Paris

We arrived in Paris.  This is a photograph taken in 1991 by Peter Turnley that I purchased in Paris.  It spoke to me with everything that I think about the city.  The Eiffel Tower, the River Seine, the mystical quality (due to the fog), and the ancient buildings that  I find thrilling about European cities. 

Because of fashion week - which started the day we arrived, we had to go a little south to find an apartment which was a few blocks from the Pantheon and the Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter.  Our apartment was rented thru Vacation in Paris (that I highly recommend by the way) and was a block from one of the permanent pedestrian market streets called Rue Mouffetard.  

Rue Mouffetard is the remnant of an ancient Roman road.  Some buildings date from the 12th century and it is one of the oldest streets in Paris. After the market closes in the evening, cafes and creperies open up, offering a wide variety of ethnic and traditional French food.  We went multiple times every day.  We tried cheeses with names we couldn't pronounce, bought butter cut from a slab that looked like a hunk of clay, and of course breads and pastries.

Barb and I took off to explore while the rest of our group recovered from the trip.  We started walking north on Mouffetard towards Notre Dame and after we passed all the fromageries (cheese stores), and patisseries (pastry shops), we discovered quaint little boutiques filled with wonderful jewelry, lots and lots of scarves and a Pharmacy on every corner.



Lots of color in this town at the end of September





These fabulous designs are by Ayala Bar.
This memory wire bracelet has very colorful beads and
I'm excited because I now know how to make them.

We made our way to the Notre Dame which is on the
eastern half of the Ile' de La Cite'
- an island in the River Seine and the place where Paris began.
Construction was started in 1163 and wasn't completed till 1345.
This view is the backside of the cathedral from the gardens.



Our first official meal in Paris was French Onion Soup in a sidewalk cafe across from the Notre Dame.
The menus are on blackboards hung on the wall.
  As a souvenir, I'm going to use a version of this,
 embed it in a pendant and coat with resin.

There were at least a dozen fashion shows going on around Paris on this day. The Guy Laroche fashion show was at the jardin des Tuileries which is a few blocks west from where we are.  This video is about 5 minutes long.    

This next video is after the show - of people who actually had an invitation (not us) plus some tourists and others.  Have no idea who these people are but I think the colors they are wearing are very inspirational.  I think this video is much more interesting.  About 4 minutes long and gives you an idea of Paris street fashion.