Stairway to (art) heaven

The Picasso museum.  As it turned out, only half of the permanent collection is available to the public..the other half..something about remodeling/restorating, I forgot.  I think it has something to do with the building being "cut in half" by this mirroresque wall.  Oh, and about a week ago, someone stole a booklet of some of Picasso's designs..it's estimated at 8 million euros, according to my art history professor. Good luck selling that (and Picasso staff, you are worthless if you let that escape the museum, tsk tsk tsk). 

The never ending stairs of Sacre Coeur. Kids these days. 

Keeping abreast

He's looking for her baguette. Wait, shouldn't it be the other way around? The French and their humor. Oh and you can see Sacre Coeur in the distance...

Next to the inappropriate boulangerie these fashionable tots ran by, and it seems like they're chasing a pigeon...or maybe that stand/display scared them off?

Rain or shine.

A garden with a view .Monet's water lily pond at his house in Giverny.  This is where he painted his famous "Pont Japonais.." 

I don't know, I like the reflection of "la Grande Dame." Rainy day in Paris, can you tell? 

In-seine-ly in Louvre

Lovers of the Louvre. Cupid (Amor) and Psyche, by Antonio Canova.

Lovers of the Seine.  Anonymous and Anonymous, by God. 

Odd positions...Firenze 2

To me, this angle just does not look appropriate. What do you think?

There ARNO bad pictures of Florence. 

All the small things..Firenze 1

I'm VERY small, and this car came up to my shoulderish.  The owner might as well give it to me. 

"Il Duomo," of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore,  from the inside. The Sistine Chapel has met its match, NOT. 

Love, angel, music..

There was a protest( the Europeans ADORE their rights, like protesting)  in Piazza Navona and this man, I believe, set the mood for the scene. You had the police standing on one side, the protesters on the the other, helicopter hovering above,and this man was right in the middle of the chaos, and yet he cared about nothing else but making beautiful music. 

The Ponte Sant' Angelo seemed to be the "it" place for wedding photography. This couple kept its cool, despite the crowd, and as they were about to finish, another couple strolled the now famous bridge (it's the final bridge in Angels & Demons where Tom Hanks is guided by the angels..Sant' Angelo...make sense now?)

I dedicate this post to Pau, my true (and only) fan. 

Amor is Roma backwards

I don't always like standing in front of monuments. One has to take advantage of other props, like a lamppost. 

The man was using a bubble gun, or whatever it's called to shoot bubbles into Piazza di Spagna. It gave the already pleasant atmosphere a touch of...levity. 

Myk 2

Where's waldo-ahem-me?  In one of Mykonos' many white stairways. 

I think the young gypsy girl noticed I was taking her picture. But her penetrating stare has nothing to do with me, I believe (and hope). 

Myk 1

Sunset by "little Venice," or Mykonos.  (You can't see it there, but it's freakin' cold and windy.)

At one of Platis Gialos' beaches. If you look closely--microscopically-- he's peeing.  A half-naked tot running around a fairly crowded beach? I couldn't resist. 

The Caldera, Thirassia, etc.

So this is a the view from our bus as it left the Athinios Port in Santorini.  A blue eternity. 

Just a quick shot at Thirassia, one of the "least developed parts of Greece," according to our tour guide. At least they have a swimming place. 

As for my stay in Santorini, I will elaborate later...stay tuned. 

Morning after pic

View from our balcony; not too shabby.  Taken at around 6 in the morning? I couldn't sleep. 

Jet-lagged

So, we're finally in Santorini. After flying for 24 hours. yeah, i know. 

However, the trip was not all fly and no fun. I discovered the other side of Charles de Gaulle, the side unknown to many an American. It's quite impressive and much more inviting than the air-condition-less corridors of the international arrivals terminal . And I met a very nice Greek lady, all by coincidence and good timing,  who lent me her office phone to call to Santorini (to let them know of our late arrival of course.) 

The flight from Paris to Athens was uneventful, unlike our wait in the airport in Athens where we happened to witness a lovers' brawl. It was all in Greek, naturally, but from what we deduced ( sign language, expressions, objects), a lady had passed through security with creams and liquids (and as we all SHOULD know, that is a no-no) and she was told she had to throw away the creams, and somehow her husband got involved in the mini altercation and before you know it they were fighting each other. And then, I think her husband offered to go back and put the creams in their luggage, but she gave him "the look", snatched the bottles of cream from his hand and threw them into the trash while cursing the people working in security. They kept on fighting as he shoved her toward their gate. As soon as they were gone, I broke into conspicuous laughter. 

But the drama did not end there. Somehow, the flight to Santorini had been delayed by 20 minutes, and that was fine because, well it's just 20 minutes. But 20 minutes turned into 2 long hours of uncertainty. Would we have to stay in Athens? ......

No! Technical difficulties were solved and we all boarded, departed, and arrived safe and sound. Now I am here, exhausted but in good spirits for what is a trip without some adventure? 

En route to Paris, sort of

I know nobody will read this, but I will, and that matters. I will soon be--and by soon I mean in 10 hours--in Paris, but just for a fleeting moment as I wait for our connecting flight to Santorini.  And if I ever do make it to the other hemisphere, I promise to be a generous observer of Parisian airport habits, among other things. For now, I've satiated my appetite with a delicious pair of crab cakes (I highly recommend them) at Pappadeaux or however it's spelled, and will remain a lady in waiting until further notice.  

Bienvenues mes chers amis

I'm testing out a blog as a means of communication for my brief stint as a non-native Parisian. So my fellow Mexicans, Guatemalans, Peruvians, Venezuelans, Salvadoreans,Panamanians, Americans, and any country I didn't mention--I'm sorry, it's not me, it's you--I cannot buy you a plane ticket, but I can offer my thoughts on Paris. Donc, voyageons ensemble.