Sunny Sunday

Blue sky in Paris. What a treat! I just had to go out and enjoy the rare winter sunshine. Here are a few of my favorites - found within walking distance of my apartment.

Statue of Liberty replica on the Ile des Cygnes

Tilting at the tower?

Hey Santa, get down from there!


I pinch myself each day I look up and see the Eiffel Tower - am I dreaming this life?

Miss Liberty

Another week, another trip to the Cabane

This week I invited Odette, her daughter Dominique, and her daughter-in-law, Nathalie to join me for oysters at the Cabane a Huitres.

We went for lunch on Saturday. Fewer people at lunch, more time to visit. It was the second visit for Odette, the first for Dominique and Nathalie.

Here is Francis explaining to Dominique and Odette.


Nathalie and Dominique


And me? I was behind the camera :-)

Centre Pompidou

I never run out of things to do in Paris. This week I decided to check out the Mondrian exhibit at the Centre Pompidou Museum of Modern Art. The Mondrian/De Stijl exhibit provided an excellent retrospective of Piet Mondrian's work, showing much more that just the abstract lines and primary colors that are his signature.

Along with the Mondrian exhibit, I also discovered the works of Arman. I'd never heard of him. And while I didn't appreciate his "garbage" pieces, I did enjoy many of the other constructions exhibited here. Check out his website.

I had coffee in the restaurant on the top floor of the museum. It offers stunning views of the city and its decor matches the theme of the museum.

Too bad it was gray and rainy - the views weren't very stunning . . .

And on the way back to the metro - the juxtaposition of avant garde with the traditional as seen in the nearby St. Eustache.

January 6

Today is the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas) for eastern orthodox churches. I'd heard about a tiny Russian orthodox church with a blue dome hidden away in the neighborhood not too far from my apartment, but I'd never seen it. I thought that today might be a good day to find it. And I did.

Saint Séraphin de Sarov is hidden behind behind this nondescript door on the rue Lecourbe.


The gates were locked so I couldn't go inside. Christmas services were held at 9am this morning and 8:30pm this evening.


Today is also the day to eat Galette des Rois (King Cake), and every French bakery offers the cakes in all sizes. Buried inside the puff pastry is a little figurine (called a fève = bean). You divide the cake into parts - one for each person present. The person who gets the fève is king for the day and gets to wear the crown that comes with each cake.

I love living in a large, multicultural city with its multitude of traditions.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Sonia

I forgot my friend Sonia's birthday last week. She turned 78 on December 28th. I have known her since I was 11 years old - over 49 years! Sonia, (or Mrs. Martin as I called her for much of my life) was my semantics teacher when I was in the 7th and 8th grades at Kepner Junior High in Denver. "Semantics" was the name of the English class that prepared us for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

"Words of the Champions" was our bible as we pored over thousands of words, their derivation, etymology, pronunciation, and usage. But we didn't just study - we had fun too! One of my favorite memories is when Sonia took us to the zoo to spell the animals. Think about it - besides rhinoceros, you have oryx, kudu, meerkat, lemur, etc.

Speaking of animals, Sonia has always been more of an animal-person than a people-person. Her large property north of Denver has been home to horses, dogs, a donkey, a goat, a pig, not to mention owls, hawks, coyotes, prairie dogs (not welcome), and dozens of other species of critters that fly, run, or slither.


Here is a picture of Sonia with her purebred Arabian stallion Lindy. Lindy was quite docile, though, and Sonia taught me to ride using English saddle and bridle.


Sonia is alone now, accompanied only by her Airedale named Owen. Owen is a rascal who is tall enough to steal dinner directly from the counter whenever Sonia turns her back.

Sonia and I correspond almost daily via Skype (IM) and email. She is my one of biggest supporters, and closest friends. She is also my behind-the-scenes proofreader ;-)

Happy Birthday and Happy New Year, Sonia

With Love and Thanks from Paris,
Elaine

Amateur photographer

I went out early this morning hoping to see and photograph the eclipse of the sun visible from Paris. A serious photographer would have carefully plotted viewpoints, camera angles, and timing. I neglected to do that. I did check for cloud cover, and got an early start. However, I'm not exactly sure where to look for the rising sun (my windows face west and I know all about sunset, but not sunrise). The task is complicated by the tall buildings all around here. So I ended up wandering east, eyes on the sky, looking for breaks in the buildings and in the clouds.

I never did see the sun or the eclipse - too many clouds. But I did end up in a neighborhood I'd never visited before. I found a couple of parks full of rhododendrons, azaleas, and cherry trees, and vowed to come back when they're flowering. I also stumbled on this church. It's called Notre Dame de l'Arche d'Alliance. It was designed by the same architects that created the Institut du Monde Arabe (more on that one later).






Front doors:


Closeup of exterior walls:


P.S. Did I mention that my daughter-in-law Rachel is an architect? So I often think of her when stumbling on unique structures such as this.