A Pinay in Europe

 It’s nice to be back home.  A much warmer weather than Paris right now although I’m still infront of the heater but at least the sun is shining so bright! In Paris, everytime I go out in the morning, my hands are freezing, but here, it’s okay! I could smell the salty air of the Mediterranean sea already but looking out of the window, the sight of the snow-capped mountains puts me on holiday mood again!  

This is the next village from us where we buy baguette (French bread). Everytime I go there, I have to take my camera with me. Lovely!

The same village as above. This is the spot where we park the car. Again, where’s my camera…?

(Back home)
Poor empty pots….they are calling me to do some planting! But how could I with our itinerant lifestyle?

But itinerant or not, I can always take a pot or two with me wherever I go. Such is the case of this geranium. Did you know that these leaves give out a heavenly scent? I just love sniffing them so much that I had to take the plant with me. From Paris, it travelled in the car with us for 12 hours. Then when we go back, (I don’t know when as we have to go to Corfu by next week) we’ll have to take it with us again. If we don’t do that, it will die of thirst and cold.

1 Comment »

Jogging in red

I love Spring!

Assemble your own reptile

It’s the season of mimosas

A yellow explosion …… of mimosa

Mimosa up close

Hyacinths, I just love their heavenly scent!

Snowcapped, at dusk

The village of Saorge

Saorge

The quiet scream at the train station

The dark alley to home

2 Comments »

One place ideal for Sunday morning walks is the Marche aux Puces in Porte de Clignancourt.  It’s a kind of sightseeing where you might end up buying an 18th century fireplace frame or a Parisian roofwindow, a vintage poster or simply a collectible doll.

No Comments yet »

While everyone dislikes going to the laverie (laundromat), I, on the contrary, looks forward to it not as a domestic chore but as a guise to discovering new towns. 

Every other week, we do a sort of laundromat-hopping activity as the 40minute wait while the clothes are washing is wisely used sightseeing rather than sitting and staring at the rotating machine.

Last Saturday, we chose the big city of Dourdan.  A 1oth century chateau, a 13th century cathedral, a wooden marketplace, medieval ramparts, it’s like a French town taken out of a historical film featuring a king and his knights!

Approaching Dourdan, you get a grandiose view of the Church of St Germain d’Auxerre

A typical house in Dourdan is huge, although this one now belongs to a bank

Before our trip to the laundromat, we decided to treat ourselves with lunch.  This bar-restaurant is full so we had to wait at the bar and, naturally, ordered some red wine.

After waiting for half an hour, we finally got a table. 

We helped ourselves with the entrèe (appetizer) buffet which is included in the 3-course meal of 12.50euros

For the plat principal (main dish) we ordered steak and fries. The steak is sooo good but surprisingly cheap. The waiter says they buy their stock in Rungis, the biggest meat and fresh market in France.

What a warm ambience!

While our clothes are getting washed in the laundromat, we went for our walk.  This is the medieval rampart of the town situated in Avenue des Allies

Cherry blossoms peeking out through the ramparts

A roof garden with its box of daffodils

There was an exhibition going on and we had the chance to vote for the sculpture and painting we like.  These two, the sitting girl and the impressionist painting were our favorites.

No Comments yet »

All photos shot in Paris (2008-2011)

No Comments yet »

My heart bleeds everytime I see on TV the great devastation happening now in Japan. This is a tragedy beyond comprehension. I ask everyone to stop for a few moments and say a prayer for all the victims, all the Japanese people and all the foreigners who are in the middle of this tragedy. I pray that the danger of nuclear radiation stop so they can all go back (home) and start rebuilding their lives….

No Comments yet »

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

When the animals take over the farm, they think it is the start of a better life. Their dreams is of a world where all animals are equal and all property is shared. But soon the pigs take control and one of them, Napoleon, becomes the leader of all the animals. One by one the principles of the revolution are abandoned, until the animals have even less freedom than before.

Submitted by Anonymous.

Every Monday, I shall be featuring a photo theme about any subject and I shall start it today. The theme is about Animal Farm.

Like a Virgin

I thought she is pregnant but then I realized that they cannot grow their stomach like that.  They hatch eggs, not babies..

The big-mouthed ostrich

He’s kneeling, I think he’s looking for a partner

Because the ostrich is a bird that cannot fly, it has big toes adapted for running. 

Geese: “Did you bring some grains for us?”

No Comments yet »

March 12, 2011
It’s the start of the Trout Fishing Season!

These are the words posted near every river or lake in France! Where we live near the river Orge, we are surrounded by fishing cottages that are rented to angling enthusiasts and every weekend during the fishing season, they become a beehive of activity where men and boys sit by the water with their hook and line, while the mothers patiently make the barbecue just outside their cottages.

Today, March 12, is the most awaited day so I went scouting for good ‘fishing’ photo opportunity.

By the way, to be able to fish, you need to have a permit and having a permit doesn’t give you the divine right to take your catch home. You need to throw it back to the water. And the size of the fish you catch should conform to the allowed length, so even if the trout died because you hooked it too hard, you still have to throw it back to the water if it is 1cm short of the required 23cm!

Camping to fish for the weekend

The fisherman is absent

Letting the fish catch itself

No Comments yet »

I have been on my feet for hours: from Gare Austerlitz to Viaduc des Arts to Blvd Menilmontant then watching the Dimanche Gras parade for another couple of hours. I’m knackered and it’s gettting late so I traced my steps back to where I saw the Metro station of Pere Lachaise. But as soon as I saw the cemetery, an overwhelming desire to find peace and quiet came upon me so I walked in and into the solemn grounds. This is the only place in Paris that could give me that calming effect. It is so peaceful there and besides, I like looking at the tombs, the statues, the sepulchers, the embellishments. This place is like a museum. And if I revere Paris because of its ecletic architecture, decorative arts as well as its colourful French history, then Pere Lachaise has them all!

Honoré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin, Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde. You see, even the famous and the geniuses are buried here.

As seen from the Blvd Menilmontant.

The main entrance

This reproduction of the Winged Victory of Samothrace stands as a memorial offered by the French  to the Greek heroes who died fighting for France.  The original is found in the Louvre Museum.

“Monument to the Dead” by Bartholome

It’s a perfect place to meditate

It’s more than a park, it’s like an open museum

The day before, a famous actress of the 60s, Annie Girardot, was buried here.  The line of people wanting to see her grave never stopped, at least while I was there.

She made a movie with the equally famous French actor, Paul Belmondo.

No Comments yet »

I finally reached the Dimanche Gras parade route in Blvd de Menilmontant, just a stone’s throw away from Pere Lachaise cemetery (will talk about it in my next post).  The last time I watched this same event was two years ago and I like it as  it is a good opportunity to practice photographing colourful parades.

Why Dimanche Gras (or Fat Sunday) and not Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) like in Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans? Honestly, I don’t have any idea but obviously, it is a non-working day and this festivity is great for the whole family to watch as I noticed that day, on the train and all the streets, whole families walking together, even the grandparents were there, the grandmas holding bunches of daffodils, a symbol of Grandmother’s Day which is being celebrated at the same time. 

Anyway, as to the origin of the Mardi Gras,  legend goes that Tuesday is the last day of eating fatty foods and the next day, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of the ritual fasting of the Lenten season. 

So here are the photos. Enjoy!

This festivity reminds me of Disneyland where little girls earn the right to wear Princess and Minnie Mouse costumes.  Here at the Dimanche Gras, everyone can wear their own accouterments, from the weird to the bizarre, so you don’t only get to watch the parading teams but also the street audience.

The theme this year is “Les Olympiades Carnavalesques Internationales” (International Olympic Carnival) and 5 countries were invited to join in the parade, Bolivia is one.

Cameraman:  So what can you say about the carnival?

No Comments yet »