Paris inspiration

When I vacation, a take a ton of pictures. Most are scenic, but I always try to include pictures that in some way speak to me artistically. This collage is of quite a few different things that I found interesting or inspirational in some way.

Top Row: Dome model -Arts et Metiers Museum, old bicycles (same museum), small statue -Louvre, plant - Giverny, small scale Statue of Liberty with framing and tiny worker people -Arts et Metiers Museum

Middle Row: Art Nouveau building - Reims, stacked wine bottles - Hautviller winery, love locks - bridge in Paris, metal door - St. Germain quarter

Bottom Row: quay near Notre Dame (taken from sightseeing boat), roof framing - Musee d'Orsay, fountain detail - Louvre (by Pyramid),  Store window - St. Germain quarter, floor - St. Chappelle

Paris, Flea Market

For me, a trip to a big city is not complete without a trip to the flea market.

We went to the flea market at St.Ouen, at metro stop Porte de Clignancourt. After going through the gaunlet of watch, phone, and perfume salespeople standing around on the block between the metro stop and the flea market, then going through the large section of the flea market that is knockoff handbags and cheap clothes, we finally found the rusty bits, antiques, and other lovely things.

It was hard to get into the shopping groove after all the work it took to get to the good part. It was fun to walk around but the flea market was more like stores than flea market booths.  I know we did not explore all there was to see.  

I bought this wool embroidered fabric and am going to make pillows for the living room with it. I originally thought that was a monkey in a tree, now I am wondering if it's a lion?  There are some birds on other parts of it.

 I also bought some lace.

I love the darker one, it has birds on it.

Then I bought some "rusty bits". This vendor had tons of bins on the ground, with tons of decorative metal pieces in them.

Then I bought some old French documents.  Most of these are very old. The handwriting is fantastic.

I love what I bought, but I did like the flea market in Rome better, as it was more "flea market-y" and I felt the prices were more reasonable. I was not very good about haggling though...

Paris, Doors

A collage of French doors

Top Row: Versailles, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, St Chappelle.
Bottom row: Door in St Germain quarter, Hautvillers winery, Institut de Paris, “le Bateau-Lavoir”

Paris, Monet's Garden in Giverny

Allen and I took a vacation in Paris last week. We both had been there before and wanted to visit again since it had been a long time. We spent ten days in Paris, which included some day trips out of town.

The first day was rainy and we spent most of our time at the Musee Marmottan, which has a ton of Monet's as well as additional impressionist paintings.

The next day, we took a day trip to Giverny.  Monet's garden was bursting at the seams with flowers (and tourists). The day was a bit overcast, but it was still a beautiful day to walk the gardens.

If you aren't into flower pictures, you may want to skip this post, as I have a lot of them!

We had a lovely day here and stopped at a cafe down the road for a cheese plate and some drinks. It was a relaxing day.

Paris, Notre Dame

When I uploaded my photos from our Paris trip, I noticed I had an extraordinary number of pictures of Notre Dame.  Our hotel was near there, so we were often walking nearby, and it stands out dramatically. 

Also, there are great view from the top (although we had to wait in line for an hour to get up there).  

Then we took a riverboat cruise and it was lovely against the night sky.