Magical Monday - Lamppost Bonhomme

A face in a place.


Every Monday, Magical Monday, I post a photo that is hopefully puzzling, fantastical, unexpected or just plain daft. Unless otherwise mentioned, no Photoshop involved.

More photos from the Magical Mondays series can be found here.

An Alien Lamppost can be found here.

Magical Monday - Alien Lamppost

This Alien Lamppost in the Jardin des Tuileries was definitely eyeballing me.


Every Monday, Magical Monday, I post a photo that is hopefully puzzling, fantastical or unexpected.

More photos from the Magical Mondays series can be found here.

Magical Monday - A Flame Carrier in the Tuileries

This woman has been reclining in the Jardin des Tuileries since 1964. The original statue, made of stone and sculpted by artist Aristide Maillol in 1923 can be found on the port of Vendres in the South of France, very near Perpignan. 

The other evening I saw her carrying a fiery flame.

Le Monument aux morts de Port-Vendres.

Every Monday, Magical Monday, I post a photo that is hopefully puzzling, fantastical or unexpected.

More photos from the Magical Mondays series can be found here.

Lyrical Lampposts

Last week when I walked through the Jardin des Tuileries on the way home from work I was blown away by the beautiful light as the sun was setting. I took these photos, 'Twilight in the Tuileries' as I approached the Place de Concorde, Paris at it's photogenic best.

However it when I first entered the Cour Carrée du Louvre that I got to see something extra special. I walked along the south wing of the Louvre, the sky was an orange bronze, and despite it still being quite light, the street lamps were lit up. The combination of natural and artificial light were truly magical. 

The lights turned on the moment I passed through into the Cour. Here they were still 'off'

Moments later they were on.

It quickly got darker. Here I was looking toward Place de la Concorde, la Grande Roue in the distance.




Then I saw the Eiffel Tower and a lamppost standing side by side. Definitely Paris.


For a post with a range of quite extravagant Paris Lampposts click here...or Paris lampposts are not banal.

Magical Monday - Lamppost Lovers

MM: week 14
Lamppost lovers



Every Monday, Magical Monday, I post a photo that is hopefully puzzling, fantastical or unexpected.

More photos from the Magical Mondays series can be found here.

Magical Monday - the Sacré Coeur hangs from a leaf

MM: week 8
The Sacré Coeur hangs from a leaf

After dropping off the kids at school today I managed to go on a walk up the hill towards the Sacré Coeur. As usual, I was not disappointed, the light was beautiful, casting long shadows, the sky was hazy. I'm so grateful to live where I do.

Every Monday, Magical Monday, I post a photo that is hopefully puzzling, fantastical or unexpected. No Photoshop allowed!

More photos from the Magical Mondays series can be found here.

Place Vendôme

I always find the scale of Place Vendôme in the 1st arrondissement of Paris disconcerting. It is vast, and largely empty. I think it must be about 120 metres from one side of the square to the other. There are only two ways into the square, and two ways out.

It was built between 1702 and 1720, a hundred or so years after the Place des Vosges. As with the Place des Vosges, the architectural style of the facades on all sides of the square is the same. Here is the view as you approach from rue St Honoré (the south-west). That's Napoleon, perched on top of the column.

When ever I visit the Place Vendôme I always seem to gravitate towards the column in the centre.

Over 40 metres high, the original column, built by Napoleon to commemorate the battle of Austerlitz, was modelled on Trajan's Column in Rome. Originally, at the top of the column was a statue of Napoleon riding a horse. The column was dismantled in 1871 upon orders of the government ruling Paris at that time. It is was later re-erected using the original bronze panels. The statue of Napoleon, which had been melted down when the column was dismantled, was replaced, this time there was no horse. There is apparently a spiral staircase on the inside of the column that takes you to the top. Not for the claustrophobic I would think.

The bronze panels are apparently made from 133 melted down canons retrieved from the battle of Austerlitz (1805).

I love the colours and intricate details of the bronze panels. Look at the tassels on that blanket...





...and the feathers on this helmet...


I love the green bronze set against the creamy Parisian stone.


Lampposts and column vie for attention.


Here's the column admiring its' reflection.

La Tour Eiffel

In the 1910s my grandmother came from Switzerland to live and work in Paris as a governess. She worked for a family who lived in a house on one of the roads than flanks the Champ de Mars, by the Eiffel Tower. Very Mary Poppins I always think. I often wonder what it was like to live in Paris at that time. A Paris with lots of horse drawn carriages and very few cars, and the Eiffel Tower just over twenty years old. The Eiffel Tower always amazes me, I wonder what it felt like to see it a hundred years ago.

There are several ways to enjoy the Eiffel Tower. From afar, it appears and disappears with a single step. This photo is taken from rue Caulaincourt. You step one metre to the right or left and you can no longer see it. In summer, forget it.

From close up...why hello!

In a chimney.

Hanging from a lamppost.

Dancing with flying fish.

Playing cache cache with flagpoles.

Fighting with buffalo.

Viewed through glass.

With its' head in the clouds...by day...

...and by night.

And of course, never forget, the Eiffel Tower ALWAYS looks good in a vase.

Snow in the city

Well it won't surprise anybody to hear that it's been snowing in Paris. Snowing a lot. I'm not sure I've ever seen so much settle on the roads in Paris, in the 18 years I've been living here. I've stepped out a few times onto our balcony to take pictures of Bruce, our Tasmanian Snow Gum. So far he seems to be living up to his name and appears untroubled by the snow. Time will tell.

I went a bit further afield later in the afternoon. There were cars about but much fewer than usual. This photo was taken in rue Caulaincourt. Given that it was about 3pm it's amazingly deserted.

This photo has a touch of Narnia about it.

Looking down, in the courtyard infront of our house.

Looking up.

Looking straight ahead.

Eyelashes catch the snow. My daughter didn't inherit those from me, unfortunately.

And finally some non snowy white fluff, our mandatory local-hair-dresser-poodle. They all seem to have one sitting in their window.

Gold in the city of light

With all this snow, and cold and grey I feel the need for a bit of brightness. More precisely a bit of shininess. Why not some gold? At any one time in Paris some old building is being restored. The Opéra national de Paris, Palais Garnier, was under wraps recently and now, mostly uncovered, reveals freshly gilded statues at the top. Very very shiny ones.

I think the spires on the top of the Grands Magasins Printemps must have been re-gilded recently as well. They're incredibly intricate and elaborate, and particularly catch the eye on a sunny day.

As have the winged horses on Pont Alexandre III. The bridge with the amazing lampposts.

I think the lampposts on Place de la Concorde must have been restored lately too, though I don't remember seeing it happen. Usually when I'm there I'm on a bike and need to concentrate on not getting run over, rather than checking out the physical condition of the lampposts.

The gates on the Jardins des Tuileries have yet to be done, though I must say I love the slightly mat gold finish.

Gold, the colour, can be found everywhere.

 

Even the Eiffel Tower likes to rub shoulders with gold.

More gold  images can be found here.