We are all doomed, all facing annihilation at an hour approaching more rapidly than we would like to admit. In the meantime, we seek to communicate our experiences to our fellow living beings. We want others to know what life feels like from our perspective, perhaps...
France
‘Tecktonik’ dance craze from France
Tirelessly scouring the world for the exciting and the new, I heard about a dance craze called Tecktonik overnight, during my monitoring of the BBC World Service. The "programme" I heard was the Monday installment of The Strand. Unlike The Meatstick and The Mashed...
2005 Tour de France starts Saturday on Outdoor Life Network
Time does fly. It seems like only yesterday that the Spring 2005 catalog from World Cycling Productions arrived in my mailbox. Now, already, the Tour de France is about to begin once again. Over three weeks, the toughest cyclists in the...
Place de la Gare, Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg, France — The Place de la Gare ("Rail Station Square") with Ferris wheel on New Year's Eve from the window of our room at the Hotel Ibis Strasbourg Centre Gare. We had just driven 7 hours / 482 km from Paris, and were about to venture out in Strasbourg in...
Place du Tertre artist sketching, Montmartre, Paris
Paris, France — An artist skeches a woman in the Place du Tertre, the famous square just west of the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur in the Montmartre district of Paris' 18th arrondissement, where artists set up their easels each day for tourists.
Paris skyline from Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre
Paris, France — The panoramic skyline of the city of Paris, viewed at night from the front of Sacré-Coeurr Basilica on the butte Montmartre — the highest point in Paris, and a very popular scenic overlook.
Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur, Montmartre, Paris
Paris, France — The Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur ("sacred heart"), viewed from the base of the butte Montmartre in the evening. Along its railing, people are gathered to gaze at the Paris skyline.
Notre Dame de Paris: Portal of Saint Anne
Paris, France — Notre Dame Cathedral, west facade: The tympanum of the Portal of Saint Anne, the rightmost and earliest of the cathedral's three western portals. Depicted are the enthroned Virgin with Child, visited by the bishop of Paris (left) and the king of France...
Cathedral: Norte Dame de Paris, west facade
Paris, France — West façade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), with 31.5-foot rose window at center, dating from about 1225, behind the Virgin with Child between two angels. Under the balustrade, there is a wide horizontal frieze — the...
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, Paris, France
Paris, France — West façade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. One of the finest examples of French Gothic church architecture, the cathedral is located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, in the fourth arrondissement of Paris.
Louvre Pyramid interior, Louvre Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Interior of I. M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid, the the main entrance to the Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre), which is visible through the glass. According to Wikipedia: The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of a series of...
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, Louvre Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, displayed at the Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre). The oil painting, done on a poplar wood panel, is 30 inches high by 20 7/8 inches wide (77 centimeters by 53 centimeters). Leonardo da Vinci is believed...
Louvre Museum: Paintings in the Salon Carré
Paris, France — Visitors tour famous paintings of first Italian Renaissance, from the 12th to 15th centuries, in the Salon Carré (Square Salon) of the Louvre Museum. A few of the tourists — including Dan Falato, center — are admiring the ceiling, which is decorated...
Rue de Lappe at night, Paris, France
Paris, France — Amy (right foreground) and Dan Falato (farther down the sidewalk) on the rue de Lappe, a cobblestone street in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, east of the Place de la Bastille. We had just finished dinner at Bistrot Les Sans Culottes.
Louvre Museum and Louvre Pyramid, Paris
Paris, Farnce — At left, Pavillon Denon on the southern wing of Louvre Palace, which houses the Musée du Louvre. At right, I. M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid, which serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum.
Louvre Palace, Cour Carrée, Paris, France
Paris, France — The Cour Carrée ("square court") at the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre), completed under Napoleon Bonaparte. It was twilight when we entered the courtyard, and a warm breeze blew into town, bouncing the hushed conversations and footsteps of the...
Pont Neuf, bridge across the Seine in Paris
Paris, France — Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, viewed from the Latin Quarter on the Rive Gauche (Left Bank). Beyond the bridge is the western end of the Île de la Cité and the hotels and townhouses along...
Louis XVI Salon bleu, Carnavalet Museum, Paris
Paris, France — The Salon bleu Louis XVI at the Carnavalet Museum, with its collection of circa-1780 furnishings — chairs and table, cabinetry, trim, mirrors, rugs, crystal chandelier, and paintings. Furniture in this room was created by famous names like Riesener,...
Victory statue, Carnavalet Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Victory statue by sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot in the Victory Courtyard Garden (Cour de la Victoire Jardin) at the Carnavalet Museum. It is his original version of the gilded Victory statue which tops the Fontaine du Palmier in the Place du Châtelet.
Carnavalet Museum, Paris: Garden & Victory statue
Paris, France — The Victory courtyard garden (Cour de la Victoire Jardin) at the Carnavalet Museum. Four beds of patterned boxwoods occupy the courtyard's four corners, and a statue of Victory stands atop a pedestal centered on the terrace. The Victory statue is by...
Place des Vosges, Paris, France
Paris, France — Dan Falato stands in the Place des Vosges, the centerpiece of the Marais district built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612. Originally known as the Place Royale, it was the exclusive residence of the rich and powerful of France until the Revolution. In...
Place de la Bastille, Paris, France
Paris, France — The Place de la Bastille and its July Column, on the site of the former Bastille prison (Bastille Saint-Antoine), which was stormed on the morning of July 14, 1789. Although revolutionaries discovered only seven prisoners inside, the storming of the...
Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, Reims, France
Reims, France — Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims), the Roman Catholic cathedral where the kings of France were once crowned, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. Construction on this cathedral began shortly after a fire on July 6, 1210 destroyed the...
Metz, France: Panini for lunch in Place Saint-Jacques
Metz, France — Amy with Dan Falato enjoying panini in Place Saint-Jacques on our way from Frankfurt to Paris.
France
‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ (movie, 2007)
We are all doomed, all facing annihilation at an hour approaching more rapidly than we would like to admit. In the meantime, we seek to communicate our experiences to our fellow living beings. We want others to know what life feels like from our perspective, perhaps...
‘Tecktonik’ dance craze from France
Tirelessly scouring the world for the exciting and the new, I heard about a dance craze called Tecktonik overnight, during my monitoring of the BBC World Service. The "programme" I heard was the Monday installment of The Strand. Unlike The Meatstick and The Mashed...
2005 Tour de France starts Saturday on Outdoor Life Network
Time does fly. It seems like only yesterday that the Spring 2005 catalog from World Cycling Productions arrived in my mailbox. Now, already, the Tour de France is about to begin once again. Over three weeks, the toughest cyclists in the...
Place de la Gare, Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg, France — The Place de la Gare ("Rail Station Square") with Ferris wheel on New Year's Eve from the window of our room at the Hotel Ibis Strasbourg Centre Gare. We had just driven 7 hours / 482 km from Paris, and were about to venture out in Strasbourg in...
Place du Tertre artist sketching, Montmartre, Paris
Paris, France — An artist skeches a woman in the Place du Tertre, the famous square just west of the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur in the Montmartre district of Paris' 18th arrondissement, where artists set up their easels each day for tourists.
Paris skyline from Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre
Paris, France — The panoramic skyline of the city of Paris, viewed at night from the front of Sacré-Coeurr Basilica on the butte Montmartre — the highest point in Paris, and a very popular scenic overlook.
Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur, Montmartre, Paris
Paris, France — The Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur ("sacred heart"), viewed from the base of the butte Montmartre in the evening. Along its railing, people are gathered to gaze at the Paris skyline.
Notre Dame de Paris: Portal of Saint Anne
Paris, France — Notre Dame Cathedral, west facade: The tympanum of the Portal of Saint Anne, the rightmost and earliest of the cathedral's three western portals. Depicted are the enthroned Virgin with Child, visited by the bishop of Paris (left) and the king of France...
Cathedral: Norte Dame de Paris, west facade
Paris, France — West façade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), with 31.5-foot rose window at center, dating from about 1225, behind the Virgin with Child between two angels. Under the balustrade, there is a wide horizontal frieze — the...
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, Paris, France
Paris, France — West façade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. One of the finest examples of French Gothic church architecture, the cathedral is located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, in the fourth arrondissement of Paris.
Louvre Pyramid interior, Louvre Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Interior of I. M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid, the the main entrance to the Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre), which is visible through the glass. According to Wikipedia: The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of a series of...
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, Louvre Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, displayed at the Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre). The oil painting, done on a poplar wood panel, is 30 inches high by 20 7/8 inches wide (77 centimeters by 53 centimeters). Leonardo da Vinci is believed...
Louvre Museum: Paintings in the Salon Carré
Paris, France — Visitors tour famous paintings of first Italian Renaissance, from the 12th to 15th centuries, in the Salon Carré (Square Salon) of the Louvre Museum. A few of the tourists — including Dan Falato, center — are admiring the ceiling, which is decorated...
Rue de Lappe at night, Paris, France
Paris, France — Amy (right foreground) and Dan Falato (farther down the sidewalk) on the rue de Lappe, a cobblestone street in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, east of the Place de la Bastille. We had just finished dinner at Bistrot Les Sans Culottes.
Louvre Museum and Louvre Pyramid, Paris
Paris, Farnce — At left, Pavillon Denon on the southern wing of Louvre Palace, which houses the Musée du Louvre. At right, I. M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid, which serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum.
Louvre Palace, Cour Carrée, Paris, France
Paris, France — The Cour Carrée ("square court") at the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre), completed under Napoleon Bonaparte. It was twilight when we entered the courtyard, and a warm breeze blew into town, bouncing the hushed conversations and footsteps of the...
Pont Neuf, bridge across the Seine in Paris
Paris, France — Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, viewed from the Latin Quarter on the Rive Gauche (Left Bank). Beyond the bridge is the western end of the Île de la Cité and the hotels and townhouses along...
Louis XVI Salon bleu, Carnavalet Museum, Paris
Paris, France — The Salon bleu Louis XVI at the Carnavalet Museum, with its collection of circa-1780 furnishings — chairs and table, cabinetry, trim, mirrors, rugs, crystal chandelier, and paintings. Furniture in this room was created by famous names like Riesener,...
Victory statue, Carnavalet Museum, Paris
Paris, France — Victory statue by sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot in the Victory Courtyard Garden (Cour de la Victoire Jardin) at the Carnavalet Museum. It is his original version of the gilded Victory statue which tops the Fontaine du Palmier in the Place du Châtelet.
Carnavalet Museum, Paris: Garden & Victory statue
Paris, France — The Victory courtyard garden (Cour de la Victoire Jardin) at the Carnavalet Museum. Four beds of patterned boxwoods occupy the courtyard's four corners, and a statue of Victory stands atop a pedestal centered on the terrace. The Victory statue is by...
Place des Vosges, Paris, France
Paris, France — Dan Falato stands in the Place des Vosges, the centerpiece of the Marais district built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612. Originally known as the Place Royale, it was the exclusive residence of the rich and powerful of France until the Revolution. In...
Place de la Bastille, Paris, France
Paris, France — The Place de la Bastille and its July Column, on the site of the former Bastille prison (Bastille Saint-Antoine), which was stormed on the morning of July 14, 1789. Although revolutionaries discovered only seven prisoners inside, the storming of the...
Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, Reims, France
Reims, France — Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims), the Roman Catholic cathedral where the kings of France were once crowned, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. Construction on this cathedral began shortly after a fire on July 6, 1210 destroyed the...
Metz, France: Panini for lunch in Place Saint-Jacques
Metz, France — Amy with Dan Falato enjoying panini in Place Saint-Jacques on our way from Frankfurt to Paris.