Doorways to Paris

One thing I never tire of in Paris are its doors. From vivid cobalt and brilliant ruby red to whimsical robin's egg blue and sweet mint green, they come in every hue and shade you could imagine. 
They are old, massive wooden structures, sometimes adorned with scrollwork and the occasional yawning lion's head. Often they are the entrance to a private courtyard, glimpsed on the rare chance a door is left ajar. 
My continued treasure hunt for the most colorful examples has led to En Route's newest collection: Doorways to Paris, now available in the shoppe. If you have any other colors you'd like to see photographed, I'd love the challenge of seeking them out!

White Wednesday

Saturday Night Fièvre

Over the weekend I attended my second housewarming/costume party since coming to Paris (apparently this is a thing here). The hosts requested that we dress in "dance" wear -- anything from flamenco to hiphop. So at my insistence, Ben and I went in classical ballet gear (I am always looking for an excuse to wear thigh-high leg warmers).

I may have felt a teensy bit nekkid at first walking around in just a leotard, but when Monsieur Madonna showed up I was no longer the only one.

Wait, let me show you the full-length version...

(The man has great gams.)

In addition, there were hippie chicks,

cowgirls and disco/80's hybrids,

a flapper, a goth, a member of ABBA,

and, um, not exactly sure what this was, except that she looked AWESOME.

There was an endless stream of champagne, of which I partook... copiously.

And music and dancing until well into the early morning hours.

And if you've ever wondered how Parisian ladies get down, well, it's pretty much exactly like the rest of us do...

City of (Christmas) Lights

A sparkly little photo post for Inês, who commented that holiday lights are few in her part of Portugal this year due to the economy. (Is this happening elsewhere too? It's hard to get a proper perspective when living in the tourist capital of the world.)
Most of these were shot on the fly from the passenger window of our car -- it takes a stronger woman than I to brave the crowds around the major department stores this time of year. Benjamin can attest that I was verging on a panic attack the one night we squeezed our way into Galerie Lafayette to see the giant Christmas tree; I barely lasted five minutes before the relentless press of bodies had me gasping for air and dragging him towards the exit.

Left Bank

Place Vendôme

Galerie Lafayette

Karl Lagerfeld's display for Printemps

Hope you're all having a merry & bright season wherever you are. I love a bit of sparkle and glitter as much as (actually more than) the next girl, but without question the best part of the holiday is simply getting to spend it with my favorite person. Cliché but true.

xoxo,
Lilie

Paris in Autumn Gold

Bonjour tout le monde! 

I hope you all enjoyed Benjamin's posts in my NaNo-induced absence. November was intense, and the only reason I was able to write those 50,000 words was because I had the priceless support of my long-suffering boyfriend (dinner dishes whisked away, endless cups of coffee & tea, a patient ear for my various plot problems, a kind-but-stern reality check when I was falling too far behind) and my friend and fellow NaNo-rockstar Corey, who checked in with me via twitter every day and encouraged me with cheery notes, bribes, and prizes. 

So my advice to anyone who wants to take on something challenging: have a backup team. I've done NaNo twice before on my own, and never made it past 15,000 words. I'm not kidding when I say I finished thanks to these two. And now I have a great heap of messy, tangled, coma-inducingly boring, sparkly, flat, intriguing, written words that I can now turn into something that might become a real story (after a lot, lot, LOT more work).

I am taking a short break from the writing so I can read it again with fresh eyes in a few weeks, and in the meantime I am happy to be back to our regularly-scheduled program of Paris-appreciation. We're now in the colder and wetter tail-end of autumn, with holiday lights and decorations beginning to pop up around town. 

Benjamin brought home our tree last weekend and I've been slowly adding new baubles to it every day. It's our first Christmas together and neither of us had our own ornaments, so it's fun to start fresh and build up a new collection together. My tendency runs towards an understated snowy white & silver palette, while Ben wants to add cheery reds and gold. I tried to make a case for some pink accents, but the look of horror on his face convinced me it wasn't worth the effort. 

In any case, it's wonderful to be free again to leave the house and explore and take photos and enjoy the advent of winter in the city. Will try to share more with you in the twinkling, frosty days to come...

plat du jour: 10.19.11

une baguette avec beurre, tomate, manche et un coeur fromage

A Paris Perspective

I was ooh-ing and ah-ing over Georgianna's dreamy Paris photos this morning (they make me swoon with longing for the city -- and I live here), and it made me realize I have become a wee bit lax with my own photography since I've moved here.

When I came last winter for a one-week stay, I was like: MUST TAKE ALL THE PHOTOS, but now that I have unlimited access to the city, it's become more like: eh, LENSES TOO HEAVY, LEAVE AT HOME. Benjamin jokes that I should get a tattooed reminder on my arm to always bring my camera with me.
And he's right, because I have yet to venture out and not encounter something that takes my breath away.

Paris is a photographer's paradise. In a way it is almost overwhelming -- the multi-colored wicker cafe chairs, the elegant Haussman-building skyline, the art nouveau Metro entrances, the narrow cobblestone alleyways, the sparkling window displays -- how could I ever capture it all?

I can't, of course. And others have already done so, better than I could.
But...

...if nothing else, my perspective is unique. A different angle, a different light, a different aperture -- and even the most frequently photographed object can be interpreted anew, no?

august 26

outside the Jardin des Plantes

lunch and sweet mint tea with a dear friend at the Mosquee de Paris

stopping for refreshment at Merci's Used Book Cafe

ending the day with a salted butter carmel ice cream & chantille crepe (as one should)

Un Mariage en Juin

 The bride wore polka dots.

 The first wedding was at City Hall.

 The second: an old and echoing church.

 Ringing bells and throwing rose petals.

At the reception (held in a centuries-old stone farmhouse), each table was adorned with an 

illustration of a famous film couple. Ours was, of course, Han and Leia (geeks represent!).

 In France, the custom is not so much a wedding cake as it is a tower 

of caramel-encrusted choux -- in this case, flaming with sparklers.

 The disintegrating quality of the photos as the day wore on has nothing whatsoever to do with the 

three? four? glasses of wine and champagne I consumed that evening. Nothing whatsoever.

After dessert there was dancing, and round about the time the 40's swing tunes gave way 

to 80's era Madonna, my feet decided they'd had enough of this wearing heels business and 

were crying out for the comfort of slippers. And so with bisous and felicitations! to the bride 

and groom we bid adieu to the party, slipped out into the cold night and headed home.