Paris, France - Shops along Rue du Temple

The walk to the parade continued on Temple, with shops and restaurants.







The walk was from the corner of Rue Rambuteau and Rue du Temple, south to Rue de Rivoli.

Paris, France - Grand Coeur and Le Centre de Danse du Marais (Dance Studio)

Grand Coeur - 41 rue du Temple - French restaurant
Le Centre de Danse du Marais - 41 rue du Temple https://www.centrededansedumarais.fr/le-centre/

The Danse school holds classes for adults and children. They were open this night with performances for "Nuit Blanche" (White Night).  They offer Jazz, classical, contemporary classes...flamenco, street jazz and hip hop.  Quite an establishment.

We walked in to the court yard to look around but did not go in to the dance performances. We watched through the window!






Paris, France - Night Walk in Le Marais

Day 1

We arrived at the apartment and unpacked.  Then it was time for dinner so we headed east in Le Marais to see what we could find.

The first photograph is of the interior of the restaurant and the art style.  Click here to see this post about Le Oken and our experience.
Across the street we spotted a natural stuff store.  Kim wanted to get an air freshener for the small apartment, and we found a nice eucalyptus oil.  This came in very handy throughout the trip.  As we left the store, I took this third photo of the restaurant.  It was full and that is a very good sign!  This area has an abundance of stores and a great variety.

Comptoir Gourmet is at 51 rue du Temple.  A small menu Italian restaurant that has rave reviews. On my list to stop in next time.  Plus I love the huge doors in this area.

Food stores are abundant in this neighborhood and made it very comfortable to stay here.  The bottom photo is a fruit store, with vegetables etc.







Paris, France - Walkabout Le Marais and Nuit Blanche

After settling in the apartment, it was time for a light dinner. The area was crowded because of Nuit Blanche. There was a table at Le Oken, a cafe at 19 Rue Rambuteau.  We were going to sit outside because it was so nice but no one was moving. There were specials on the board but we opted for Gratiné Oignon and charcuterie.










After dinner, we walked south on Rue du Temple, stopping briefly at Centre du Dance du Marais to check out the courtyard and the staircase (more on that later).  We crossed the street at Bazaar de Hotel de Ville (BHV) to find a good spot to sit for the Nuit Blanche parade.  BHV was beautifully lit in blue lights.

There more photos of the parade, but my goal tonight was to stay awake until 10:00 PM Paris time to get on to a good sleeping pattern.  I am tired and it is time to quit.

Over Texas - The View From 19a

So far, so good. The airport arrival gave enough time to have a light southwestern spiced quesadilla at Blanco. I love the idea to have local restaurants at the airport!


Look at this store!! Let's talk about diverse portfolios!!

 

Boarding on American Airlines went smooth and there was enough space in the overhead bin for luggage. Did not want to check through to my final destination!

Next stop, Dallas. Beautiful clouds in the Texas sky made it irresistible to keep the iPhone turned off. Shout out to Sis!



Ladee
Travel info and photographs: 
"Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport."
Fun stuff here: 
I can't retire. I'm 82. It's too young...Frank Gehry

Phoenix, AZ - Shoutout to my Local Starbucks

I stopped by Starbucks 44th St and Thomas this morning to get a coffee and to let them know my travel plan so that they wouldn't worry about my absence. Does this mean I stop by too often when I need to do this?  I didn't want to be a "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" lady. (I enjoyed this book a lot.)

A few Photo goals on this trip: reflections and silhouettes. 




Ladee

Travel info and photographs: 
"Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport."
Fun stuff here: 
I can't retire. I'm 82. It's too young...Frank Gehry

Phoenix, AZ - Prepping for Paris


Kim and I are working through the technical issues for the Paris and beyond. So excited to turn her in to an uber-technical traveler!!




Ladee
Travel info and photographs: 
"Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport."
Fun stuff here: 

Miami Florida













Ladee
Travel info and photographs: 
"Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport."
Fun stuff here: 
I can't retire. I'm 82. It's too young...Frank Gehry

Phoenix, Arizona - Color Variations for Jardin du Palais Royal

My recent work has been with a photo that I took a few years ago of a walk through the gardens at Palais Royal in Paris.  I created mine with bold colors but also created some color variations.  This idea came to me when I was showing the single colorful work at Parkwood Studios' First Friday event in Phoenix.  Several people favored other pieces, stating that they liked the colors.

These will all soon be available on Fine Art America.  This shop has more than prints. They have towels to coffee mugs to duvets and shower curtains.











Phoenix, AZ - 8/8 Last Session Painting Class

I let loose and just painted tonight. I used a faster drying acrylic and whatever color was on the pallets. I made a face with some flowers in front of it. I didn't use a reference photo as I wanted to see how much I actually knew about the structure of a face. Turns out not that much and so I now have a goal to do portraits in the next session and to improve on the look. Following are also a few of my fellow classmates' works.


These are creations of the classmates, ranging from first class session to advanced. 








Ladee
Travel info and photographs: 
"Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport."
Fun stuff here: 

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