iParis

"I love Paris in the fall.... I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles..." After a round of Texas pics, I thought we could use another installment of iParis: photos taken around the city with my iphone. These are not planned, and (as I said last time) iphone pics are NOT my strongpoint, so cut me some slack and enjoy them for their impromptu feel. ;-)

First, the most spectacular head of hair that I've seen in quite some time. The picture does not do it justice, truly. Shot taken outside of the Orsay Museum.

Next, a spectacular view of the modern juxtaposed with the iconic:

Unfortunately, you can't really see what I was trying to hit in this picture (snapped during a walk with Oli asleep in the stroller), which was the horseback riders galloping around the grounds in front of Ecole Militaire... But I thought the photo was nice anyway, so for your enjoyment:

Near our home is a little public green space with a ping pong table - how cool is that?!?! In those gardens, I found a beautiful purple thistle:

In the other direction from our apartment is my favorite flower shop who was exhibiting some particularly gorgeous flowers this day:

Far from home but around the corner from Chris' office (his building is just out of view ahead) is the ultra-modern area of La Defense. Paris' main business district, if you will. Especially cool is the fact that all the roads here are underground, so the ground level is an entirely pedestrian zone, replete with bizarre yet interesting, colorful fountains and sculptures:

This next one may not be as impressive to some of you as it was to me. We had dinner in the Montmartre area the other night, and left from the Abbesses metro, where you take an elevator down to avoid the hundreds of stairs. In that elevator, I discovered two pictures scratched into the wall. At first, I was SO impressed (though the subject matter is not necessarily my taste, I thought the pics were pretty remarkable), then Chris mentioned that the probably used a stencil, and I felt a bit foolish... Oh well, I still think it's pretty incredible how well it showed up on these elevator walls:

And, finally, a quick musing on the fact that the day we returned home from Houston (where it was 90+ degrees when we left), we left our apartment building dressed in sweaters, hats, and an extra blanket for Oli... And, for the record, it was in the 40's when I left my apartment for the market this morning. This Texas gal almost didn't know what to do with herself!