The Louvre, today
Luxembourg Gardens, Paris. How the French relax in the city. 1 June 2019
All of Paris was out basking in the sun today! 2 days ago you needed a puffer coat to keep warm. Today it was 80 degrees, with full sunshine!
I wanted to see the Luxembourg Gardens and boy, did I see The Luxembourg Garden in its glory today. All ages of Parisians were enjoying this public park today! Young, old and in-between.
There were bocce games, pony rides, sailboat sailing, and Tai Chi. And these are just the videos! There was also tennis and lots and lots of sunbathers. A beautiful, historic park and a beautiful day!
Combination washer/dryer: easily entertained
I recently posted about how easily entertained I can be. Here’s another example: the combination washer/dryer. I’m currently enjoying an extended visit in Paris and the apartment I rented is a masterpiece of space-saving techniques. The washer/dryer is one of the many objects that serves double duty here.
As you can see in the photo below, any of the dial settings on the left side will produce a wash and a drying cycle. If you choose a setting on the right side, you will simply get a washing cycle.
If you choose the setting of essorage at the bottom, you will get just spinning cycle.
So, you load the machine with the laundry, add the detergent, and select your cycle. If you choose a washing and drying cycle, you need do nothing else. It will wash and then it will dry.
I’m still experimenting with this machine, and one load I did came out fairly dry. Another load was barely dry at all. Right now I am running just the drying cycle and while I can’t see inside the glass front, it sure sounds to me like water is running. Will my clothes come out wetter or dryer this time? Who knows!
Pretty Paris, in pink or red
Notre Dame through the years of fashion
Swimming in the Arno, the olden days (c. late 1930s)
Quando la Rari Nantes Florentia giocava il campionato italiano di pallanuoto in Arno e quando il Lungarno di Bellariva era tranquillo.
When Rari Nantes Florentia played the Italian water polo championship in the Arno and when the Lungarno di Bellariva was quiet.
Here’s to the women behind champagne!
The 17th century Benedictine monk Dom Perignon may get the credit for developing the methode champenoise, but when it comes to creating the iconic sparkling wines that fill our flutes, we owe the lion’s share of our thanks to the ladies.
Beginning in the early 19th century it was the women running some of history’s most recognizable champagne houses who pioneered the attributes we consider mainstays today. From the iconic bottle shape to the clarity of the vintage, from that crisp, brut flavor profile to the marketing of champagne as a wine of luxury, it was the so-called “merry widows” of champagne who turned bottles of bubbly into a world-famous celebratory sip.
Why widows, you ask? Unlike many women of the era, widows were allowed the independence necessary for running a business. While unmarried women were dependent on their fathers or brothers (they couldn’t even get a bank account) and married women were forced to rely on their husbands’s money and power, widows were allowed to own property and businesses in their own right, control their own finances, and move freely in society.
Source:
Monte Tamaro, near Lugano, Switzerland and the church of Santa Maria deli Angeli
We took a 20 minute ski lift ride to the Monte Tamaro viewing point. Unfortunately, the weather was non cooperative. Thus my pictures along the way weren’t worth posting. Too much fog.
But, my visit to the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, located at the top of the mountain, was very interesting. The fog rolled into the open door of the church, and it was a lovely experience.
This great church or chapel was designed by the well-known architect Mario Botta. It was built between 1992 and 1996 and its innovative design represents a new take on religious architecture.
Built of porphyry, it stands on the edge of a slope opening onto what must be an amazing panorama on a clear day.
After my 3 limited photos I am adding some pictures of this chapel taken in better weather.
So, here was the ride up the mountain:
And here’s my photo of the chapel interior. It is really beautiful.
I almost never miss an opportunity to light a candle for certain departed loved ones. Some of them are lit up below.
These pictures below are not mine. Thank goodness for Google.
A view of the pews with windows at foot level. An interesting approach to listening or meditating with the Alps at your feet. You can’t really see the windows in the next picture.
Sunset over Lake Como
get back, lauretta! 
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