Showing posts with label Weekend Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekend Reflections. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 June 2017

Adieu Printemps - Weekend Reflections

We've just received photos of our French garden from our dear neighbours who keep a watchful eye over My French Folly. According to their report................

Spring is about to bid us farewell as the sun stretches high into the sky.


The promise of new life has been delivered.


Fledglings dessert their nests.


The breeze plants a warm kiss in the shadows


 Now, the sweetness of the air barely lingers.


Leaves discard their verdant, juvenile greens for more mature hues.


Nature's rhythms continue to invoke feelings of wonder and security.


Printemps  by Victor Hugo
Voici donc les longs jours, lumière, amour, délire!  

Voici le printemps ! mars, avril au doux sourire,  
Mai fleuri, juin brûlant, tous les beaux mois amis!  
Les peupliers, au bord des fleuves endormis,  

Se courbent mollement comme de grandes palmes;  
L’oiseau palpite au fond des bois tièdes et calmes;  
Il semble que tout rit, et que les arbres verts  
Sont joyeux d’être ensemble et se disent des vers.  

Le jour naît couronné d’une aube fraîche et tendre;  

Le soir est plein d’amour ; la nuit, on croit entendre,  
À travers l’ombre immense et sous le ciel béni,  
Quelque chose d’heureux chanter dans l’infini.


Springtime by Victor Hugo
Here are the long days, light, love, delirium!
This is the Spring! March, April with a sweet smile,
May flowery, June blazing, all the beautiful friendly months!
The poplars, asleep by the riverside,
Bow gently like great palms
.
The bird quivers at the far end of the calm, tepid woods
.
It seems that everything laughs, and that the green trees
Are joyful to be together and say verses to each other.
The day comes crowned with a fresh and tender dawn.
The evening is full of love, the night, one can almost hear
Through the immense shadow and under the sacred sky,
Something happy singing in the infinity.

Recording: Monique Palomares  

English Translation: Lisa Yannucci 


Linking to Outdoor Wednesday

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Friday, 8 May 2015

Hidden Secretes: Weekend Reflections


Reflections appear as ghostly figures in the Majorca windows. This building is an art deco treasure found in Centre Place - one of the City's iconic laneways.

Beneath wall to wall awnings and umbrellas, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, buzz of chatter and tinkling of table utensils embrace you like an old friend  as you turn into petite Degraves Street. Welcome to Mebourne's laneway and arcade culture.

Designer apparel, homewares, distinctive gifts, cobblers, dress makers, vintage whatever, fabulous coffee  and food, artisinal chocolate, pastries and cakes street art and  performers - whatever your fancy, it can be found in one of Melbourne's iconic lanes or arcades.
Graffiti takes many forms.
There is always a queue down the arcade waiting patiently for a table in the renown Hopetoun Tea Rooms - the meeting place for generations of Melbourne women in the Block Arcade.
























The city's CBD consists of a rectangular grid of wide streets - the most well known to visitors being Swanson, Flinders , Collins and Bourke Streets. Parallel to these is a series of narrow streets, aptly named Little Collins Street, Little Bourke Street and so on. Interconnecting theses thoroughfares, broad and narrow, are  laneways and arcades with their own distinctive architecture and culture - often referred to as Melbourne's hidden secretes. One can take a formal tour with a specific focus  or just amble along on their own voyage of discovery.

Royal Arcade
The mythical figures of Gog and Magog stand guard over the clock in Royal Arcade. 


The roof of Melbourne Central


Friday, 1 August 2014

Weekend Reflections - Paris

Paris is always a good idea.  Audrey Hepburn
Establishments showcasing the understated elegance of contemporary French design can be found scattered amongst the superb antique shops of the 7th arrondissement. The artisans in the shop (above) specialise in the gilding of all types of objects - from ancient to modern. A stroll through this area of Paris offers a feast for the eyes and food for the imagination………..as well as luscious temptations for your taste buds when you your feet need a rest. 


 Visit Weekend Reflections for some interesting reflections from other bloggers.

Saturday, 24 May 2014

French + Vintage….yes please

The bleak skies, strong winds and intermittent rain had me perplexed when Mr. R, ensuring that I was warmly clothed with a brolly in hand, unexpectedly bundled me into the car one Saturday morning. Destination unknown.
As we navigated our way past beachside cafes and through the vibrant inner city precincts, the favourite haunts of this weekend flâneur were being rapidly eliminated as possible places for our journey’s end.
My mental guessing game stopped abruptly while crossing the Westgate bridge. I was flummoxed. The mystery further deepened when the car halted at the water's edge in Williamstown and Mr. R produced my camera, which he had carefully hidden.

A short walk and le voilà - a vintage French car show staged in a shipping yard. .…. shear ecstasy for a husband who loves tinkering with motors and bliss for this lover of French vintage - well almost bliss. The crowds proved to be a definite challenge for taking 'that perfect shot'! Despite this test of my patience, I was one very happy francofilly.


For more black and white photography please top by The Weekend in Black and White,  and if you appreciate images of reflections  reflections you may wish to visit Weekend Reflections. 


Friday, 4 April 2014

Making Connections & Harleys


Not only does blogging enable connections to be made between similar spirited people from around the globe, it also enables established friends to connect in new and different ways. 

Debbie is a close friend whom I often see during the week. She is a botanical artist who shares my passion for photography and the creative arts. Despite the hours spent together and our many conversations, Debbie was unaware of my love for taking pictures of bikes, (people powered, or motorised, but especially Harleys), until she read one of my recent blog posts.

Apparently her brother-in-law, a privately educated fellow who works in the
business end of town, swaps his suit for his Harley leathers to ride to and from work (Harley fanatic meets Clark Kent mode) and lives to go cruising on his beast in the weekends. 

Uncannily, I've snapped one of his Harleys when I spotted a closet of bikers parked outside a pub …..it was parked nearby this very mean machine.   

Life is full of co-incidences ………..


Bon week-end.



Friday, 21 March 2014

Weekend Reflections - Lac de Charmes, France

I always say that the times in my life when I've been happiest are the times when I've seen, like, a sunset. Chris Evans
SUNSET, LAC DE CHARMES, Haute Marne, France
When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator. Mahatma Gandhi
SUNSET, LAC DE CHARMES
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky. Rabindranath Tagore 
ONSET OF SUNSET LAC DE CHARMES
Lost yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, 2 golden hours, each with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered because they are gone forever. Horace Mann

Another weekend when I'm joining  Weekend Reflections. Drop by Jame's blog  for some visual treats.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Reflections: Chateau d'Azay - le - Rideau

Do not worry if you have built castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. David Henry Thoreau
Once again, I am joining Weekend Reflections. Click here to see the reflections of others.

CHATEAU D’AZAY-LE-RIDEAU - Loire Valley, France

While meandering through the grounds of Chateau Azay-le-Rideau, absorbing the tranquil beauty of its gardens, a reflection of this charming renaissance castle framed by foliage, came into view. 


Built between 1521 and 1523, during the reign of Francoise 1, Chateau Azay-le-Rideau is considered to be the "jewel of the French Renaissance". Its interior  is dominated by the ornately  embellished grand staircase on which the influence of Italian architecture is clearly evident. Chateau Azay-le-Rideau may be a comparatively small chateau on the Loire valley landscape, but it is definitely worth a visit.

                         Click here to view all participants of Weekend Reflections. 

Saturday, 8 March 2014

Panama-mania in Provence …….Weekend Reflections

Panama-mania at my favourite provençal market.
Our Panama hats, purchased at this market hat stall in Provence, have finally gone into hibernation until our winter solstice, when they will be retrieved and whisked off to France to enjoy the summer sun. 

Although renown for creating and exporting distinctive, refined fashion since the the seventeenth century, the French also have "an eye" for spotting items of elegance, style and superb craftsmanship  from other cultures.  Fashion that is now entrenched in the French culture, such as Panama hats and bright provençal fabrics, have their origins far from the azure seas of France. 

The exhibition of the toquilla hat at the 1855 World Fair in Paris by the Frenchman Philippe Raimond, a resident of Panama, is credited for making this finely woven Ecuadorian hat - "the Panama", a chic, obligatory fashion accessory of the rich and famous. 

P.S. This is not my elbows in the mirror, but that of a person trying on a hat.  I have used a zoom and I am way off to the left of this image.

Friday, 28 February 2014

Harley-Davidson……..Weekend Reflections.


This week I'm again joining Weekend Reflections.

Weekends often see the bad-boy bikies being out numbered on our roads by the man-next-door, indulging in his Harley fantasy. Shy executives, compliant partners, responsible fathers and conservative neighbours will carefully preen then mount their dream-machines to zip along the highways and bank down winding roads, accompanied by the distinctive roar of the Harley's engine: a sound that screams "freedom", evokes envy and causes the inner rebel to surface.

Saturday, 22 February 2014

Lazy Sunday afternoon on the Loire river, France

Strolling along the Loire river are some of my most treasured memories of France ….… a highly recommended past time.

Currently I'm finding it difficult to put "pen to paper"  and fingers to the keyboard. The inspiration for my post this week came from Virginia - thank you Virginia.  Please visit Virginia's addictive Paris Through My Lens  and also James' beautiful Weekend Reflections for some visual treats.