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.

Road trip, Zion Part 2 and Bryce Canyon

 We did a bit of walking in Zion in the morning before heading to Bryce Canyon.

We saw these deer locking horns but they didn't seem to serious about it. The path was about 10 feet higher than the riverbank they were on, so we had a great view.

Then we headed over to Bryce Canyon. There is a lot of snow and ice on the ground here in winter, so we couldn't really hike into the canyon. Last time I visited 15 plus years ago, it was summer and the view of the rock formations from the valley floor was really awesome. I was kind of bummed.

We were here for sunset, but sunrises are better since the valley faces east.  

 

Moonrise over Bryce Canyon.

If you ever travel in Utah in the winter, I recommend checking that the restaurant and/or hotel you are thinking about going to is open.  In the smaller towns (like the town at the entry to Zion and smaller towns around these parks), a lot of places shut down in the winter since there aren't many tourists this time of year. Also, cell phone reception is almost non-existent for long stretches and gas stations are few and far between. It's a good thing I brought paper maps.

Road Trip, Zion Part 1

 Beautiful afternoon in Zion.

Moonrise

Road Trip, LA

Sunset off the Pacific Hwy

At the LA County Museum (LACM). This museum was very nice with a wide range of art.

Also at LACM, a house made from movie film. I found it interesting how the film semi-concealed the people in the inside.

My super favorite stop, the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I picked up a couple things and will add a picture later on.

Road Trip, elephants at the Safari park and sunset in La Jolla

Safari Park in San Diego

La Jolla

Road Trip, Joshua Tree National Park

It was reasonably warm in Joshua Tree National Park, except the Keys Overlook where it was super windy.

Lots of Joshua Trees.

Cholla cactus in the Cholla Garden.

Road trip, Grand Canyon

My husband and I are taking a long road trip for about two weeks. We left Denver on Friday, stopped in Albuquerque, then drove to the Grand Canyon.

The next morning, we got up at 6am to get to the park for sunrise. It was a bit cold, but not too bad.

We will be in San Diego and LA in the next few days, so if anyone knows any good art/craft/fiber stores, let me know!