As the world knows, Macron won the recent presidential election, leaving La Pen in his dust. Thank god.

It’s been interesting to see political news and commentary on the streets of Paris following the election. Here’s a sample:

And then there’s this, an actual watercolor hung on a lamppost on a major thoroughfare in central Paris. Does it mean the French promise of Liberty etc is a lie? I’m guessing?

I have to admit that for a split second I considered taking the watercolor as a souvenir. That’s because I’m an art historian who loves original works of art. But, I didn’t do it, because I’m also a respectful citizen of the world. :-))

Let me start by bowing to the French palette:

Everyone knows how fabulous French pastries are!

But then there are these strange riffs on the good old American potato chip!

I actually quite like the mustard and pickle flavor, but even I can’t eat the roasted chicken variety. And I love potato chips!

Honorable mention goes to the gazpacho that is available in every grocery store, in containers such as Americans buy orange juice. What an easy and tasty way to get in the vegetable servings for the day!

Place de la Republique, Paris

Daydreaming of Paris, I came across these videos I took almost 3 years ago. So fun to revisit!

I love living in Passy, in the 16th arrondisement. It’s a very elegant residential neighborhood, but with all the shops one needs for an easy life, including markets and pharmacies. There are some really tony clothing shops as well wine and speciality food stores.

I’ve encircled my area on this Google map above and you can see how close I am to the Eiffel Tower. I get views of it everyday and feel very fortunate! See below.

In a city like Paris, one of the things that makes life livable is access to the metro. I’m perfectly situated between 2 subway stations on 2 major lines. It’s very convenient. As you can see from the Google map above how close I am to the Seine and there’s a major bus line that follows the river that also serves me well.

My closest metro station is above ground and if I go south on the line, it is an elevated train with great views of the river and the Eiffel Tower as I cross the bridge.

Paris isn’t like Florence in that it is not flat. Passy was built upon hills that rise up from the Seine basin and this area is extremely fortunate with the city infrastructure. There are 2 outdoor escalators that run around the clock bringing me and my neighbors up from the river to the elevated train station and further on up into my neighborhood.

Place holder post. What a glorious day this was! Paris was at its most colorful. April, come she will!

Is incredible. Is magic.

There’s an equestrian monument to Lafayette, known as The Children’s Statue of Lafayette. For information, see

Lafayette

On my way to the Carnavalet Museum the other day, I passed this building:

You can read more about this interesting place here:

https://www.paris.fr/equipements/ateliers-beaux-arts-sevigne-3e-1547

When I was exiting a metro stop recently, I was struck by how quintessentially Parisian this scene was:

And, while riding the subway, I sat across from this young man who was engrossed in his book. I thought to myself: the future looks bright!

On the Pont Neuf stands this Equestrian statue of Henry IV.

Below: the Trocadero:

And, last but not least for today, this is my street: Rue de Passy. How lucky to see the Eiffel Tower from it!

I still can’t believe my good fortune, but I was able to spend Easter Sunday at Monet’s house and garden in Giverny! I’ll be posting about that visit extensively when I am back up to speed technologically speaking. In the meantime, here’s a taste of what’s blooming in April!

https://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/calendar.htm

I love the painted French doorways and this purple color made me think of my mother. It was her favorite.

This poster in a travel agent’s window made me think of my son, who is obsessed with Japan.

Sometimes I feel like I’m still in Italy.

I love the carving over this green door. The woman’s hair fills the relief space entirely!