Jo, true about the Aussies. Downunder is something of an insult to them, considering it an arbitrary term, which it is, I guess. The Aussies on a2k are not to be missed, as far as Dys and I are concerned.
Eva, your Paris pictures are so beautiful. I would love to see Paris and the rest of France. So much traveling to do, so little time.
Francis, we do love antiques, but our house is too little for anymore purchases. A tour with you would suffice beautifully.
CJ, a little wine sounds perfect right now. You pick.
Okay Diane, then lets open a bottle of Mount Eden Pinot Noir, Estate, 2000.
Cheers Diane!
Pour one for me too, CJ! <Cheers!>
Yes, I recognized the storefront display as an oversized LV trunk and purse. I can well imagine how people keep taking pictures of it! I wonder how long they plan to keep it up?
Thanks for the kudos on the pictures, Diane. I have lots more...those are just a few of my favorites. I fell in love with Sainte Chappelle...have a whole album just from there. The first photo on that link, of the Eiffel Tower, carousel and ice cream (glace) stand at night, is probably the best photo of the bunch. I took it with my back against the stone wall that borders the Seine with music from the dinner boats going down the river behind me. Too bad you can't capture sound in a photo. At any rate, that shot captured the moment for me. I have it enlarged and framed in my office.
Oh, Francis! Wherever did you find such a wonderful shot?! There's so much light! (All my photos came out darker than this one.)
For those who don't know about this chapel, it was the private chapel of French royalty at the palace in Paris. It is considered by many to be the most exquisite church in France. The ceiling is dark blue with gold stars to represent heaven, and the chapel's walls on three sides are almost entirely stained glass, separated only by sky-high, pencil-thin columns. It's an incredible architectural feat. The picture above shows the back wall with its incredible rose window and the doors where the kings and queens (right up to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette) entered.
I just stood inside those doors and stared and stared for what seemed like hours. It was unbelievably beautiful. See that small square-shaped latch on the doors, just above the heads of the crowd? As I turned to go, I looked up at that latch and found that it consisted of two cherubs gazing up at the same wonders I had just seen, with the same expression of wonder on their faces that I knew was on mine. I took a photo of the cherubs (slightly damaged from the Revolution) and it is still one of my favorites. I considered them kindred spirits. We just stood there together in awe. I uploaded that picture to the same link I posted above...it's on Page 2 of my album.
http://groups.msn.com/TheRavensRealm/evasphotos.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=8033
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Francis! If you have more, I'd love to see them! <BIG smooch>
Eva bella, the first time I clicked on your link to the tower photo, I failed to catch on to looking further at your other photos. You have a good eye for a scene, girl.
I remember the Bellagio one from the a2k gallery... it's still a winner.
Thank you, osso! Those are just personal travel shots, but I have taken & art directed photos for publication for years.
On with the tour, Francis! Where shall we go next?
Remember we are at Fouquet's...
Let's see the menu
- Lobster ravioli style served with shellfish emulsion
- Scallop prepared in muscat sauce, duck foie gras cannelloni, cauliflower and cress
- Viande
Double veal chop prepared in a casserole dish, potatoes and mushrooms
- Fromage
Selection of ripened cheeses of Maître Quatrehomme
Caramel cake, lemon chiboust, peef juice
Good idea Francis, I'm vamished.
Lets start with the caramel cake.....
The caramel cake does sound scrumptious, but I cannot pass up the lobster ravioli! And OMG, look at those cheeses! You can't get cheese like that in the U.S. What a shame.
Yes you can Eva! Just have to have a french restaurant/ gourmet shop in your town. We do!
We have one nearby, but they only get a few cheeses and not the ones I remembered.
Besides, I'm sure they taste better at Fouquet's anyway. They must.
What are viandes?
In the meantime I'll have the ravioli and the scallop dish, please. I am thinking I need a nice white to sip...
Tonight, I think I'll pour myself a glass of white wine
too osso. I had a rough day, this will be perfect to unwind.
Eva, move to southern California. A lot of Europeans
live here and they own fabulous gourmet stores where
you can buy whatever your heart (or stomach rather)
desires
That is certainly true. We had, and may still have for all I know, in Venice, on West Washington, recently known as Abbot Kinney Boulevard, the French Market. Truth to tell, it wasn't all that great, but I liked the owners, whose names I now don't remember, and the ambiance, such as it was.
Basically, jams and coffee and nice people. Bicyclers stopped, and there were tables with umbrellas. Plus bamboo, which I warned them would take over. It was running bamboo planted near asphalt.
I suppose it is fine, and wish them well.
Then, since I left, but I've been informed, Massimiliano's Delectables came in behind Van's Sneakers on Redwood, a block north of my office. Now there was a bakery. On one of my visits back, Nancy (my landscape architect artist friend who makes her own ketchup, according to my niece) spirited me over there and we picked a swath of things and tried them with her husband Don, who arrived home after his bikeride.
This is poignant in retrospect as he died a couple of years ago, young and gaining in art fame, and past that just gaining, and she has been reeling and adjusting.
So.... that day with those particular delectables were special in our lives, as pals.
One more picture of Sainte Chapelle, before the cheese!
Aaaahhhhhhh..........
<closing my eyes and remembering>
So, let's see the cheese :
May I add my mumbling remark that there are just two cheeses I really like? (I've never been in Sainte Chapelle: there are better examples without having to queue up and pay an entrance fee.)
B-b-but...isn't Germany known for its cheeses as well? Which two cheeses do you like, Walter?
I'll have a little taste of each of the above, Francis. With un petit vin blanc, if you don't mind. (Please excuse the bad French if that wasn't correct.)
