Paris - Post 5

 click to enlarge

I'm going to just throw up a bunch of images here for my final Paris post.
1- San Francisco Book Company - An English language book store, lots of nice paperbacks
2- Passage des Panoramas - The oldest passages couverts in Paris; covered alleys lined with shops
3- Musée d'Orsay - One of two large clock faces inside the former train station
4- Jardin des Tuileries - Toy sailboat in one of the garden's ponds
5- Galeries Lafayette - This stained glass dome sits in the middle of Europe's largest department store
6- Street art close to the Shakespear & Co book store
7- Street art in the Notre Dame area 

Paris - Post 4

We visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery and roamed around for a couple hours. The size and artistry of the cemetery was amazing. We visited a few famous spots, but I think I liked the Georges Méliès grave the most. It had a lot of tokens and notes covering it and a beautiful bust atop that looked more than a little like Ben Kingsley who portrayed him in the movie Hugo. The top of the stone reads:

Georges Méliès

Createur du Spectacle

Cinematographique

1861 - 1938

Not a bad way to be remembered. I also liked this detail that was at the top of a mausoleum for a family of divers. There were little touches like this covering the whole cemetery.

Paris - Post 3

 

Our hotel was in the Monmartre district of Paris. On our first day there, after almost no sleep on the plane, we set out to explore the area a little bit. We had marked the Cafe Du 2 Moulins on our map, but happened upon it by accident that day. We were just walking in general directions in awe of everything and before we knew it, there we were. This was the cafe featured in the movie Amelie. It is about a block and a half away from the Moulin Rouge and doesn't stand out too much from the other cafes we encountered in the area. It was cool to see the specials written on the mirrored walls as they are in the movie, and it just felt very Paris-y to be there on the first day. We each got a really good meal and enjoyed watching folks pop in to take photos every few minutes. It certainly added a little magic spark to our first day in the city of lights.

Paris - Post 2

One of the best things we did on the trip was take one of the river tours on the Seine. This is about as touristy as it gets, but seeing Paris from the water at night was incredibly dramatic and overwhelming. We started our tour a little before 10 just when it was getting dark. It didn't hurt that we were on there with about 300 other people who were really excited by the experience as well. It had a weird field trip/rock concert feel to it. Turning one bend and seeing the lit up Notre Dame for the first time really socked us in the gut. There was a very heartfelt and synchronized "whooooa..." everyone let out at the same moment.

This is the Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge in Paris. Each bridge along the way is unique and they use just about every architectural style in the book since they were constructed at different times. This bridge features 384 different heads sculpted along the sides of it. As far as I can tell each head is different.

Here is a view from Pont de la Concorde. You can see the Pont Alexandre III straight ahead. Alexandre III was the most elaborate bridge we saw. It featured lots of sculptures and ornate lamps along it. The Eiffel Tower is of course beaming on the left.

Paris - Post 1

Deanna and I just got back from a week in Paris. We have been planning this for about four years now and haven't had a proper vacation in about that time. I'm going to post a couple pictures for the next few days. Here is a simple yet elegant one. This was spotted on a small side street on one of our many walks around the city in the Montmartre area. It was a decoration on some type of shutter hinge. The bust was about an inch tall. It didn't look like it had been used in quite a while. I loved the patina on it and the worn off face. I promise some more picturesque images to come, but I liked all of the little touches and details we encountered there. We had an incredible time and were dumfounded over and over while exploring the city.

Daniel Day-Lewis Penny

The US Mint has announced a short run of Daniel Day-Lewis pennies later this year in honor of Daniel Day-Lewis's portrayal of Abraham Lincoln next month in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln". There will be a short run of them that will be released around election time which will be randomly introduced into circulation. 

The first official image of the film was also released today.
(via Aintitcool.com; via ew.com)

Photo Booth

I made this fun little project as a wedding present for my friend Eduardo. I know he loves photo booths; their save-the-date even included photo strips of he and his now wife. It only took a couple of days and was a nice break from other projects. I had a lot of fun with the little details. The seat raises and lowers as you spin it. The curtain pulls back and forth and there is even a maintenance hatch on the back to change out the battery. Sadly it doesn't take photos, but when you push the little button the flashbulb goes off.

click photos to enlarge

Materials:
Outside: paper, matte board, acrylic paint, foil, 
Seat: bottle cap, screw and bolts, 
Slots: found metal pieces
Curtain: found fabric
Curtain rod: plastic piece from model kit for  
Carpet: old chair fabric
Light: Plastic flash cover from broken camera, LED light, switch, wires, battery