Scenes From France – Part Two: Paris

Over the previous winter, my sister and I and our spouses had planned this Italy/France trip to end on a high note.  Now tell me, how better to end it than with a visit to Paris in June?

I considered it an interesting fact that this beautiful city had been originally nicknamed the “City of Light” because it was a center of education and ideas during the Age of Enlightenment, but later earned the name when Paris began lighting the Champs-Elysees with lamps.

With so much to see and do, my camera had kicked into overdrive, so this section of my travelog will have to be shown in two blog posts.  I hope you enjoy them. For the best viewing experience, click each one for a closer look.

our hotel
view from our hotel room
just outside our hotel
…and at night!
also a view from our window – temptation everywhere
for the sweet tooth


Academie Royale de Musique – the Paris Opera
wrought iron balconies abound





one of my favourite street scenes

One of our larger excursions was an afternoon at the Musee du Louvre. The Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world, and a historic monument because of its beginnings as a fortress.  As it is also one of the biggest art museums worldwide, these pictures as a representation don’t even scratch the surface of what waits inside its walls.

throngs of tourists everywhere
view of the Louvre Pyramid in the main
courtyard from inside one of its wings
another view from inside

one of the spectacular ceilings in the Louvre
Mona was smaller than I expected.





Okay, I know you’re smart, husband,
but stop pretending to read that  ; )

A real mummy – yikes!

Scenes From France – Part One: Cannes

Our group of four left Italy by train, eager to begin the next leg of our adventure in a new country.  Beautiful France awaited!  Our first destination was Cannes on the French Riviera, and it didn’t disappoint.  Warm, sunny weather, beautiful sandy beaches, exceptional shopping venues, and cuisine par excellence epitomized a delightful tourist experience. The Cannes Film Festival was over for the year, hence we saw no celebrities.   But I hope my photos give you some idea of why I recommend Cannes as a preferred vacation spot.

Almost there!
View of the gorgeous Côte d’Azur from the train..
entrance to our lovely hotel
view from our balcony

This is where I’m staying next time 😉
Let’s have a look around!


cool sculpture
Did I mention this place?
temperatures in the 30’s (celsius) most days we were there





Coming soon:  Paris..

Scenes From Italy – Part Four: Stresa

We said goodbye to half of our group whose time had come to fly home, as well as “ciao” to Tuscany, then the four of us rode by train to northern Italy.  Nestled by Lake Maggiore in the foothills of the Italian Alps, the pretty little town of Stresa was a welcome sight.  We checked into a B & B, our home for the next few days.

Bed and Breakfast

Lake Maggiore is the second largest lake in Italy.

We climbed the hill by cable car to see the magnificent view.
the Alps

Pippa, the resident cat at our B & B
Enjoying a refreshment!

Scenes From Italy – Part One: Rome

How quickly the months fly by!  I can hardly believe that it will be a year, at the end of May, since we embarked on our biggest trip yet, to experience for ourselves the lovely countries of Italy and France.  To pay homage to this rapidly approaching anniversary, I though I would share some photos from our amazing trip, beginning with Rome, the first destination on our itinerary.  We flew into the Italian capital on May 30th, a warm sunny day, and an ideal start to our adventure…

Related post:
Roma, a poem by Jennifer Kelland Perry
http://wp.me/s25GJp-roma

Coming soon:  Tuscany…

For the Young, & the Young at Heart: Disney’s Magic Kingdom – a Pictorial

Here are some scenes from Disney World last week, during our vacation in Florida with my daughter and her family.  I apologize for the less-than-perfect quality of some of the photos, as I was quite caught up in all the fun myself.  Lack of photography skills aside, I hope I managed, in some small way, to capture the essence of  “The Magic Kingdom”.

And this was only what I managed to photograph.  We enjoyed other attractions, depending on the level of courage;  only the men did Splash Mountain and Space Mountain, and Paul and I did the Haunted Mansion.  The Barnstormer was scarier than I thought it would be, and the kids were frightened by Snow White’s Scary Adventure. I thought there should have been a warning for the littler ones.

So long, Disney.  Perhaps we’ll be back if we have any more grandchildren.  😉