The Last Time I Saw Paris

Peter, his niece, and I are off to France next week. Our first stop will be Paris. I haven't been to Paris since 2008 when we went in December to celebrate my 60th birthday. Actually, that's not quite true. We were last in Paris in October of 2011 when our Delta flight from Venice to New York was diverted to Paris due to a loss of an engine. While losing an engine was upsetting, the thought of having dinner in Paris kept us distracted from the thought of flying on one engine. Fortunately, we had no issues with getting to Paris; we landed safely. Unfortunately, dinner was at the Novotel Paris Charles de Gualle where we were billeted for the evening after a long and grueling re-booking process at the airport. Despite the late hour, several young couples decided to take taxis into Paris central to see the Eiffel Tower whereas Peter and I opted to save the $50-$75.00 fare and to get a good nights sleep.


Had we been released from the airport earlier, we too would have journeyed into the city. Not to see the tower, but definitely to search out a better evening meal. I first saw the Eiffel Tower in 1970. If you look closely at the Kodachrome image you can just make our the tower. (This image was scanned on a flat-bed scanner using a home-made light box. Amazing what you can learn to do on the Internet. Hard to see, but the slide is 43 years old.)

J-968
Avant L'An 2000
Thursday, May 8, 1997

J-625
Avant L'An 2000
Thursday, April 16, 1998

I've been back to Paris several times since 1970, and have captured several images of the Tower over the years. The tower had an electric display that counted down the days leading up to January 1, 2000. That display has made it easy for me to date some of these photographs. 

I'm not sure what type of cameras I was using back in 1997 or 1998, but the quality of these pictures aren't bad for being scanned images of prints. 

The middle photograph has always been one of my favorites. I believe it was taken as we left a restaurant near the tower. 

You may have noticed that there tend to be  angles in several of my photos. I just like how this street goes one way and the tower another. (Okay, I am having a glass of wine. I'll try not to get maudlin.)

maud·lin  

/ˈmôdlin/

Adjective Self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness.

Synonyms sentimental - mawkish

It was actually on the night of my 60th birthday, that I was able to capture these nighttime photographs. We had had a celebratory pre-dinner cocktail at a small cafe near the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and then walked down the brightly holiday-lit avenue towards the Place de la Concorde. Traffic was snarled, as motorists drove up and down the avenue looking at the lights. Very similar to Fifth Avenue in New York during the holidays, except our traffic is mostly pedestrian. Once we got to Place de la Concorde and the huge ferris wheel, I looked back and saw the glowing blue Eiffel Tower towering above the Pont Alexandre III. I'm surprised that I was able to get a clear image with my hand-held camera. Maybe that cocktail helped me to steady my hands.  

I just bought a book entitled A Box of Photographs by Roger Grenier. I haven't read it yet, but it's title is basically the theme for this blog. Instead of pouring over my guidebooks of Paris for this next trip, I opened an old box of Kodak prints. I found several pictures taken years ago in Paris. I then opened my digital photo files and began comparing my older prints to more recent photographs. This has brought back many happy memories of the bon temps in Paris. Not surprisingly, it appears that I visit the same Parisian spots and most likely I will revisit this areas again on this trip. These may not be my best photographs but they are evocative of some of my favorite Parisian memories.

So welcome to my trip down Memory Lane in Paris. Hopefully this will remind you too of the Last Time You Saw Paris.

In no particular order...just how they came out of the box.

Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur

This area of Paris is extremely over-run with tourists. But on certain  days, certain times, you can get a lovely photograph of this enormous Roman-Byzantine basilica. From this spot atop Montmartre you can get spectacular views of the city.  

Matryoska

There is a very strong Russian influence in Paris. My maternal family hails from Lithuania and according to some U. S. Census material that I've been able to track there may be some Russian heritage there too. I've always had a love for Matryoska Nesting Dolls since I purchased my first set (in Italy of all places). This blue set, of at least 45 dolls, starts at about 3 feet in height. The dolls can be seen all over France, especially in Paris and Nice and can be purchased at those cities' Christmas Village stalls.

Grands Magazins Printemps on Boulevard Haussmann

I don't think I have ever bought anything at this flagship store, but as these photos attest (taken at least 15 years apart), I obviously go there to look up at and photograph the elaborate glass cupola. 

Place des Voges, Marais and Fountains Everywhere 

The Place des Voges is one of my most favorite spots in Paris. It is located in the heart of the Marais district, which is also my favorite area of Paris. We have stayed at various hotels and apartments within walking distance of this square surrounded by 36 townhouses above a covered arcade. It has four lovely fountains. But there are fountains everywhere in Paris. Fountains at Place St-Michel and Place de la Concorde are shown.

The Louvre and Tuileries Gardens

One night, crossing the Tuileries Gardens, I spotted this lawn chair. I loved how it was positioned with the Louvre in the distance. I attempted a night shot which didn't really work. I ultimately abandoned the picture to my files. But today, I played with the image, something I normally don't do, and applied a black and white filter leaving color just in the center. It may not be a great picture, but it makes me feel good just to look at it.

Arc de Triomphe, Covered-Passages, and the Wallace Public Drinking Fountains

Place de la Republique

I just love this photograph. The amazing thing about Paris is the sky. It is always changing. This particular day was cloudy and gray. Yet when I took the shot the sky cleared and the sun cast a shadow.

Jardin des Plantes

As you can see, most of the pictures in this blog were taken in the fall. I'm looking forward to taking pictures in the spring. 

The Seine and Ile de la Cite

"I could spend my whole like watching the Seine flow by...It is a poem of Paris." - Blaise Cendrars

Optical Illusions

Look closely at this building. It is the Picasso Museum. But what you are seeing is a mirrored surface projecting from the center of the building providing a mirrored image. The other image shows a covered passageway. It reminded me of the Poltergeist hallway scene where the hallway grew longer and longer.

Versailles

I took this picture taken with a lousy camera. I think it came out well. As much as I would like to see Versailles again, I have yet to see Fountainbleu or Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte. 

La Nourriture (The Food)

I could fill this blog with pictures of the meals that Peter and I have eaten in Paris. Fortunately, for you, most of these pictures I take with my cell phone and post to FaceBook. So if you want to follow my dietary adventures, Friend me on FB (roger.williams@rcn.com). I'm sure to post many meals this trip. But in the meantime, here is one photo. Can you guess what it is?

Adieu and Merci 

When the dog bites,

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember (a few of) my favorite (Parisian) things

And then I don't feel so bad!

I'm sure many of you have wonderful memories and photographs of Paris as well. I'd love to hear about and see them. 

The Beauty of a Lake - Garda 2011-12

"A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." - Henry David Thoreau, Walden

I live on an island; I am surrounded by water. 

With the recent purchase of a bicycle last year, I can now enjoy river views whenever I ride the bike lanes that encircle this small island.

Being on the East Coast of America, I also have easy access to the Atlantic Ocean, and I have taken many excursions to the shore and have spent many vacations along it's great coastline from Maine to Florida. 

My many trips to Europe have taken me to their great cities also built along great rivers or situated by the side of the sea. But only recently have I begun to experience and come to truly appreciate the beauty of a lake.

I have had limited experiences with the lakes in the United States. My earliest was a trip to Lake Erie with my family in the late 1950's. 

Those of you who have memories of the environmental issues in the U.S. in the '50's and '60's may recall that Lake Erie was terribly polluted and had earned the nicknamed "North America's Dead Sea". The health of Lake Erie, like so many of our waterways, has improved significantly, but this earliest lake memory had caused me to shy away from any lake destinations for many years. 

The upper right-side photo shows my mother, my brothers and me (the little guy-extreme right) posing on our 1952 Buick Roadmaster on a Florida beach sometime around 1953-4. This car was also our transportation to Lake Erie years later.

But this blog isn't about my visits to Lake Erie or Florida, or Manhattan, but rather about what I call the Great Lakes of Northern Italy. And it is about my recent visits to Lake Garda and my growing appreciation for these lakes which began almost 40 years ago. 

Since my Lake Erie visit it would be almost 20 years before I would see another lake. In 1976 Peter and I took our first trip together to Italy. We flew to Geneva from where we would travel south into Italy by train using a EurailPass. We would make stops at Bologna, Florence, Venice and terminate in Milan for our return flight. Ideally this trip was to visit these great cities of Northern Italy, but my Italian employer at the time, suggested a lake visit, thus our stop in Stresa located on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

EurailPasses include many additional perks other than train travel. Included in the price is the use of many lake ferries, so prior to our departing Geneva for Italy, Peter and I opted for a day excursion on Lake Geneva sailing from Geneva to Lausanne and return. I have only these two pictures from that trip. That's Peter on the left in Geneva, and the picture of me on the right was taken in Lausanne.

 

I have never owned a car. In the United States, I rely on public transportation (and my bike). Train travel here can connect me from one city to another, but rarely affords me the opportunity to travel directly to waterside locations without the aide of a car. Whereas in Europe, I can easily travel between cities and towns situated directly on the water. Usually in these locations there is a bus network and an extensive water transportation system available to use for sightseeing, shopping and even commutation. 

As an example: We left Geneva and took an incredible overnight train across the Alps via the Sempione Pass to Stresa on Lake Maggiore. From there, we continued to use our EurailPass to explore the gardens of Isla Bella and to take a hydrofoil to Locarno, located at the northern tip of the lake and back in Switzerland. From Locarno we traveled to Domodossola on the scenic Centovalli railway. To this day, Peter and I have very fond memories of this short trip that offers spectacular views. A regular train whisked us from Domodossola back to Stresa.

So here I was with my first two lake experiences since Erie. I was hooked, but not overly. It would be another 30 years before I came to another European lake. 

Lake Lugano

In 2008 we made the decision to travel to Lake Como, Italy's smallest and as some might consider the most beautiful of the three northern lakes. We flew into Milan and took a half-hour car service directly to our hotel in the town of Cernobbio. However, we could have easily taken a train from Milan to the town of Como and traveled two stops on the lake. We spent the week traveling by lake steamer to visit the many towns on the lake including Como, Varenna, and the jewel Bellagio. We even took a train from Como to Lugano, Switzerland to spend the day at Lake Lugano.

I had posted my impressions of Lake Como in an earlier post that you can view by clicking here: 2 Days in October - Lago di Como. I include these additional unpublished photos below as well.

Lake Como completely enamored us to the Italian Lakes, so in 2011 we decided to try Lake Garda, the third and largest of Italy's northern lakes.

We used Venice as our gateway, which allowed us to split our vacation by having a week on the canals of Venice and then a week on the lake.

For our first visit we based ourselves at Malcesine, at the base of Monte Baldo in the rugged mountainous landscape of the narrow northern section of the lake. From this home base we made ferry trips to Limone and Riva. We traveled to Bardolino by autobus, but made the return trip to Malcesine by hydrofoil. 

During that first visit to Malcesine, I made the misguided decision to attempt blogging on a daily basis. While I may have some technical skills, I am definitely not an expert at blogging and it takes time to publish these posts without annoying my readers. To the many of you who received the 4-5 duplicate emails for my last posting, I apologize. I'll try not to do that again.  

The problem with daily postings, is that you then spend the evening trying to decide which photos to post, downloading them from camera to iPad, uploading them to Blogger and emailing them to your audience; not a very relaxing vacation. So instead, now I will only blog my travel memories, not my real-time travel activities. I've added a couple of Malcesine pictures into this blog, but anyone wishing to revisit my original daily postings of this trip, please feel free to click on any of the following links: Malcesine, Italy - Mobile Update - Day One; Mobile Blog - Day 2 - Malcesine & Limone; Mobile Blog - Day 3 - Monte Baldo; Mobile Blog - Day 4 - Riva; Mobile Blog - Day 5 - Bardolino; Mobile Blog - Day 6 - Castello Scaligero di Malcesine

Last year we opted to return to both Venice and Lake Garda. This time we chose to stay in Desenzano di Garda, in the extreme south, in the flattest and widest section of the lake. Unlike Malcesine, which is relatively remote, Desenzano has a train station which gave us direct access to Venice, but also allowed us the ability to make several inland day trips to Verona and Mantua. 



We loved Desenzano so much that we extended our stay from 7 to 10 nights. Our hotel, the Piroscafo (which translates to steamer) sat like a ship along the edge of the Porto Vecchio steps away from the lake front.

The lake ferries are just as frequent here, and we made multiple visits to the neighboring towns of Sirmione, Salo, Gardone, Garda and a return visit to Bardolino for its delicious wine. Like the north of the lake, sporting activities abound. I was thrilled to be in the area for a bicycle race. You can see how close I was to the riders. This area is also very rich with Roman history. In the town of Desenzano, is Villa Romano. The excavation of this ancient country estate displays many intact mosaic floors. The ruins of the Grotte di Catullo, on the tip of Sirmione made this very touristy town, with a splendid Scaligera castle, that much more interesting. We were even excited to discover a villa once owned by Maria Callas on the short walk from the town to the ruins.

Have I failed to mention the food? I don't normally give restaurant names, but we were so impressed with the family operated Gattolardo (Fat Cat) that we ate there every night but one. I had the best grilled fish ever, and every night Gigi introduced me to a new grappa.

No wonder when I finally left Italy I was in a fog; er, I mean there was fog in Venice!

Finally, I give you these to pictures taken on Lake Garda for comparison to those above taken almost 40 years ago.