I have come back from my first trip to Europe and the first vacation I have had in five years. I had a wonderful time and the people of Paris are friendly, nice and helpful (except for one grumpy waiter)
Paris is an artist's dream come true, everywhere you look is a painting or a photograph waiting to be captured. I had barely took a step without snapping a photo and all in all I took around 1,200 within the week. The challenge lied in having a very steady hand as most places do not allow flash photography or tripods understandably. I like shooting with available light above flash but in the darkness of some of the churches and buildings you had to become creative.
We managed to get a lot of sightseeing and might I add some extremely good food into the week. It took me 40 years to finally see Notre Dame, the setting for my favoriite book up close. It's beauty is so astounding I easily took over 200 of it alone. Père Lachaise Cemetery was also a highlight for me. It was an overcast day and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn colors and fall. Moss covers most of the tombs and cobblestones wind through a maze of around 300,000 graves.
Versailles was interesting. The castle was a bit much for me and did not hold my interest until I got out in the gardens back by the Hamlet Houses. I fell in love with the beauty of that whole area. It was as if a storybook had opened up and you walked right in. Little cottages lined the lake, a small mill, a spiral wooden staircase, cute little gardens fenced in with wooden gates and a farm with the most handsome, entertaining pig I have ever met. He honestly had me laughing the whole time. We ended up nicknaming him Jambon, the French word for ham, not because he was a pig but for the way he hammed it up for everyone passing by.
"Jambon"The only thing I did not get to see because of a week long power outage was the catacombs. I was really looking forward to that but perhaps next time.
I have redesigned the store to better reflect the way I felt about Paris. I gave it a warm and inviting feel to it and I have begun to upload some photos and digital paintings. I have in the works a few watercolors that will be posted down the line a bit. I also plan on adding short stories to the photos I have already put up. It is a very big job so please be patient. I hope you enjoy what I have to show...
Anyway it is back to posting my photos and catching up on some painting - Let me know what you think!
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