Tag Archives: Paris

Perspectives On Paris — Another View

Over the years, my readers have seen my photojournalistic style photography. I do take close details, humourous or interesting juxtapositions, or landscapes — but mostly I take human interest, documentary, or art and architectural studies. Sometimes colour, sometimes black and white, my style is similar to other journalists or art photographers of my era — yet uniquely my own.

My husband Mark began to take a more serious interest in photography after we met almost 25 years ago. And over the years, his style has evolved in a wonderful way. He has an artist’s eye for composition and I love the fact that he sees things differently, that he notices details that I might not have ever seen. Our interests are similar, but not identical.

Today’s post is a photo essay — and every photo was taken by Mark Harmes.

Enjoy!

Child’s gravestone memorial statue in Paris.

Museum courtyard in Paris.

Man in shadow sits beside fountain of stacked concrete scoops in Paris.

Vertical elements in art and architecture in Paris.

Zig-Zag stairs behind a wall of green glass in Paris.

Generali Balloon ride in a park in Paris.

Walking in the shade of an overhead rail bridge on a hot day in Paris.

Glass angles and reflections in Paris.

Architectural details on an Art Nouveau building in Paris.

Mark’s reflection in the door glass of an Art Nouveau building in Paris.

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©Mark Harmes 2007-2018
©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
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Paris Rendezvous — Part Four

The latest post is a sprinkling of images from our last days in Paris. It was a very compressed 5-day visit during an intense heatwave.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Avenue de La Bourdonnaise in Paris.

Resting in the shade by a cooling water garden in back of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris. The Rue de L’Universite.

This isn’t chalk — these are painted designs on the bicycle and scooter lane alongside the Quai D’Orsay in Paris. Can’t find any information about what the marks mean!

Dinner at the Brasserie Terminus Balard in Paris.

Next up — a post full of images taken by Mark Harmes in Paris!

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©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
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Paris Rendezvous — Part Three

One of the most delightful aspects of visiting a cultural hub like Paris is the availability of things to do each day! This large and fascinating museum — Musee Quai Branly — was completely new to me.

After I finished taking photos on the Pont de L’Alma bridge overlooking the Quai D’Orsay and the Seine, we turned around and hugged the shady side of the pavement on Quai Branly. The sun was eye-wateringly bright and the temperatures were over 30 degrees celsius in the shade. The architectural style of the museum was a wonderful surprise. Both the colours and the exterior layers of planting and building placement were quite enjoyable to stroll through.

The museum is vast and contains collections from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and the Americas — all spread out over multiple levels in a gloriously contemporary set of buildings. The photos below are a mere sample of what there is to see!

Mayan statue in one of the collections of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Musee Quai Branly restaurant set in the gardens of this extensive Seine-side museum in Paris.

Exterior ticket office within the cluster of contemporary buildings at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Massive carved sandstone head from Oceania in the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Quite funny to watch all of these adults scampering from area to area whilst participating in some sort of corporate team-building scavenger hunt. This was going on all over the various levels of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

One of a collection of masks from the Pacific Northwest of North America at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

One of a collection of masks from the Pacific Northwest of North America at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

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©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
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Paris Rendezvous — Part Two

While doing the planning for this trip, I decided that I had seen the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay several times along with the Pompidou Center and several smaller museums — so it would be good to visit new places instead. We were staying in a wonderful neighbourhood in the 15h Arrondissement, so we had excellent transport links that started right outside the front door of the hotel.

It’s time to share something that I have been reluctant to ever discuss online. As mentioned in Part One when I was dismayed about the hotel ignoring my request to NOT place us in a room that would require climbing a lot of stairs, I’ve begun to have some issues with mobility and pain. None of it is overly-dramatic, but it is inconvenient. So I have to listen to what my body tells me it can and cannot manage each day — and it’s all quite unpredictable.

On our 3rd day in Paris, it was clear that I was going to need to stay quiet and just rest for a full day. I knew that I’d lost any sightseeing I might have planned, but the heat bouncing off the concrete walkways the previous day had left me feeling quite drained and ill by that evening. I sent Mark off with my blessings every morning because he likes to get out early for a walk and for that particular Wednesday, he also went to a museum I had wanted to see, but knew I could not. I’ll post his pictures separately in another post dedicated to his images from Paris — not mine.

Thursday started off quite nicely with an excellent lunch at the brasserie right across the street from our small hotel. The food and wine were excellent and the decor was delightfully quirky — full of advertising art or miniatures relating to Citroen automobiles.

Next we headed to the Pont de L’Alma and I stopped on the bridge to take pictures of my surroundings and the River Seine below. Then we turned around and proceeded to the museum (in the next post) and had some time amongst the paintings, sculpture, and objects on display.

Make sure to come back for the next segment — and enjoy these views of Paris!

Exterior of the Bistro D’Andre in the 15th Arrondissement of Paris, France.

Interior of the Bistro D’Andre in the 15th Arrondissement of Paris, France. The lunch rush had just ended when I took this shot because a mere half-hour earlier, these tables had all been packed with happy diners.

Specials Of The Day board at the Bistro D’Andre in Paris, France.

Honey glazed chicken skewers at the Bistro D’Andre in the 15th Arrondissement in Paris, France.

Panne Cotta with red fig coulis — still lingering in my mind!

Citroen artwork on the bistro walls in Paris.

Citroen advertising art on the bistro walls in Paris.

Bateau mouches, lined up and waiting to take tourists for a cruise on the Seine in Paris.

The Quai D’Orsay alongside the Seine.

Both the Eiffel Tower and the domes of the new Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral are now landmarks that can be seen from the Seine in Paris, France.

Opened in 2016, the glistening domes of the massive Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral face the Seine on the left bank.

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©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

Paris Rendezvous — Part One

It isn’t often that someone will begin a story by telling you that they were forced to go to Paris, but that is what happened to me this past week.

The Australian government has somehow failed to drag itself into the 21st Century, and lovely folks though they might be, they require a face-to-face appointment — a rendezvous — to renew a 10-year passport. My current passport was running out quickly and it’s tied to my French residency card, so the trip was planned and reservations were made.

For the last three months — April, May, and June — the railroad employees here in France have been conducting a rolling series of strikes. It was impossible to schedule a rail ticket to and from Paris as a result, so we were forced to travel by one of those big commercial buses that have wifi on board, usb plugs for your devices, and you are meant to be travelling in air-conditioned comfort for the 5.5 hour trip in each direction. In contrast, the train takes approximately 2 hours, so you can already begin to understand how inconvenient and time-wasting this was going to be. To compound matters, we are currently in the first big heat wave of the summer and the temperatures have been knee-buckling.

Our bus was quite old, the air-conditioning worked about 50% of the time, the reserved seating that we paid extra for wasn’t honoured, and the trip actually took 6 hours. I do plan to contact the company, Ouibus, and find out why the reality of their service from Rennes to Paris is nothing like their rah-rah advertising on their website.

It was after 8 PM by the time we arrived at our hotel and checked in, only to discover that my online requests through Booking.com had been completely ignored. We were not on the ground or first floor — we were up several levels of twisty-windy stairs in a hotel that had no elevator. My note had been quite specific about my current challenges with mobility and balance, but all of that was simply ignored.

In spite of what felt like a deluge of drama, we did manage to get to the Australian Embassy the next day for my scheduled appointment. The staff were charming and I should be receiving my new passport in the mail in about 2 weeks time. So if they’ll send it by post, why do you still need to make a personal appearance? Hmmm…

Here are some images from that first full day in Paris. Enjoy!

This was our view as we stepped off the 42 bus that took us straight from our hotel to this neighbourhood — the Eiffel Tower glistening in the heat against a cloudless blue sky in Paris.

The Australian Embassy in Paris has a lovely art gallery on the ground floor containing a range of works done by Australian artists.

The Bir Hakeim station which is a few blocks from both the Eiffel Tower and the Australian Embassy.

Purchasing tickets in packs of 10 allows you to ride for 90 minutes at a time for several days straight.

A peek-through view of the Eiffel Tower alongside a twisting angle of a concrete veranda section of the Australian Embassy in Paris.

Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris – Part 3

In the final part of the visit to the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris, we’ll look at some of the more industral objects and end with a room setting.

There were some truly wonderful and historical objects in this museum, but the largest percentage of them were enclosed in glass cases for their protection since they are quite valuable and culturally significant to the history of French design. However, since the museum galleries are splendidly well lit, that made it practically impossible to take a picture without some sort of glare or reflection, so I’m sticking to a few last pictures of things that were not encased in glass.

I don’t often share pictures of industrial objects, but they do quite often make me say “Oooo!” out loud. And there’s something quite wonderful about the technology of the early to mid 20th Century that I find especially appealing. Here are two examples.

The first one is a 1910 airplane engine — the inside — the structural elements that hold that set of propellers in place as the power zooms through the engine. I just think it’s gorgeous.

Close-up sideview of 1910 French designed airplane engine.

Then there’s this early sound system for a movie projection set up in a cinema. The French were pioneers in film technology and they were quite early adopters of this new form of entertainment.

An early movie theatre sound system.

Finally, we were surprised to see just how many schoolchildren, from primary school age through high school age, were in the museum on the weekday that we attended. The museum is a fantastic educational resource for these students to learn about the wonderful inventions through the ages that their fellow Frenchmen have been either involved in or directly responsible for.

Students at a lecture inside the newer wing of the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris – Part Two

In this second part of our visit to the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris, today we’ll take a peek at some of the LARGE items that are displayed within the converted medieval priory portion of this extraordinary museum.

Designed to mimic the shape of a bat’s wings, this very early airplane by Clement Ader was designed between 1893 and 1897. The very fragile piece of engineering is suspended from the rather ornate ceiling inside the stairwell.

Very early aeroplane (airplane) designed by Clement Ader between 1893-1897

Ornate staircase in the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.

The high vaulted ceilings and ornate arches of the old church create the most impressive of the exhibition spaces. It’s quite stunning to walk into this vast area and look up to see several vintage airplaces hanging from the ceiling. On the floor below are old steam engines in a variety of sizes.

Planes above, trains below, automobiles in tiered racks on the side.

On the side of the large chapel are several levels of metal platforms, reached by stairs, which contain a variety of vintage automobiles — all perched high above the ground floor below. It could be a bit of a challenge for anyone with vertigo!

Vintage cars on suspended racks high above the floor below.

A timeless glimpse into the past.

Hope you have enjoyed a peek at this wonderful museum which should be on everyone’s ‘must see’ list when they visit Paris.