I promised you pictures of Paris, and I honestly had every intention of coming home with fashionable pictures of café terraces, beautifully dressed Parisians, the Eiffel tower - but look what happened. I walk around with my nose in the air, totally hypnotised by the balconies and roof lines.
Sometimes it's worth slipping off the big boulevards, away from the super chic quartiers, and just taking in the ordinary Paris. Even after all these years, I still love the slate and zinc roofs, the old wooden shutters, and the Haussmann stone façades.
You'll probably think I've lost the plot here, the picture below is turned on its side! It is actually a picture of balconies, seen from below. Sometimes I find that patterns and colours stand out better when a picture is turned on its side or even upside down!.
And for those of you who are kind enough to ask, Ghetto arrived safely yesterday, and Gibson was thrilled to see him again. The tornado returns!!
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Well I am glad you did keep your eye in the sky. This is very similar to some pictures I posted yesterday of French style design in Chicago. I get caught up taking pictures of doors and windows too! I love love love shutters, and have saved a few of yours for my personal inspiration file.
ReplyDeleteStarted reading............
ReplyDeleteNo, no! We loooove to see the rooftops & balconies of Paris! Such beauty.
ReplyDelete~ Clare x
I used to dream to own and live in a Paris apartment because they are just so beautiful. I love the architecture and design. I am glad your dogs are doing well.
ReplyDeleteThose doors at no 36! I enjoyed your photographs very much, and your dogs look like fun....
ReplyDeleteGorgeous Paris... great shots Sharon... I loved that you were looking skywards... xv
ReplyDeleteDear Sharon,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you'd probably enjoy Stephen Clarke's fairly-recent, very funny memoir "A year in the Merde". It could also serve as a Cautionary Tale to roof-gazing you. Like you, Clarke's a British expatriate in Paris, where he apparently spent most of his first year wandering around, gazing rapturously upwards and (as any Parisian could have warned him) stepping into the predictable.
Paris, as you'll know, is FULL of dogs. Hence, the less-than-entirely-elegant (but funny and true)title of the book.
On another note (and more apropos of your earlier posting about preparing for houseguests)?....
At only 9 o'clock last night, I found myself working in the library....unloading even MORE AND MORE ENDLESS boxes....and I suddenly realized that, after ten hours of this grim business, I was just plain-out tired.
Fortunately, I'd just come across my box of DVD's, and there on top was one of my all-time favorite, delightful, dreadfully funny movies: "Impromptu".
Do you know it?....a very nouveau-riche, provincial duchess (whose hunting-obsessed husband quite warrantedly won't all her to go to Paris)decides that she wants nothing more in the world than to cultivate the acquaintance of famous, Parisian poets, writers, and artists (Oooooh!).
So, she invites a gaggle of them (all of whom know/have had affairs with each other....George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Delacroix, Liszt, the scandalous Countess d'Usse (Liszt's harried mistress), and a very callow and shy Chopin (whom Sand is ferociously pursuing). All of them come for a week, of course----having agreed that, however dull the countess might turn out to be, going would at least mean free food and relief from creditors for a while.
The countess (played by a wildly amusing Emma Thompson, who obviously relished playing a markedly stupid/silly woman) goes into ecstacies of crushingly elaborate OVER-preparations for her....even lining up all the servants to shower rose petals on the arriving guests, as she places a myrtle-leaf crown on each of their heads (you should see their expressions) as she proclaims "No....it is YOU, My ARTISTES, who are 'The Aristocracy'!"
The visit almost immediately goes disastrously in every way, and it keeps getting worser and worser.....ending with a literal explosion.
you and all of your readers would love this movie, I expect.
It's an ensemble piece....and you can just TELL how much fun all of these very accomplished actors had in making it.....Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant (who obviously had fun playing a prim ninny, as Chopin), Judy Davis (one of my favorite actors for a long while now), Bernadette Peters (who demonstrates that, yes, she is quite capable of screaming the roof down), Mandy Patinkin, and Julian Sands.
In any case, I hadn't seen it in a couple ofyears, so I gave myself a treat last night by watching it, and of course I thought of your posting about preparing for houseguests.
Do get it (it's quite available on amazon.com) and watch it, if you haven't done so before. It did me a world of good last night. suffice it to say that I still find myself laughing over a script that I practicall meorized at least ten years ago.
Levle Best as Ever,
david Terry
www.davidterryart.com
I've done that on return trips to Paris - something catches my eye on the first day and that's all I want to photograph the entire trip. Beautiful photos! (and such lovely puppies!)
ReplyDeleteSharon,
ReplyDeleteplease pop over today for a wee surprise.
Hope you get the easel you have your eye on!
pve
Sharon, great photos, I love to see all of the architectural elements! Best of all though are the pupsters!!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
You and I would like each other.....I have decided by reading your posts!We like the same things.Adore your photos from Paris and who's dog is GHETTO??Guess I missed that post!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I forgot to mention (for the beneift of all you upward gazing folks) a very beautiful book given to me by my French mother-in-law...."Paris: Vues Privees" (for those non-francophones..."Paris: Private Views").
ReplyDeleteIt's published by Bower press and consists almost entirely of views/photographs of the Paris rooftops/skyline, taken from various other rooftops and similar vantage points.
It's quite large (perhaps 18" by 12"?)and a perfect gtift for someone who thinks he/she has "seen it all" in Paris.
I should add that calling it a "coffee table book" would be a bit of a misnomer, since (if you nailed legs onto it) the book could serve as a coffee table in and of itself.
Level Best as Ever,
David Terry (who always, and for better or worse, keeps his bifocaled gaze on the sidewalk when in France)
www.davidterryart.com
So glad you looked beyond what was in your path. The rooftops, windows, iron railings and trims is a reason to capture the beauty. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteAnd those pups - so cute and happy to be back in each others company.
Parigi perché sei così bella????!!!!
ReplyDeleteIo ti adoro!!!!!
Grazie Sharon per aver mostrato belle foto di tetti.....
Baci Giò
Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI love your photos. Photos taken off the beaten path are so much better than the ones on the main boulevards. I love looking at architecture and you really selected some gorgeous buildings. I can only imagine the view if living in one of them. The photo of Ghetto and Gibson is adorable. You can tell they are best buds! :)
Bonjour Sharon. Thank you for stopping by "chez Moi" yesterday. It seems you and I approach Paris the same way, off the beaten tracks, our noses firmly in the air. Paris must be one of the most distracting cities in the world, looks-wise. Even as I visit world-renowned museums like le Louvre, I have a hard time focusing on the art as I am so fascinated with the details on the building... Nice post, merci. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle) PS: I am not sure why the little Jack Russel was gone. Did he get sent out to "finishing school?" He is darn cute, certainement. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are beutiful!
ReplyDeleteBonjour Sharon. You've captured many of the images of Paris that I also love - the wonderful roofs, the intricate balconies, the tall narrow doorways. So beautiful. Bon chance with the easel!
ReplyDeleteSharon, I feel like I just went on a lovely walk through Paris, gazing upwards as you pointed out the beauty of roof lines and windows. And then ended up visiting old friend Ghetto - who looks adorable as always. Thanks for a beautiful start to my day and good luck at the auction house! XO
ReplyDeleteI just returned from France two weekds ago and miss it so much! Thanks for the beautiful pics!
ReplyDeleteYes, I adore these type photographs of all the architecture...when I go to Europe this makes up a huge portion of the shots that I get. Love the buildings, balconies, ironwork,and doors,etc. I also adore floors and cobblestone streets...sometimes with my feet on the floors and streets. Weird, but I guess it is my way of saying that "I was here." I must admit that I'm anxious for you to photograph the Parisennes! I love to see what they are wearing!
ReplyDeleteMaybe next trip to "town?" Love seeing these puppies, too! They seem so content! Take care!
What beautiful pictures, Sharon! You could seriously frame these works of art!
ReplyDeleteThere is no denying with every picture of Paris that I see, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Beauty and living are elevated to another stage. Throw in the architectures and those beautiful buildings and it makes me want to live there and nowhere else. I have lived in Europe and a few other places so I know a little bit about beautiful cities...but here is where I diverted...give me a picture of Gibson and Ghetto anytime, pictures of the beautiful countryside around Normandy and Brittany, and I'll ooohhh and aaahhhs until someone shushed me. Sharon, you are awesome! Hope Quick is doing well with his recovery.
ReplyDelete<3
ReplyDeleteWhat beauty....no where in the world (in my humble opinion) can you walk around and literally every step see something worth taking a picture of...seriously I go crazy with my camera in Paris! These would make a wonderful book!
ReplyDeleteI love Parisian architecture - that Haussmann was a genius!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love to see this view of Paris. Thank you, thank you! There isn't a prettier city!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I did enjoy those photos. Paris is well...Paris. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGo Ghetto & Gipson, and happy summer days! We are lucky enough to start our vacation and head to the France, Normandy. Jeppee :-)
ReplyDeleteFab photos! This is the type of pics I'm looking forward to take in August! Especially doors. I take pictures of doors everywhere I go.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Sharon!
Thank you for my Paris fix! You remind me how I need to pay her another visit.
ReplyDeleteRooftop, balconies, old shutters...any view of France your lovely blog gives is worth reading and viewing. Thanks again and again.:)
ReplyDeleteI will take the "nose in the air" shots any time you want to take them + Love them. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteWell really, I think it is impossible to take a " bad" picture in Paris .... But your shots are stunning. Can't wait to get there! Nineteen days till take off.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information... I really love your blog posts... specially those on Packers and movers in Chennai
ReplyDeleteCool! French architecture never really goes out of style. One of the common roofs in Paris is the Mansard roof. It is a four sided roof and has double slopes on all sides. The word “mansard” originated from the French architect, Francois Mansart, from the Beaux Arts School of Architecture in Paris, France. Mansard roof is considered a convenient type of roof because it allows having more quarters to be placed in a house’s attic.
ReplyDeleteLino Kosters
The view of the blog is so much eye-catching & liked by all.
ReplyDeleteThat is just awful to have to replace a new roof. It will be
nice when it's done.
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Roof Repair North East
This romantic place really does have the most unusual and attractive structures and roofs. It’s no surprise that you were that mesmerized after setting foot and seeing such lovely places, especially their manifestation. They definitely inspire other people to make their dwellings as eye-catching as these.
ReplyDeleteNoreen Saint
I love old houses and buildings; they are just breathtaking! It seems like these structures look even better as the years go by. The arch design of roofs back in the days was practical. This way, debris and water just slide down the pavement. Thus, little maintenance is needed.
ReplyDelete