~Paris Pigeons~

You're wondering why on earth would I be writing about pigeons on a Paris blog, right?
Well I've become quite fond of the pigeons in Paris.

You become very aware of the pigeons if you picnic in the park.  The pigeons know why you are there and they are very patient.

This is in the Tuileries gardens.  We were having one of our first picnics in the park, when all these pigeons started arriving.  The lady sitting next to us was discreetly feeding the last of her baguette to the pigeons.

It wasn't long before I decided to do the same.  This guy was especially "fearless".

I always try to give the "underdog" a chance....this guy was either old or battle weary; but he got fed good on this day.  Pigeons are very slow~the crows and wrens like to beat them to the treats.

Pigeons aren't always looking for a hand out; sometimes they're just people watching.

Or they may be taking a nice bath. 

  This fountain was a trough that ran down the center of the pedestrian walkway.

Or having a quiet drink.

This little "watering hole" was in the Jardin des Plantes.  He owned this spot.

More sitting around~an afternoon in the park.

This one is sitting on the wall that overlooks the Porte du Arsenal Marina.

 He seemed like he was watching the kids playing in the park below.

But mostly, pigeons like to eat.

This one was discreetly cleaning up the crumbs at this outside cafe. 

This little boy was having a fun time feeding this crowd

in front of the Pompidou Center 

I couldn't see what all the excitement was about, but these guys were having a "feeding frenzy" in the Luxembourg Gardens.  Pigeons were flying in from everywhere.

Looking for "leftovers".

I took this picture because I had never seen a brown pigeon and he stood out in the crowd.

I was standing near the flower market at Madeline when this girl casually drops

 a whole bag of birdseed and then keeps walking.

"The Anatomy of a Pigeon Wing"

When I was looking through my photos looking for "pigeon shots", I noticed that you don't really see many pigeons on the streets or near the churches or even flying around.  And you don't see a lot of the mess that pigeons create roosting above doorways, etc.  That's because of the iron "deterrents" that I mentioned in a previous post.  Much of the statuary has the long spikes on top so pigeons won't land, this one in the Luxembourg Gardens did not.

This is my favorite "feeding the pigeons" photo.

This woman was feeding the pigeons from her second floor apartment right along the Seine.

Note:  It is illegal to feed the pigeons in Paris.

~Cathedral Windows~

I never pass up a chance to visit a church.  More often than not you will find something most extraordinary~the stained glass windows.  Not all of the churches included in this post are cathedrals.  The title was inspired by Ottarino Respighi's "Church Windows".

My photographic skills in dark places need honing for sure.  It's still 'hit or miss' with these shots.

Cathedral of Notre Dame

 

Reims Cathedral~ Reims is northeast of Paris in Champagne country.

  Church of St. Augustin~Paris 

 St. Augustin

St. Augustin

St. Clothilde.   We passed by this church many times. One day we decided to go in.  It was very dark and this window just glowed.

 St.Germaine Auxerrois~located near the Louvre it was once the parish of the kings.

 St. Germaine Auxerrois

  St. Jean du Montmartre~this was the window over the entry door.

 St. Jean du Montmartre

St. Sulpice~the intricate designed leaded glass frames Jean of Arc nicely.

St. Sulpice

St. Eustache

 St. Roch

  St.Roch~this church is Baroque style; the first stone laid by Louis XIV

 The most beautiful~St. Chapelle.

The Upper chapel of St. Chapelle

View into the Upper Chapel from the Upper Portal.

~Afternoon in Giverny~

Giverny is a small village 50 miles west of Paris.  It sits on the Right Bank of the Seine where it meets the river Epte.  Monet discovered Giverny on a train ride and decided that he wanted to live there.  He rented the house and property in 1883 and finally bought it in 1890.  He lived there until he died in 1923.
The house, the gardens and the pond are prominent in Monet's paintings.  The Japanese footbridge famous in many of his waterlily paintings.

You can take a train, rent a car, take a bike tour or bus tour to Giverny.  We took a tour.  The first thing that was so noticeable to me was how small the grounds were.  I was expecting a large rambling garden with pond.  Take that vision and compress it.  The gardens were 'wild' with flowers. I fell in love with the yellow and blue kitchen in the house (and now have a yellow bedroom).

Paris and Monet are synonymous.  The best places for viewing Monet's art are; Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, the extensive collection at the Musee Marmottan and the spectacular waterlily panels at Musee l'Orangerie.

A few photos from our Afternoon in Giverny.

On the right is a photo I found of Monet on the footbridge in 1922.

 The dahlias were HUGE~simply gorgeous.

The house is quite distinctive with it's pink exterior and bright green shutters.

A few of my favorite Monet paintings:

 This is one of my favorites~the Rouen Cathedral.  He did a study of the facade at different times of the day.  These paintings are in the Musee Marmottan in Paris.

 One of the many waterlily paintings.  The large 8 foot panels at the Musee l'Orangerie in Paris are breathtaking.

This is one of the many paintings of boats~"Regatta at Argentueil".  This painting can be seen at the Musee d' Orsay.

I love the impressionists..and each of the mentioned museums have wonderful collections.

This was a painting that I did from my photograph of the Japanese footbridge...it hangs in the "yellow" bedroom.