Noël est arrivé !

It's official, Christmas in Paris has arrived on this blog.  I can't promise it will appear here every day but we'll sprinkle the photographs around.  Today, one of the beautiful trees that flanked the front of the Hôtel de Ville last year.

La boutique de bonbons

La Cure Gourmande is chain with six shops around Paris and also Spain and Belgium.  They specialize in biscuits, chocolats, and confiseries.  I think their logo and packaging is trop mignon and did I mention they always have tasty treats to sample?  I'll admit I've never shopped there,  because I'm too busy snapping away. Maybe this photography thing is helping me refrain from a FEW of the delights to be found in Paris.

WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! 

M, who lives in Katy, Texas will receive a set of Paris Walking Tour cards

Martine- Alison , Martinelison, who lives in France will receive one of my 8x10 photographs.

Thank you all for entering and for all of your wonderful comments this week and for the past three years. 

Deux oiseaux

Ma Bourgogne is a café I frequented during my stay in Paris the summer of 2010.  I felt comfortable there and the waiters were delightful and took good care of me. Late one summer afternoon, as I sat outside with a glass of wine, I had fun snapping photos from a prime seat at the Place des Vosges.  The lanterns will be unmistakable for you Paris lovers.

WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! 
M, who lives in Katy, Texas will receive a set of Paris Walking Tour cards
Martine- Alison , Martinelison, who lives in France will receive one of my 8x10 photographs.
Thank you all for entering and for all of your wonderful comments this week and for the past three years. 

Quarante-deux

Tellement Paris!

Yesterday markedParis Through My Lens' third anniversary. Scroll down for the details.  There's a little giveaway. It's not too late to enter! 

And what is a birthday party without presents ??? To celebrate this occasion, I have un petit cadeau pour toi. Actually I have deux, one for my faithful followers in the US /Canada and another for those that live on the rest of the planet.  Leave me a comment and please add your whereabouts and your name that will go in the hat for the drawings on Tuesday.  Bon chance! :)

This Is How It All Started

As most of you know by now, I fell in love with Paris in March, 2007.  Daughter Melissa, who was already in love, took granddaughter Eva and me for a week in Paris that changed my life.  Photographing the City of Light was the start of what has become a "magnificent obsession."  In November 2008, I returned to Paris with my friend Karen.  After that trip, my blog friends encouraged me to start another blog so I could share my Paris photographs. Today marks the the third anniversary of Paris Through My Lens. I have posted almost daily since and often blogged from Paris while there.  Nothing pleases me more than sharing my memories and my photographs with all of you who love Paris as much as I do.  Here's to many more trips, photographs, and memories shared!!

And what is a birthday party without presents ??? To celebrate this occasion, I have un petit cadeau pour toi. Actually I have deux, one for my faithful followers in the US /Canada and another for those that live on the rest of the planet.  Leave me a comment and please add your whereabouts and your name that will go in the hat for the drawings on Tuesday.  Bon chance! :)

Bienvenue à Ladurée!

I hear from friends Daryl and Conrad in NYC that Ladurée has opened a small shop there, and the crowds are still wrapping around the block eager to have a taste of the Parisian delight.... le macaron.  Like most things Parisian, I think they're best tasted right there in Paris.  Today, Ladurée -16 rue Royale.


Yesterday I had a little puzzle for you and the winner is..........Veronique ( French Girl in Seattle), who correctly guessed that I was sitting on the steps of the Panthéon when I took the photograph. Thank you all for joining in the fun. Wayne so kindly pointed out that there seemed to be no prize and I gently reminded him that the personal satisfaction of winning was worth far more than un petit cadeau!

All Aflutter

I thought we'd have little challenge today, although I'm sure my sharp readers won't miss a beat. We'll give it a go anyway.   Do you know WHERE I was when I shot  this??

Thanksgiving Paris

If you are an American living in Paris, there are probably certain food items that you must crave from time to time and would pay many euros to get your hands on.  Thanksgiving, is just the place, specializing in American groceries that are difficult to duplicate in Paris.

 Wishing Americans in Paris a Happy Thanksgiving,  and I hope you have a reasonable facsimile of your favorite back home feast!

Thanksgiving

20 rue Saint - Paul

Paris 75004


And for your reading pleasure, I present this Art Buchwald column, " How To Explain Thanksgiving To The French"  featured on Polly-Vous Français.

Une grande entrée

The entrance to Parc Monceau is pretty snazzy for a semi-public park don't you think?  For all the formality of the gated entrances and the rotunda, it's actually considered more informal in the English style, with curved walkways and randomly placed statuary, unlike the more formal French gardens.

An interesting fact I learned is that the 9 entries are monitored by a 5th generation park watchman who lives above the royal rotunda on the north entrance. Now I'd like to meet  him one day!

I'm pleased to announce that Belle Inspiration Magazine has featured some of my Nöel à Paris photographs. Please have a look !

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

I fret.  I fret a lot over my blogs. I worry about the quality of my photographs, or if  I'm boring my dear readers when I post  too many photographs on the same subject/theme ...... like pétanque.  This is what I've decided ( for the moment).  When I'm lucky enough to get to Paris, I photograph what pleases my eye, makes me laugh or stand in awe,  or evokes a memory I don't ever want to forget.  Getting to know and photograph the pétanque players at Luxembourg Gardens continues to be an experience I want to revisit each trip.  Watching the diverse group of players and spectators, never ceases to delight.  For me as a bystander ( not to mention a foreigner) watching these men doing what they love everyday, is like being invited into the "inner circle" of Parisian life.   I hope you understand.

Paris Rouge LXXVI - le Métro

Forgive the tourist shot today, but I loved the vine covered wall behind the Métro sign.

Saint- Germain- des- Pres 

Les Ombres

Cimetière Passy

Le kiosque à journaux II

So very Paris.
Place Monge

À travers les branches

Novembre à Paris!

70e Anniversaire de l'appel du Général de Gaulle

This enormous banner was hung on the facade of the Hôtel de Ville in June, 2010.  From a distance it is obviously a portrait of Gen. de Gaulle.  Take a closer look, it's fascinating. The banner says:

Ce portrait a été réalisé à partir de l'affiche diffusée à Londres en 1940 et des photographies de 1016 femmes et hommes Compagnons de la Libération

* "70th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s call. 

This portrait is based on the poster which was published in London in 1940 and on photos of 1016 women and men, Companions of the Liberation."

*Merci Peter for the translation and for this link.

Les Lumières à l'Hôtel de Ville

For me, the Hôtel de Ville is stunning,  jour et nuit, hiver ou d'été.

Paris Rouge LXXV - Quelle heure est-il ?

While photographing this gentleman in the Marais one afternoon, I turned and noticed the clock behind me.  I'd love to know the story behind it.

Où sont les frites??

Moules, one of my favorites.  

Un escalier - le musée du Louvre

Le Louvre meshes old and new seamlessly.

100 Layers of Paint on the Door...

I have to wonder how long it's taken to get to the bare wood.  Perhaps he's been working nuit et jour!

(In clean white pants and shirt!)

Paris Rouge LXXIV - L'echarpe rouge

Last January you will remember that Mary, Peter and I visited Shauna von Giesbrecht's beautiful jewelry and textile shop in Montmartre.  In addition to her original jewelry that she handcrafts, she also offers some gorgeous handwoven textile designs. This red scarf in the window was almost more than I could resist.  I'm hoping that one day I'll have this, or a similar one wrapped around my neck in Paris!

Musique Improvisée

Le Pied a Terre on rue Mouffetard is a favorite of mine.  The street dining is limited to two tiny tables perched precariously on the uneven sidewalk.   While enjoying a nice café, this gentleman serenaded his companion and the delighted passersby.

Paris, Je t'aime!

My two Paris loving amies, Mary and Genie are both in Paris today, so I decided to drag out a photograph that brings back some wonderful memories.

Frank Sinatra says it all right here.

Paris Rose I - What Are The Chances...???

Sometimes, if you just sit, wait, and watch, a shot likes this just falls in your lap!
( It helps if you're in Paris of course)

Le Cigare

Pétanque at the Jardin du Luxembourg is serious business.  Here Monsieur concentrates before the throw.

Well Coiffed

Since most of my trips to Paris have been in the late fall and winter, I have been able to observe the trees in the gardens and along the Champs Elysées sans feuilles.   I've always been fascinated by the time consuming trimming that it must take to keep them all in shape.  Here in Tuileries late on a January afternoon, you can see the effects of pollarding.  One day I hope to catch the tree trimming crew in action and see exactly how the do it.  Merci to my blog friend Karin Bugge, who also happens to be a docent at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. She knew the term off the top of her head.  Trés impressed.

Paris Rouge LXXIII- Bonjour Mouseketeers!

Jef Aerosol is one creative guy. Who would expect to find one of the Mouseketeers immortalized on a building in Paris?  How many of you remember this original cast member's name???

Matin au marché

Unlike many of Paris' street markets,  this one on rue Mouffetard, is open almost every day. We stayed close by in 2009 and crossed this street at least twice a day going to and from the Censier-Daubenton métro.  We loved shopping here and often stopped after for a glass of wine at a café to watch the shoppers and gain our strength to climb rue Claude Bernard to our flat.  Eva and Davis usually got a euro each to spend at the candy vendor's.  The highlight of their day!

Un poème sur le mur

No matter how often I walk familiar streets in Paris, I always seem to find new delights such as this poem with artwork on the side of this building as we neared the Panthéon.

UPDATE: Merci to Clever Pup who provided the street...rue Décartes.  She also posted this wall on her great blog Smartypants Goes to France !

Un petit trésor à Paris

Rarissime, fondee en 1658,  translates to "extremely rare".  Across the street from our flat last January, it is tucked under the Église Saint-Roch.  Not much bigger than my walk-in closet, it buys and sells antiques, old linens, and all manner of interesting collectibles.  Un trésor.

Paris Rouge LXXII - Chez Marianne

Chez Marianne in the Marais is a place I've photographed more than once. I've never dined here. I checked the ratings and found it serves Kosher and Middle Eastern cuisine.  Mixed reviews on the service. That said, it's a great photo op in any season.

2 rue Hospitalières St. Gervais

75004 Paris

Métro  Saint-Paul