Bleu, blanc et rouge

Yesterday morning up by the Sacré Coeur. Blue, red and white.

Place de Tertre before the crowds have arrived. Red, white and blue.

Moulin Rouge. Red, blue and white.

Brocante, Place des Abbesses. White, red and blue.

 

Fête des Vendanges

The most famous vineyard in Paris is in Montmartre, located on the corner of rue St.Vincent and rue des Saules in the 18th arrondissement. Every October after the grapes are harvested the Fête des Vendanges is held. A festival lasting 5 days. One of the highlights of the festival is the Grande défilé, a grand procession with brass bands, folk groups and this year's guest of honour, the 'Carnval of Chalon-sur-Saone' with their 25 giant brightly painted caricature heads. 

Last week I was up by the Sacré Coeur and saw the preparations underway. The weather was miserable and it all looked rather bleak.

This afternoon was the day of the parade. The weather was amazing for October, an astonishing 25 degrees . 

 There were Rolls Royce.

There were brass bands. 

There were street performers.  This man balanced a green bottle on his head for hours, while juggling.

There were great hats. 

There were lots of balloons. 

There were people in Georgian National dress. 

There were gorgeous street scenes. 

There were grapes, very tasty they were too.

And there were the Giant heads from  the Carnval of Chalon-sur-Saone'.

Trivia 

• Apparently the grapes are fermented in the basement of the Mairie du 18e. 
• In 2009, 1003 bottles of wine were produced.
• The oldest vines are 78 years old.
• A bottle of the Montmartre wine cost 45 euros in 2009.

A collection of Fête des Vendanges photos can be found here 

Monochrome

Sometimes, when I get back home and sort through my photos, there are some which I'm tempted to convert to black and white. They seem so monochrome as it is that I assume that it will make no difference if they're changed to black and white.

However, I think maybe it does. The subtle off-white or cream colour tones you get when you leave the photos in full colour give them an extra dimension. 

Sometimes, of course, this question doesn't arise.

The magic of the Sacré Cœur

The other day I was on the rive gauche opposite Place de la Concorde. From there I was surprised to see the Sacré Cœur, a misty silhouette on the horizon. Once I'd crossed the river onto Place de la Concorde it had gone again.

It is one of the many things I love about the Sacré Cœur, the way it appears and disappears in unexpected places and ways.

For example, it sometimes appears much bigger than you imagine possible.

Sometimes a part of it appears that you hadn't expected to see.

Sometimes the dome appears over the roof tops when you least expect it to. 

Sometimes you're in a tiny narrow street and suddenly you get to see the whole of the Sacré Cœur, or nearly. 

Sometimes you see it from an angle that you never saw it at before.  

Sometimes you even find that the Sacré Cœur is in an alpine meadow.

And sometimes the Sacré Cœur is simply magical.

Many more views of the Sacré Cœur can be seen here.