These images should be pretty easy on the eye…. they are nothing more than tourist photos, but hopefully beautiful tourist photos none the less.  One of my favorite things to do in Paris is the barge tour down the Seine.  It’s super cliche, I know but I can’t do it enough!  I always bring a bottle of wine in my purse and nurse it while I look out at this splendid city—wind on my face or at my back, it doesn’t make difference—I get so happy! The best time to do this is at night–because Paris seriously is a city that should be seen by night.  Enjoy the tour!

I think Jesse was in awe…..

The weather is unpredictable in Paris.  It was totally beautiful out, and then the clouds just opened up and starting pouring….

and pouring!

this is the color of the sky right after it rains…. I love it here!

Where do I begin with this one?…. All I can say is that this may be the first day I have felt grounded in months—months! I’m always busy in the summer with weddings and portraits—it’s the “beef” of my work year. But for some reason, this year things seemed to spill over and I got so caught up and swamped in work that I lost a sense of self. I stopped taking care of myself and as for my marriage —well, let’s just say it suffered. Jesse must have been terrified to be around me as I was volatile as anything—my emotions were over the top—be it happy, mad, sad, etc, etc… I truly was “bat shit crazy” (pardon my French)

This sabbatical in Paris had to be about me getting alone to wrap my head around what happened to me and why all of a sudden, my life had almost fallen apart at the seams. I had to miss my life to fall in love with it again. And that is exactly what is happening. Having Jesse out here for 10 days is a miracle in and of itself—he’s not much on traveling and has never been to Europe before. Jesse is the practical “rock” in our relationship (I’m the crazy, artist wife who can’t sit still and needs constant adventure). I guess it took me having a meltdown for Jesse to get on a plane and taste this world with me. But if this craziness is what it took for my husband to come out and live this dream with me, then it was all worth it! BTW: Jesse is loving it out here and I always thought he would!!!

These images aren’t typical of what I’ve been shooting out here but I hope they evoke the sense of love and pure joy that is radiating from both Jesse and I as we are together, living in the present and once again sharing life.

I love these next two images of Jesse trying to startle and scare the pigeons… and then revealing an evil little grin afterwards!

I love markets—be it Fisherman’s wharf in San Fransisco, or Pike’s Market in Seattle. But can I just tell you how amazing the markets are in France?! The cheese, the eggs, the fresh produce, the honey, the antiques, and did I mention the cheese? I was in photographic heaven…. I’ve always loved photographing in markets because of the people, of course—you get a little of everybody, but I also love all the vibrant colors. The market in Dijon was a schmorgesbord of all of these variables….. enjoy!

Actually, I have no idea what “burgundy” is in the liquor stores at home…. It might just be a table red, or cooking wine, because the region of Burgundy only produces two grapes—Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Every true Burgundy wine is made from these two grapes and is 100% pure. I’m not a chardonnay girl, but I loved the Pinot Noir wines in this region—very different than a California Pinot Noir– quite earthy, like I like them.

We lucked out because it was only Audrey and I, and the guide on the tour. The guide’s name was Nicolas, and he seriously kept his head set on the entire trip, while he talked—even though the tour was in a van, and Audrey and I were in the seat behind him. I got a kick out of this—especially on the way back after I had tasted 8 glasses of wine (small glasses, of course). The tour itself was disappointing (aside from the fact that it was pouring rain) in that it cost about $80, and we drove through all these amazing vineyards and tiny little medieval villages, only to arrive at a commercial wine cellar where they tried to sell us more. I asked the driver if he wouldn’t mind, seeing as it was only the three of us, stopping the car so I could do some photographing. Apparently, for insurance reasons they could not do that. So, I was a caged bird in the backseat of a van with all this beauty buzzing by me. Seriously—these villages were straight out of the film, “Chocolat” with Johnny Depp.

Unfortunately, all of the photos that you see here (aside from the images taken in the cellar) were taken from inside the van. Like I said in my last post, the next time I visit France I plan to rent a car and tour this area on my own—with a designated driver!

That’s right….home to “Dijon mustard” which might I say, is quite different here—very strong and wonderful! I brought home about 6 varieties and have been making everything with mustard—-forget Nutella—I’ve been dipping my bread in Dijon. Last night I even made risotto, and instead of salting it, I just stirred in some mustard. I know it sounds gross, but I’ve adapted some strange eating habits here. (I’m still really enjoying the canned peas)!

Anyhow my friend Audrey and I decided to take the train down to wine country. Dijon is in Burgundy, and I thought I might like to drink some burgundy in Burgundy (I’ll post some of those images later)! The town was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, but nice. My only regret is that we didn’t rent a car and drive to some of the smaller medieval villages—as these were how I imagined this area, and Dijon to be. I promised myself I would come back and do just that. None the less, I had a good time soaking up the town’s energy—the people in Dijon are super friendly—especially compared to Parisians!

Meet my friend, Audrey. She lives in Paris and works for Air France, so her schedule is free a lot of the time to travel. I was excited to have company, and she’s also a photographer, http://www.oneandonlyparisphotography.com/ so I didn’t feel so bad all those times I stopped to take a hundred photos, or had to go back to the same spot at a different time of day for better light—she empathized!