Beloved Paris

We are ready to go home.

Here's hoping our flights leave French airspace tomorrow!

If it doesn't, here are the jobs Nancy and I are considering applying for.

1. The vintage bead shop in the antique market is a mess. Piles and piles everywhere. I have been wanting to reorganize it for years. I would create passable aisles and an actual area for a cash register or cash out area. Nancy was lobbying for a job in the vintage metals shop last week already. I think she'll work in exchange for a door knocker at this point.

2. We would like to take garbage bags and a pick to the big cemetery. There is a little too much garbage piled up in many of the crypts. They need to be cleared out and then we could see what else was behind the locked grill or doorway. We did see a sign that weeding will begin May 1. Good. The fall leaves need to be raked away too.

3. Cleaners are needed. We would like to dust the Versailles Palace. Then we could get some great photos from the other side of the rooms. I might lie down in Marie Antoinette's bed though, so I doubt we'll get security clearance now that I have typed that here in my blog.

4. I think we would be a great addition to the wholesale jewelery area. Their buildings are huge and no one is teaching any classes here. One owner sent us through to the back to see all the things he was no longer using. We would love to repackage all those components into class kits!

So many options. Going home is wish ONE though!

Palace of Versailles

What can I show or tell you about the Palace of Versailles?

On Day Two of my official "Eruption Disruption" tour we decided to tackle this huge tour.

I have been several times so I opted to focus my little camera on things I missed on previous visits. Half the palace is under renovation scaffolding. The other half looks spectacular. I am so glad they are doing one side at a time!

The Rules As Posted. No cameras or No flash? Who knows? The rest of the no nos are no tripods, no cellphones and no touching. Hmmmm. I can comply with 2 of the four. Well, 1 of the four for sure.

Marie sure is a hot ticket. She has turned this palace into a "must see" destination. Some of her best paintings (portraits) are in the three buildings on the palace grounds. It was great to see this painting back on the wall here. It was in a special exhibition in Paris two years ago and you couldn't get close to it at all because of the crowds.

The fencing is fantastic. I like to look through pretending I am a pre-revolution Frenchman wondering where all my money has gone.....

The money went here.
No hand held digital camera of mine could capture this room. But it gives you a sense of the extravagance.

Some of the doors were open today. We needed the cooler air. It was very warm in the palace. But the dust was flying. The whole place could use a thorough dusting. I am a bit worried about all the velvet wallpapers.

I am also somewhat relieved to know that even the gardeners at Versailles can't get rid of the dandelions. They were mowing the lawn today.

If I am alone in a whole room with a mirror I try and take a picture of myself. I thought I looked quite serious in this one.

Don't bother trying to do a self portrait in the hall of mirrors though. The mirror isn't as reflective as you might think...hence 12 fuzzy images of myself.

I guess you can see that the day was pretty beautiful. Blue sky and the lovely streaks caused by planes flying overhead. Ahhhh. Going home is a possibility now!

My last photo of the day from the HAPPY florist up the street. I am seeing the world through pink tinted sunglasses. Counting my lucky stars.

C'est Paris

A little ad in the subway. Love the black and white.

Our apartment rental folks found us a new great apartment to stay in. We moved this morning and we are very lucky to have housing. How I would have hated waiting at the airport. We are safe, comfortable, in a lovely neighbourhood and we have WIFI. Life is as good as it could be in the circumstances. I do miss home though. Luckily I have a very supportive hubby for back up. He has encouraged me to stop worrying and enjoy the extra time in the city I love.

This is my new "just around the corner" florist HAPPY!

How I love these arrangements! I will walk by and photograph a bouquet every day.

Clowns usually scare me...but this one is very sweet. We were back at the huge antique market today. If you would have told me last Sunday that I would be back again today I would have laughed.

We are all looking to the sky's now. Ash clouds are hard to imagine on such a blue sky day.

Staying In Paris

Small update friends.

I am not coming home tomorrow......I might not be able to leave until Thursday!

Winds and ash rule my life now!

Friday In Paris

We started out bright and early to visit the huge cemetery in Paris. I had only planned to be there for half a day...but we ended up visiting for the whole day. The cemetery is truly fascinating.

Many of the graves are hundreds of years old. But occasionally there would be a very recent one. So I had to be conscious of the fact that the graves were not just historical, but for some in the cemetery a place they were visiting recently departed loved ones. It was a place of many contrasts.

I was happy to visit Modigliani's grave site though. Someone had left this paint brush.

My Heart Belongs To Paris

Fantastic art piece in a gallery in the 4rth district. They were closed so I managed two quick snaps!

Butterflies! Isn't it beautiful! It is about four feet wide to give you a sense of the sizing.

I would make this my florist just to have the delivery car pull into my driveway.

Another truly gorgeous florist shop. Makes you stop in your tracks.

The Wedding Ring Scam in Paris

This is the new scam in Paris. Someone walks by, bends over and asks if you dropped the ring.

Oh no, you reply, it is a man's wedding ring. That's a shame.

The person then generously tells you to take the ring......you sell it and I will have good luck.

Hee hee hee.

Nancy and I knew it was a scam in the first second.

But I held the ring and it is really heavy.

Scam artist doesn't know she is talking to collage artist.

I wanted the ring. So I nicely offered her 5 Euros to go and have a coffee on us.

I may have to collect another ring in my travels this week.

The Secret Door

The bridge statues in Paris are truly awe inspiring. I was enjoying this fellow when I looked down at the cement pillar holding him in place. The plaque had a date on it.

1854. That is quite old.

Then I noticed that this plaque was a door. I just had to see if it opened.

Darn. Litterbugs got here first. If I had been wearing gloves I would have cleaned this out and left something more interesting.

Antique Shopping on A Sunday!

Today's outing to the big market North of Paris was a huge success. The weather was exceptional. Not too hot, not too cold. It was just right!



I managed to bring home a small bag of great finds. You know a vendor is pleased with you when you receive their special recyclable bag. I carried this orange one about with pride.


I really focused on antique postcards. I am looking for some new images for my summer card making.

There was of course a lot of vintage lace to review. Some very rare: like the gold lace in my picture. A local vendor had some leather and fur. I got a few small pieces to experiment with.

This nude woman is a scream!"I have come to France and lost my pants" is the poem I keep reciting in my head. The rectangle pin is a new prized collectible. I have so many images from this day.

But dolls in luggage are a tradition for me. The markets never let me down. All in all a spectacular day in Paris.

Advance Paris Post

Okay.

By the time this posts I should have arrived in Paris and got settled into our apartment.

Did I mention my traveling companion is Nancy? She'll be blogging and posting too!

So here is a picture I took on my last trip of these cute Kokeshi dolls.

WHY WHY WHY didn't I buy one or all of them? Now I am obsessed with wondering if this store still has some....so unbeknownst to Nancy...we are going straight there Saturday!