A Pinay in Europe

It takes a creative mind to come up with the most striking mugshot photo of himself alongside the most photographed structure in the world.  Just a posed shot with the Steel Lady, saying “cheese”,  is rather boring and if you post it in your blog, it won’t even attract a second look, unless it’s your mother or sister who is browsing on it. 

But how to come up with the most striking Eiffel Tower photo? 

I recently took a trip to the Palais de Chaillot (Trocadero) viewpoint and observed how tourists do it:

 
The Heil Hitler Salute

Carrying-the-tower-in-my-palm pose

The “I-am-pointing-to-the-Tip” pose

Another “carrying-the-tower-in-my-palm” pose

The Siamese twins pose

I am as guilty as any of them!

The let-me-put-it-back pose!

And the winner is:  this photo by Yann Le Meur

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“Paris Beach”

If you happen to be in Paris anytime between 20th July and 20th August, bring your bathing suit as you could  have the chance to go sunbathing in a sandy ground infront of the Seine.  And if you are travelling with kids, there’s a lot of activities for them that you can even go out on a date with the hubby and leave them not bored a single bit! 

The Paris Plage is now on its 8th year and it’s getting better and better!  What amazes me most is that, everything about there is free (except if you want to go for a meal,  beer or ice cream of course) and in this Recession environment, it’s like Utopia!

This summer activity organized by Paris City Hall is very popular among Parisians who are unable to take their holidays out of the city, unlike the large majority who have already made their exodus earlier

A total of 2.8 kilometer Seine riverside has been set aside for  “beach” activities

Being a design freak, I enjoyed exploring the many beach chair creations, all geared towards relaxing mind and body

But others find it too relaxing! 

The Paris Plage is not only for pleasure, it’s also for learning art, culture, sports and developing environmental consciousness among others

Teachers are on site to give demo on Paper Recycling

An art corner for children

There’s also a stage show for tots

One way of having a sexy-body photo

Trampoline for kids

They call it “baby-foot” in French; “table soccer” in English

For adults, this is the most popular French ball game, “Petanque”

BMX for 16 year olds and below.  I learned something from this cycle sport:  you must remain standing while cycling!

A commercial shoot is underway…

They are called “Spheres” in French, rolling spheres i thought, as opposed to floating spheres if they are on the water.  If I was young kid, I’d like to try this!

Water fountains are installed everywhere in the Paris Plage.  You are really spoilt for choice here!  Errr…these two are the patrolling policemen on bikes.

These water sprays are great for dried-up passers-by like me, but I had to protect my camera…

This shower drum is just as good as any kind of shower

But the real star of the show is the swimming pool (in blue, above), photography is prohibited so just use your imagination

They just love getting tanned!

This road is normally busy with cars but is currently closed in favor of ”beach” goers 

That’s real sand!

A sightseeing boat enjoying the sight

A newspaper boy on bike

A beach crew giving away brochures/maps so people have a better idea what to expect in the Paris Plage

A police boat …..

I know….. you want a close-up shot so here they are!

And last but not least,

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Finally, the waiting game is over. Our satellite internet system was installed today - 4 weeks after making the order. How I miss the days when I used to live and work in Dubai where I would phone the telephone company and the technician will be knocking on my door the next day. Here in Europe, the waiting time takes weeks! Even a plumber will give you up to 3 months appointment! The demand is too high but the workers are very few…

Anyway, with this new development, I hope to be able to update this site more regularly, and I can’t wait to start!

THE GRAND DEPART

It’s a French tradition that every Thomas (Tom), Richard (Dick) and Harry (same in French, hehehe) has to take his vacation in July or August. So what happens is, all the weekends of these two months should be blocked off in every tourists’ driving itinerary because all autoroutes (motorways/highways) will be clogged with departing vacationers and the direction is usually from the mainland to the coast, with the Mediterranean Coast receiving the highest numbers hence the country tends to tilt down southward (just kidding!). 

Unfortunately, we never learn our lesson.  H and I had to take a Saturday to drive back to Paris so we had to suffer the consequences!  But it’s not all suffering, mind you, I actually had a fun time photographing the “scenes”  of The Grand Depart!

Bikes,caravans,  roof carriers…

Why? Because empty containers leave European territory, bound for China, then return home filled up with Chinese goods.

Scenes in autoroute stops:

Scenes in the Countryside

And getting stuck in traffic had me collecting photos of European number plates!

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Planes, trains and automobiles……no, I’m not talking about the film, I’m talking about these forms of transport that took us home last weekend. But complicated or not, the excitement kicks off as soon as the plane starts to descend and the sight of the Cote d’Azur (in French) or the French Riviera (in English) unfolds before your eyes.  And because it’s the holiday season, tourists abound everywhere.

After our passing sight of Nice in the French Riviera, the next day, we drove to the Italian Riviera to cool off and that means jumping into the Mediterranean water for the first time - this year!

Wow, that was the most refreshing and invigorating swim I’ve had in a long time!  I also discovered that seawater could sooth aches and pains.  I’ve been getting  pain on my lower back probably due to bad sitting posture and that swim took the pain out like magic! 

Of course, whether in my bathing suit or not, the camera will always be there.

I would have missed these shots if I didn’t have it.

While people in Southeast Asia would spend a fortune on whitening creams, European women adore getting tanned! 

Swimming in this part of the Italian Riviera is very pleasant.  You get to see amazing views like this from the water.

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It’s good to be back home after a month of living in the suburbs of Paris.  We are here for just a week to gather more household things to take with us by car, so instead of buying new stuff, we can make use of the ones we already have but that means digging into the basement opening up cartons upon cartons of decade old bric-a-bracs that rarely saw the light because our lifestyle is constantly on the move.  It’s nice to discover things that we have forgotten we have, kind of Aladdin’s cave.  It’s just now a matter of compressing them all into the car, ready for the 12 hour drive back to the capital.

The heatwave we left in Paris is even worse here in the south of France.  Who says Europe is all cold and dark winters?  We actually live in the extremes:  freezing cold in the winter, burning hot in the summer! 

Tourists, I can just sympathize with them sightseeing endlessly in the blazing heat. I realize that summer is not a pleasant climate for tourists, it’s expensive as well, and because it’s the peak of the tourist season, everything from food to hotels jump up in prices. Spring and Autumn are still my favorite seasons, you can walk on and on and still the air is cool and it’s not too crowded.

Images of hot Paris

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Attended the 2nd day of the 2-Day Paris Fashion Days organized by Pret-a-Porter Paris. It’s very rare that fashion shows this genre are open to the public for free but there you are! You just have to be resourceful like yours truly to get into a chic action line this. 

Venue was the mysterious Palais Brongniart which was built by order of Napoleon Bonaparte to be the permanent home of the Paris Stock Exchange in 1826. Alas, with the advent of computerized stock trading activities, it is now transformed into a prestigious exhibition center holding numerous events and a gallery dedicated to the Paris stock exchange and its role in the economy.

The Audience

Err…I seem to have gone there to observe the audience instead of to watch the fashion show..

THE BRANDS

Camommila Milano

Pablo by Gerard Darel

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The most romantic of rivers! The most photographed river in the planet. But what exactly do people do on the Seine?

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I will start a photo series of Bridges of Paris, commencing on Pont des Arts - a favorite haunt of students, couples, friends and even tourists wanting to rest from a long day of sightseeing.

..and while yours truly was busy clicking her camera away, a wedding couple suddenly appeared next to her, posing before their official photographer!  With my now increasing collection of wedding shots, i probably can start a portfolio for STREET WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY!

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