La Cour

This private courtyard has been locked to the public since the 2015 terrorist attacks. I'm so grateful to have had several visits there before.

Le vélo

Exploring courtyards reveals little treasures.

Les vignes d'automne

The Parisian pruning corps needs to pay a visit.

Le Vélo

et les rideaux de dentelle.

(Hard to remember where this was. Perhaps the Marais.)

La grille

Winding our way through this divine little out of the way street ( there was a sign, "PRIVÉ"- phfffttt ) on our way to have a look at  Le Procope, I found so many things to photograph that it took longer than expected!

La Cour

Walking up the hill in Butte aux Cailles, I poked the camera through the gate. What a find!

Cour du Coq

Mary, Peter and I were in a hurry that morning so there wasn't time for Peter to push the doors to see if we could get inside and have a closer look. Quelle dommage!

Another Contender

Cour de Rohan

for my Paris apartment.  I think Meeps and I would be very happy sitting on that balcony and enjoying the view.

Ma Petite Cour

Humor me.  This time last year, I was in my lovely little flat in the Marais. I found this photograh that I took from my kitchen window one morning.  Wonderful memories of a special time in Paris.

Note: I understand the temps in Paris are more like Alabama weather right now. I'm thankful I'm not experiencing this with the tiny fan and windows in this apartement. This Alabama girl would need some real AC for the heat.

Table et Tabouret

As we strolled down from Montmartre one afternoon,  Peter pushed a door, Mary and I followed close behind, ( she and I are quite brave when we have Peter to do the 'splaining in French if we get caught)  and voilà, a charming little apartement courtyard.  It had one of the tackiest *Christmas trees that we all agreed we'd ever seen.  All was not lost however, many nice photo ops were spotted.   Here's one!

* and oui, you'll have to wait till next Christmas season to see the tree! :)

Interdit!

It has taken me a while, but I'm learning to push doors in Paris. Sometimes those big double doors aren't locked and you can slip right in and have a little look around. Other times, if you're lucky, you can step right in behind a resident or even the postman. I haven't been quite that bold yet, but this day I waited outside after someone went in, and put my hand on the door to keep it from latching. Then, after a few minutes I wandered in and voilà! Unfortunately this gate was locked, but I enjoyed this cool, shady courtyard garden for a few minutes, then hurried on my way!

FROM SNAPSHOTS TO PHOTOGRAPHS

My next series of five two hour classes will be starting again soon. For those in the Birmingham AL area, contact me for more details. These classes are designed for the amateur photographer who wants to improve their vacation and family photos!

DISCOVERING THE MAGIC

For the more experienced photographers out there, I have a new class starting in September that will focus on creative ways to photograph our city!