Northwest Washington DC, July 2010.
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The gardens at Giverny were just breath-taking. And so French. I shot these with a very narrow depth of field because I wanted to get a lot of background blur. The effect is kind of reminiscent of the Impressionist style, don’t you think?
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Next time you’re in Paris, take a short train ride to Giverny to see Monet’s famous house and settings for his ponds and lillies paintings. The house is completely preserved the way it was during his lifetime.
Here are a few pictures of the house, pictures of the gardens to come.
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I can’t get enough of Paris metro signs. They’re exactly what you would want them to be.
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Ladurée is a storied French patisserie and cafe that will be forever known to posterity as the institution that first brought macarons into the world. There are a few locations, but the one on the Rue Royale is the original — first built in 1862, burned down during the Paris Commune uprising of 1871 and rebuilt.
My friend Sam and I went this time (coincidentally seated at the same table that April and I were in October), and this time I tried the pain perdu. They were round! Eating circular French toast was a first for me. Anyway, it was delectable as always.
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Wouldn’t you love waking up every morning with the sunlight streaming in through these beautiful windows, the outside world perfectly framed?
[light locations via sfgirlbybay]
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The very famous Moulin Rouge, on the Boulevard de Clichy.
I took 10 gigabytes worth of pictures in Paris. That’s… a lot. I’ll have lots of material to play around with in Photoshop, and hopefully I’ll be inspired to take pictures more regularly here.
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Paris is so, so beautiful. It’s a place designed to delight the eyes — every aspect of the city, both ancient and modern, was carefully created and placed to harmonize with Paris’s essential beauty. Just walking around, soaking the cityscape in, is such a pleasurable experience. And what a stark contrast coming back to the United States. While DC certainly has its pretty aspects, the government and people don’t have the same passion, obsession, for aesthetics that Parisians have. Compare the drab browns and tans of the DC Metro with the bright fuschias, royal blues, and electric green of the Paris Metro. No detail is left untouched!
That said, there are some things I’m grateful for now that I’m back in the Sweet Land of Liberty. Coffee in copious amounts, brewed just the way I like it. (As opposed to the tiny cups of cafe creme that go for 4 euro in some cafes). Not feeling egregiously underdressed and un-chic wearing my Reef flip-flops in public. Eating normal things for breakfast again (cereal, oatmeal), because there isn’t a boulangerie or patisserie on every corner. (My feelings on this point are necessarily mixed). And… having my boyfriend back. Probably sweet, perhaps pathetic, but I really, really missed him in the city of lovers!
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Whilst packing, I am confronted with an important question: Should I pack these? Or will they leave me teetering on the brink of an embarrassing international collapse?
I’ll pack ‘em.
[Melrow by Steve Madden, in case you're wondering.]
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And tomorrow I’m off! A 2:35 pm flight to JFK, meet up with Samantha and fly over to Charles de Gaulle, arriving 7:25 am in Paris. We’ll have a full day ahead of us — as long as the jet lag doesn’t get in the way.
I’m tres excited. I still haven’t packed though, because I’m horrible at it and so put it off. It seems as though I always pack the wrong things. My camera will obviously make it, but which shoes? Purses? Etc. It’s added pressure to pack for Paris, given how stylish Parisians are. I don’t want to be dubbed l’Americaine right away!
Case in point, via The Sartorialist:
Obviously, France is well known for its food. But I always like simple things best, and it’s pure heaven to me that every cafe or food cart in Paris sells delicious baguette with ham and gruyere. Mmm, I could live on those for a week. A crepe or two wouldn’t hurt, of course — with nutella, yum.
Pictures from the trip to come! A bientot!
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