Category Archives: PHOTOGRAPHY

I proudly present: Best Buddies watching the rain coming down

Best buddies Oskar and Knut (from right to left:)

This is one of my recurrent inner dialogs with my housewife conscience:

me: (apologetic!) “Sorry, little guys, I know I know……my windowpanes are dirty….:), well, you have to fix priorities in life. Either it’s going to dayjob and earning OUR bred, then painting in the evening , and also playing with you etc, …… or it’s cleaning the house…

my oppressed housewife conscience: “yeah, well, blame it on the cats, that’s right, why don’t you admit that you just don’t care about cleaning…mumble mumble”

Uh……

I also note that I still have to answer many questions which came up in your recent comments on my previous posts….concerning egg tempera etc. Please be patient with me, I’ll get to that very soon! (As soon as I’ll have cleaned up  :) :):)

Have a wonderful Monday !

5 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY

Never miss a nice view

A couple of weeks ago, sunset in Paris, looking over the rooftops…thanks little camera, for being there at the right moment :)

7 Comments

Filed under INSPIRING, PHOTOGRAPHY

Le Chateau de Versailles – La Galerie des Glaces – Le parc

Entrée du Chateau de Versailles

Entrée du Chateau de Versailles

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - Amoretto

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - Amoretto

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - The Gap

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - The Gap

In my previous post I talked about hordes of tourists, and here I stand in the most famous “Galerie des Glaces” in the Chateau de Versailles, seemingly alone. It was a moment of chance, because right and left of the borders of the pictures are many people, but I got this snapshot, a Gap in the constant stream of Tourists rolling through the chateau !

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - View onto the gardens

Chateau de Versailles - La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - View onto the gardens

Above is what Marie-Antoinette would see nowadays, looking out of the window on a cloudy day in early April….what would she think?

La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - Double-Doors

La Galerie des Glaces - The Mirror Gallery - Double-Doors

I didn’t know it at the time, but this picture is now part of an ongoing artist-project by the “The Door Queens” – if you’d like to know more about it, please check Kim’s blog CREATIVE INFLUENCES!

I found this door here intruiging, mysterious, so SHUT! You want to know what’s behind it, no?

Chateau de Versailles - Galerie des Glaces - Luster

Chateau de Versailles - Galerie des Glaces - Luster

Chateau de Versailles - Empty Hallways - Only for us

Chateau de Versailles - Empty Hallways - Only for us

My Mom and my Dad, while we were led through empty hallways and wonderful salons, exlusively. Heading for the elevator.

Le Chateau de Versaille - Le Grand Trianon

Le Chateau de Versaille - Le Grand Trianon

After the visit of the Chateau (they don’t show you all the rooms in there) we went onto a little train which took us to the Queen Marie-Antoinette’s PETIT TRIANON, via the Grand Trianon, which you see on the picture here. I took the picture from the little open train, which scuttled along and gave us a good shake before we reached the Petit Trianon….

We had to walk a while to reach the little houses there, and on our way my dad said: oh look, a dragon…

Parc du Chateau de Versailles - Petit Trianon - Dragon

Parc du Chateau de Versailles - Petit Trianon - Dragon

Parc du Chateau de Versailles - Le Petit Trianon 3

Parc du Chateau de Versailles - Le Petit Trianon 3

Parc du Chateau de Versailles - Le Petit Trianon 4

Parc du Chateau de Versailles - Le Petit Trianon 4

Chateau de Versaille - Le Petit Trianon - A Modern Queen

Chateau de Versaille - Le Petit Trianon - A Modern Queen

That’s my sister in law, resting on a bench at one of Marie-Antoinette’s houses. We talked a lot about the fact that one person could have built all this just for her personal amusement….

5 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY, sightseeing notebook

The Chateau de Versailles – Ready for a visit?

Chateau de Versailles - Entrance

Chateau de Versailles - Entrance

I’m letting out some steam now, planning one week of just idling the time away at home, or sort of. Just doing the things I really want to do. One of these things is keep writing blogposts to share my views of Paris and life with you! I have some precious pictures of the Chateau de Versailles, where I went with my family a couple weeks ago.

I had visited the Chateau before, 32 years ago, on motorcyles, with a German and two French friends. Hey, I’m not that old? :)

This time we took the bus. And the metro first. We went early, to avoid crowds. I can’t remember if the central entrance was as GOLDEN as this 32 years ago. I bet not. I don’t know, they must have re-done the guilding recently cause it looks so very golden and new:) We had booked tickets via internet, which was fine because we got inside really quickly. Once inside, we and all the other visitors (there were already many of them, despite the relatively early hour ) were all equipped with those audio-players, tripped over each other while figuring out how those things worked…

We went from room to room, trying to admire the paintings and the furniture and the wonderful lusters. I must say that this was made difficult because we were stuck in a crowd of Japanese tourists firing their cameras at every little detail on the wall and in the room, (sorry Japanese fellows, I don’t want to offend anyone here but you gave us a hard time in there) and not letting us go by a little more quickly:) So I unfortunately didn’t look much at the wonderful things exhibited but rather looked out of the windows onto the gardens, and admired the vastness.

There were two stories to visit and my mom had to take the elevator cause she doesn’t walk so well. A nice person took my mom, my dad and me in charge and accompanied us to a distant, otherwise inaccessible elevator, while the others, my husband, brother and sister in law went on with the crowd.  Now came part of the visit which I loved: we had to follow the guard along several empty hallways, corridors and enourmous rooms, beautifully wallpapered, with marvellous lusters and furniture, and there was not one other tourist in there! I took only one picture, the one with the wide luster in a stairway, and I love it.

Chateau de VersaiIles - Inner halls with beautiful luster

Chateau de Versaille - Inner halls with beautiful luster

During the second part of the visit on the second floor, we saw the famous Mirror Gallery, I’ll have to show some pictures of this in my next post. For today, we are heading out now to the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles, were we stop at the “Petit Trianon”, the Quenn Antoinette’s “Playground” a vast area with large lawns, ponds, little bridges, and 12 romantic little cottage-hamlets, which she had built so to be able to ran away from the court’s stiff etiquette as often as she was allowed to. Don’t think about the money it took to build that while her subjects were having trouble to earn their daily bred! No. Just walk and admire those perfect little farm-houses with read-roofs, timber-framing, external circular staircases, and little bridges integrated, passing over brooklet full of carps who come and beg for food when you look at them:). Ok, enough for today, take care, have a wonderful weekend. See you at the Chateau de Versailles soon!

Chateau de Versailles - Beautiful statue at a fountain in the gardens

Chateau de Versailles - Beautiful statue at a fountain in the gardens

Chateau de Versailles - Miss Doodle getting dressed for the ball

Chateau de Versailles - Miss Doodle getting dressed for the ball

Chateau de Versailles - Le petit Trianon - Queen Marie-Antoinette's "Playground"

Chateau de Versailles - Le petit Trianon - Queen Marie-Antoinette's "Playground"

Le Chateau de Versailles - Le Petit Trianon - The Queen's Playground, can you imagine her playing "farmer's life" here with selected=

13 Comments

Filed under ILLUSTRATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHY, sightseeing notebook

VUM = VERY USEFUL MESS (or OPEN STUDIO)

I’m working on a new Watercolor painting. Sitting in my studio, doing the first outlining sketches for the painting, listening to low jazz music. I just took some pictures of my sweet mess here. It’s always interesting to look into other artists’ studios, so welcome to mine. Click on the pictures, if you are interested in the details. This Studio is 7 m2….(75 ft2)

I wish you a happy weekend, and I haven’t written about the latest catastrophes because I don’t know what to say. Just this: shall everyone of you who can afford it, help with a little money, all the little sums taken together….you know. If we can’t, I know that we all try to do good around us, help those who aren’t so well in our oh so secure and wealthy cultivated and highly developed countries…

Love

Water For The Color

Water - Color - Picture of Friends

Sketch Of My Most Important Little Knife (drawn while on the phone with my brother, draw while speaking on the phone, it works!)

Precious Brushes

Amulets, Colortubes and Things

Drawers With Books, Magazins, Guitare-Tabs, Colors

Storage of Acrylic Colors and Medium and Palettes under the Working Table

I just invented the word VUM !! VERY USEFUL MESS LOL:) (the concept is well known by any artist)

Portside

Paper, Folders, Painting Board

©estandrea 2010

21 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY

A Wintermorning in Paris (Saturday January 9th, 2010)

Love to play with snow

Olives, cheese and snow

A Cold Business

Our favourite fishstand

Our Favourite Fishstand

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

On My Way to the Metro

First thing we did on Saturday morning was going to the Market, to get some fresh food. I took my camera to take pictures of the snow and the market for you.

The market is a 15 minute walk away and I always take my bagpack with me cause I don’t like those “Rollsters”, as you always roll over the feet of the other people on the market and they on mine:)

After the market, I grabbed my Metroticket and headed to my favourite place, the Place de Trocadero, where you have this wonderful view of the Eiffeltower, and where you can see some horizon:) I absolutely had to get pictures of the Iron Lady in this cold, snowy and also wet weather, and I like this open space betweet the two monumental buildings which form the Palais de Chaillot. There were still lots of tourists there, considering that weather was a bit ugly, wind blowing icy snowflakes into your face and grey sky. But the Tourists don’t fear bad weather, neither do I, hey, the world is beautiful in Winter too…That is what the bride and the groom must have thought too, to come out here on their wedding day, in their wedding gowns and with an umbrelle:) They made all the people around smile:):)

Their most beautiful day

Sweatheart, can you believe it?

Did they follow us?

There were young couples, taking pictures of each other, Paris really is the perfect place for romance, even in January:) There are those who work, they sell little Eiffeltowers, or belts and watches, or caps and sunglasses, according to the season… and those who take their children for a walk, must be nice to see the world from a comfortable buggy. This view is always spectacular, come rain or shine, don’t you agree? I wish you a wonderful Sunday (for me it’s almost over) and a great week, love, Andrea

Smile Baby Smile !

Souvenir Salesman

Look, that's the Eiffeltower!!!

Champs de Mars

Icy Trocadero Gardens

11 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY

The Quartier Latin, Boulevard Saint Michel, in early December

Paris in December 16th arrondissement

ParisDecember16th

Quartier Latin in December

ParisDecember

Quartier Latin Gibert Jeune

Paris December

©estandrea 2009 Paris on a late Saturday afternoon, picture taken during Christmas shopping excursion:)

8 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY

THE VISIT OF THE EIFFELTOWER

I promised more pictures of the Iron Lady. When we went there a couple of weeks ago, my little friend and I, we had wonderful weather, much wind, (you can see me clutching her little hand cause I was afraid of her being blown away by this wind:) and a lot of fun. I now have posted pictures and descriptions in Flickr, if you’d like to see them, just go in the left sidebar and click on the Flickr Photo excerpt there and enjoy the visit:)

Have a wonderful day!

16 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY

TOMORROW !

©estandrea2009

click on the picture to enlarge it

Tomorrow: LOTTERY RESULTS, report and pictures about the IRON LADY.

Today: You can sign up if you want to receive Parisdreamtime News in your mailbox, subscription option in the left sidebar:)

See you tomorrow,

love

Andrea

Leave a Comment

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY, sightseeing notebook

THE GOODIES – GIVE AWAY PARIS SOUVENIRS

Say you are in, if you haven’t already:) for a little pendant for your cellphone, a little mirror for your handbag, two Eiffeltower magnets! Leave your comment and I’ll put you into the lotterie, will get back here on my return on Thursday next week!

love

andrea

10 Comments

Filed under PHOTOGRAPHY, sightseeing notebook