Cool Mail art site

http://www.canalblog.com

Annecy

This is a beautiful little town close to the Swiss border. The train station is centrally located to the old village - about a 15 min. walk. The old village is abundant with charming petite streets that are intertwined with small canals. Close by is the beautiful lake which sits at the base of the mountains. This city is a 3 hr. train ride from Paris and easily douable as an overnight or long day trip. No visit would be complete without a yummy meal of raclette and a kir violette while sitting by the canals.

Cool Tag Art in the 20th off Rue Menimoltant

Lots of street artists make their mark in this area along with the 18th and 19th e. Lots of pochoirs also(stencil art) on the buildings. A very cool area to wander around in. Check out some of the street art.

May Day - 1st May

Today is May Day, synonymous with Labor Day that includes a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organized by unions, anarchists, and socialist groups. It is also the day where lily of the valley flowers are offered as a symbol of springtime. The two ideas couldn't be more opposite from each other. Check out today's demonstrations on Rue de Republique in the 10th e.

Izis Photography Exhibit

If you are in Paris now until the end of May, super photography exhibit - FREE! at the Hotel de Ville. Amazing black and whites. Check it out.

Carnival in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

We bumped into a Carnival parade right outside our hotel. Some of the costumes were truly show-stopping.

Easter Displays

This is the time of year where the patiserries compete for the most elegant chocolate displays. They are truly amazing works of art. Check out this one from a window in the 15e.

Tag Art at Henri Cartier-Bresson Museum

This Tag Art was so cool..... I look at all the graffiti on trains and buildings in a different light.

Beautiful windows

I am a trashy treasure person to say the least. However, I usually pick up that "ultimate"piece of trash thinking I can be oh so like Martha or Mary or whomever and turn it into the most decorative piece of useful something only to have it sit in my corner becoming the most useless thing.......

Walking in the 15th one afternoon, I came upon the most beautiful old, painted lemony-yellow french, long windows sitting by the curb. You know the kind, that you push open reminsicent of those Hausmann style french buildings..... I could have just cried. I stood there a long time contemplating how I could get those windows home, was it really worth an 80euro taxi ride...... almost did it. However, in the end I settled for a small beautiful glass window that was also going out for trash and I could carry it without too much pain. (As of right now, it's still sitting in my corner, but I'm determined to make something beautiful out of it!!)

I lament about those windows even today, and hope they found a new beginning instead of a garbage dump ending.

Grève!!

Seen alot around Paris during a two week train strike in December '09 - it was ridiculous to say the least!!

Provence

This is a bit late, but wanted to write about this lovely area. I had certain images of what Provence might be like after reading the likes of Year in Provence, but was surprised at how different it was - at least to me. First, Provence is the name of the area of France and there are tiny towns dotted all through along with the biggest city, Aix-en-Provence. We stayed in a very rural gite on the outskirts of Gordes. The family had huge acres of vineyards and we used the old vines to heat the wood stove in the evenings. Meandering through the small towns of Bonaire, Gordes, Gault, Rousillion, you see why people come to this area to relax, sip pastis, and just take in the view.