Back in Provence

I am back in Provence and today...the 26th is our 42 wedding anniversary! That means I must be older than 42 although that does not really seem possible to me!!

It is very nice and sunny today in Pernes but....once again the Mistral has decided we are going to have several days of wind. It is hard to sit outside in the sun when your hair is standing straight up on your head!

I took the TGV from the Gare de Lyon to come back to Avignon. The new Hall2 in the train station is quite lovely with  glass rooftop and a new cafe/restaurant ( Le Premier) and a sitting area which gives you a total overview of that part of the station and the trains.

There is even a piano provided for people to play and there was quite a concert going on when I waited for my train.

I have just a few more photos of what I did in Paris and I do have to say that the weather really cooperated so I only had to use the umbrella once and only for about 30 minutes! Parfait!

This café was the setting for the Audrey Tautou movie "Amélie"...it is in Montmartre on the way down to Abbesses.

This café is right beside the Louis Philippe bridge on the edge of the Marais and we frequently seem to end up here...this time after we discovered the Village St. Paul which is hidden within streets of the Marais.

In the métro at Bastille there is actually a remnant of the ancient wall of the prison...I think it is so fantastic that it has been preserved like this.

At the Comédie Française these glass balls create the entrance to the métro. I liked the contrast between motorcycles...tough and the glass...delicate. Photo taken from the bus window!

Near the Bon Marché this building is being cleaned. I love the "trompe l'oeil" of the "wrap around" poster...so much nicer than ugly scaffolding and machines. Everything from the top of the building to the bottom is "fake."

  The Fragonard perfume store on a corner in the Marais...also taken from the bus window. This shop just smells marvelous when you step inside. They make their perfumes in Grasse and I have visited the perfume museum there.

The Centre Pompidou Beaubourg as seen from our table in this café (Café Beaubourg of course!)...this was when we began to get our umbrellas ready....

Here is a view inside the train as I headed back south...I had a nice single seat and before I realized it we had arrived in Avignon. This particular train was one of the older ones and it does have a certain "air" about it that says "ancien!"

Saturday was swimming lesson day and we took along Souris Rose to watch Maya perfect her technique in the great Carpentras (indoor) pool!

On Sunday we hit the walking trail with Maya on her bike and JC, me and Anton pushing the buggy with Oscar who slept through the whole afternoon! I thought this field of poppies and plantings looked like a piece of striped provençal fabric.

 We went later to have ice cream (yum) and then checked out the "brocante" market (antiques and...junk) in Carpentras. Later in the early evening JC and I went up to Venasque where the cherries are ready to buy. This view of the church is from the gate of the farmer's house. The cherries were good but I think we get better ones in Oregon!!!

Paris...yes, the city!

I have just spent four days in Paris with my cousin! As always it is a whirlwind deal because we like to do and see so many things and over the years we have developed a few "tradition" places we go to just because.

There were a few new things on the list this trip one of which was the exhibit of Jeanne Lanvin at the Palais Galliera which was newly refurbished.

The exhibit was amazing...we were NOT allowed photos inside sadly but the dresses and embroidery work of this designer were exceptional. I think we spent well over two hours oohing and ahhing over each piece and deciding if it was a gown we would/could wear today...mostly the answer was yes. What a wonderful designer she was.

It was a pretty chilly day in Paris but we decided to walk along the Champs Elysées and avenue Montaigne to check out the windows and the people going by.

I loved this beautiful necklace like a bejeweled bow in the window at Chanel. Also...what a lovely bracelet!! Diamonds of course!

The new Frank Gehry building for the Louis Vuitton Foundation was the afternoon destination. You can take a little electric shuttle bus out to the Bois de Boulogne which takes you to the door of the fantastic building. It looks like a ship with glass sails. This is the "sketch" the architect made as his first idea!

The shuttle bus dropped us off here and when we saw the line to go in we said...no way!!! But...we found a very quick way to go in and before we knew it there we were...

A food cart with security guards on horseback...I think the horse in the back was ordering something to eat!

A view of the Eiffel tower from the top floor of the building...

 The water flowing down this slanted fountain gave the impression of waves on the shore...I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how they got it to look so irregular and like real ocean waves.

 The building seen from the side of the Jardin d'Acclimatation which is a park our children loved to go to when we came to see Nini in Paris...the park has really changed too!

 This view of the building is from the exterior of either level three or level four...really gives the impression of "sails" I think.

The art exhibit called "Keys to a passion"(Les Clefs d'une passion) was incredible too. It presented major works of 20th century modern art by artists who contributed to the changes in art. "Scream" by Munch and works by Bacon, Matisse, Mondrian, Monet to name just a few. Besides the special exhibits the Fondation has many activities going on on regular basis dealing with art and architecture and especially things for children and families. I was really impressed. We also had a delicious tiny Tarte au citron and a great cup of espresso in the café/restaurant! If you are going to Paris any time soon I would recommend a visit here!

We did a little bit of shopping too...I love these droguerie shops where you can find some of the most fantastic household items... 

This is a photo of the new café/restaurant located in the Bon Marché grocery store l'Epicerie de Paris...(this place has a wall of bottled water I photographed last year with  Bling water costing 10 euros a bottle!!) I like how the skylight here goes up about two or three floors. You feel like you are outside. I took this from the escalator!

I caught a glimpse of this deux chevaux Citroën from the bus window on Rue de Rivoli.

On my list was to go to the Dreyfus fabric store in Montmartre and the day was perfect! Sunny, blue sky and just the right temperature.

We walked down to the metro station Abbesses, the church of Saint Jean de Montmartre is across the street...I found the brick structure interesting in the sea of pale yellow sandstone buildings here. It has a rather "art nouveau" look to it. What do you think about the great contrast with the redhead in the foreground??

 This is the metro station you see on so many postcards....

Behind the station in the greenery there is a small park and there is a wall in the park where you can write messages with a sort of white "pen." The wall is occasionally washed off to start again...like a blackboard. There is Rita Hayworth...

More later!

A nice Sunday in the neighborhood

It was nice to be back from the long drive. We spent the first few days back doing laundry and since the weather has been terrific we had our things dry almost before we got them all clothes pinned out! Sunday was a day to meet in the park in Avignon.

It was Mother's Day is USA but in France it does not come until the end of the month...we decided everybody needed a stroll in the park on the rock (boulder is more like it) above the Pope's Palace.

Maya got to ride the same type of pedal horse that JC rode as a little boy in Nice.

Then there was some gymnastics demonstration on the grass behind the statue of Henri Althen an Armenian who escaped from the Turkish massacre and brought Garance....the natural red dye so prized in the early 1800's...to Provence. Garance is Madder and was new to this area.

Earlier in the day JC and I went over to the market in Isle sur la Sorgue. Don't you love these great stuffed chickens??? They are used to store plastic bags! What an idea! There is so much color in this town!

More colors I like to see!

...and back to the Café de France where we had hot chocolate with Maya on that very cold day back in February.

It was fun to be outside in the sunshine as the temperature climbed. Everyone was smiling but they all wanted to sit in the shady part of the cafe terrace!! Can you see JC in the photo? He is back near the tree trunk in a blue polo shirt.

After the windy and rainy days in Bretagne I was happy to be in the sun...mostly!! Yes, I had on my 50+ sunblock!!!
I found this woman's magenta hair color quite surprising especially in contrast with the gray hair of the fellow at the next table.

This is my cup of espresso...can you read the backwards words on the cup??? I had one just like this in Arles several years back with Betty! They gave us galet breton with coffee...must have known we just got back!!

They have replanted all of the sick platanes trees in Isle sur la Sorgue so the street still looks pretty bare but this poster for the evening famers market was very cheerful.

Here is another nice poster...this one for MacDonald's...they have  a series of them with different shapes and themes around the area. Those are all little hearts that make up the house. Can you see my reflection in the glass??

A pottery studio along the avenue...

Back home near our studio the local farmer has planted out his lettuces

and the artichokes are almost ready for market.

I am going to include a few random photos here because I like them. First a small fountain near the outdoor market in Pernes les Fontaines.

And here...to give you a smile...another great colored deux chevaux Citroen in Bretagne!

Have a great day. This coming Thursday I get to go to Paris to see my cousin. I will have more to say when I come back.