Monday 7 February 2011

Oh what a beautiful morning

The weather has been harsh lately. Either it has been freezing cold, and dry; or a bit warmer, and raining. Today we were spoilt. It was beautiful, sunny and comparatively warm. I've been waiting for a morning like this for some time, with the intention of walking up the hill to admire the Place de Tertre, the Sacré Cœur and of course the view of Paris. 

I was not disappointed. I always love going up this little side street, rue Saint Rustique, and seeing the hazy dome of the Sacré Cœur appearing.
I then turned into Place de Tertre. The restaurants take down their tables and chairs towards the end of the year, and if you get there early the Square is empty and you really get a sense what a beautiful, simple Square it really is.

The Sacré Cœur looked stunning against the clear sky, with the early morning sun shining at a low angle. 

The Christmas light baubles are still up.
The Eiffel Tower didn't clamour for attention beyond the roof tops. But it still got mine.

The curled wrought iron railings caught the sun in front of the Sacré Cœur, but at the rear of the church they were still in shade.

The Eglise Saint Pierre de Montmartre basked in the sun.
The Sacré Cœur kept popping up in unexpected places.
 As I headed down the stairs in front of the Church I enjoyed the flowers (yesss, the flowers!)
I couldn't help thinking that this yellow camper van had chosen a perfect spot to spend the night. Now that's what I call a five star campsite! 
Judging from how closely the cars in front and behind the van are parked, it looks like the camper van might be stuck there for a while. I guess it could be worse. 



6 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures with a beautiful light. Next time I shoot Paris, I'll get up earlier ;)

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  2. The light at this time of the morning is amazing. There have to be some compensations for getting up in the dark and delivering your children into the hands of l'Education Nationale at the unearthly hour of 8h20

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  3. I loved the photos! In Portuguese we use the expression: "Deus ajuda quem cedo madruga" (Google translates it as "The early bird catches the worm")
    You got a beautiful light, and, best of all, you got the places empty!

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  4. Thank-you Nice. I was up there at the same time this morning and it was not the same, already quite a crowd of people making their way up the steps to the Sacré Cœur by 8h30. If you go to my blog entry of 25th March 2011, you can see what it looked like today!

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