracts families who need an extra bedroom rather than hipsters who want to be close to the newest, latest, hottest spot in town. But thanks to the opening of Beaugrenelle Paris, my part of town is on the “must-see” list of Parisians this week.
For the first time since I’ve lived here, I walked out the front door of our apartment, strolled along the Seine, crossed the Pont de Grenelle and had easy access to stores like Guerlain, Baccarat, Michael Kors, Sandro, H&M, Zara and Desigual. I didn’t have to hop on a bus or fight the crowds in the metro. When it started to rain, I didn’t have to worry that I had forgotten my umbrella (again!) because I was safely inside the newest shopping center in Paris. Read more
So yesterday we spent a sunny Sunday pondering the dead at the Cimitière des Innocents (CDI), once Paris’s largest and oldest graveyard smack dab in the middle of town (where the Renaissance Fontaine des Nymphs, aka Fontaine des Innocents** currently is, near the RER Les Halles station). We had just touched on how when space ran out, mass graves of 1500 cadavers per pit were filled, before they were closed off and a new one of equal size was dug. But we haven’t yet considered the business of death. Read more
Taken on a busy market day (Marché d’Aligre), there is scant room for café table and chairs.
Still, the pastries and a coffee (or thé) can be enjoyed as the market vendors shout out the quality of their wares.
One thinks that the price of the coffee and pastry is small for this front row theatre seat.
Click here to see the photo which I haven’t reproduced as a small photo would never do justice to the original.
