Neglected... I know.

See... we haven't really posted in a while cause, well... we've been busy. Doin' stuff. Experiencing. Being in the moment. (Yes, Tal I am speaking for both of us). Just cause we haven't been posting doesn't mean there isn't oodles to show/write about. In fact... it's a bit overwhelming!

Since either one of us has made a real post, (my drunken one last night doesn't really count!), we've consumed some very tasty red wine, been to the Louvre, went out to a real French bar, learned about macarons from Cloé and then she took us to Ladurée where we enjoyed the most delectable treats, caught the David Lachapelle exhibit & were blown away by it, bought some designer stuff, went out for French food with real Parisians, drank some more wine, become totally familiar with the Vélib bike system, been in more cathedrals and churches in the past 3 weeks then I have in the past 10 years, gotten to know the Marais like the back of my hand, shopped til I dropped, ate the best falafel I've ever had in my life, seen real orthodox Jews and a couple of real nuns (not in the same place), climbed up the stairs to our 6th floor flat at least 2 times a day, eaten wicked good curry somewhere in the 7e, Tal finished reading her book that has more words in it then I have in my vocabulary, walked past the Luxembourg Gardens..... I think you get the idea!

So... forgive us for not posting, but we have been, how you say.... le busy... I promise we'll post after we get back from the Champagne region! Until then, here's a snippet - us in the Louvre!

Natalia is too drunk to regard at my Blue Glasses Project photos...

we went out tonight.... and someone bought us many.many.MANY a drink. so.... now it's 5am our time and we are le wasted.... well.... i am le tipsy and SHE is le wasted. Quelle drunké as they say here in Fraaaaance!

After a loooong night of congo line dancing... I am le tired and ready for bed.

Bonne soir!

Dinner with Cloé

My sister Cloé lives at the top end of the canal, in a lovely and spacious area that lends itself beautifully to evening strolls and sunset picnics. 

We had a dinner of savoury crepes and wine, followed by a dessert of sweet crepes, looking out over the canal with the sun setting just to our right. T'was lovely.

Cloé in profile.

Us in wide angle. 

Wine and the canal!

VÉLIB!!!

Our first experience with the ingenious system that is the Vélib bikes du Paris also happened on Sunday, just after coffee and croissants. 

Here is Jen, taking her first Vélib ride around the corner to the bookshop 20 steps away!!

Dismounting the Vélib, after a triumphant first ride and walking towards the bookstore, under the blossoms, in Paris, in April. 

K, now what? I've ridden this damn thing aaaaall the way around the corner, and lo! There is no Vélib station at which to drop off said bike while I browse in the bookstore! What to do. . . 

This system isn't what it's cracked up to be.

No matter, we'll just go back around the corner to the original Vélib station and park the bike! Truly, truly ingenious. Regard! Je suis la Parisienne!!

The petit maiden tosses her hair as she rides her bike through the quant French rue, showing her carefree nature.

The quant French rue.

And parking the Vélib after a successful ride.

Ready? Here comes le fromage...

This is how our day started... token croissant/coffee shot:


Then we made our way to the gardens of the Musée Rodin (since it was only 1 € to get into them which is where all the best pieces are anyway!)


"The Thinker" by Rodin:
So... after Tal went to meet her sister, I decided since it was a loverly sunny afternoon and the haze over the city wasn't too bad, and I was so close, I would head over to La Tour Eiffel. Ignore the shit on my lens... I don't have time to edit it out in Photoshop tonight... we are too busy headin' out to hip, cool bistros/bars/cafe's to waste time editing. When I get that call from National Geographic telling me they want my shot, I edit it!

Shadow of Eifferl Tower over Paris. The big gold dome is the Invalides (where Napoleon is burried), Notre Dame cathedral (to the left of the shadow of the E.T.), the Panthenon (the other white dome towards the top right corner) and numerious other landmarks. This is taken looking south-east over (mostly) the Left Bank area - Latin Quarter & Saint-Germain-des-Prés


La Tour Eiffel at sunset:



Enough cheese for one day? But seriously, cannot deny the beauty of the sunset as a backdrop to the stunning Eiffel!

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

One of the many things we experienced today was Shakespeare and Company Bookstore which has become an icon to the literary world in Europe over the years. If you wanna know more about this Parisian legend, check out their website here or check out a cool article about the shops inspiration, creating and evolution here.

I happened upon a rare moment in one of the busiest places in Paris... a moment that makes you look 'round in disbelief. I was alone! It took a second for me to become conscious that there was no one in the room with me. I pulled out my camera in an effort to capture my experience in an image. While I am happy with my images, there's no way a photograph can encapsulate that smell of musty books mingling with dust, nor the sound of the creaking floor. What a photograph cannot tell you, I can remember simply by looking at it. I sense that this is one of those moments that in the future when I look at these images I will instantly be taken back to that very moment. Where I will hear the sounds I heard outside the window along the bank of the Seine, where the smell of those musty books will creep back into my nose and I will remember that it took a moment for my eyes to adjust as I moved from one room to the next.

I heard a person remark that it is the kind of place that reminds you of a movie set. For me, it's the kinda place I have always dreamt of being a proprietor of.

Herr Doktor

This... is the place where I spent €50 today. In one shot. Yup. That's $80 CDN folks. And why? Well, I seamed to have a little too much fun in Manc and come down with a case of "gorge de streptocoque". Yes, I am aware I am sans "coque", but somehow, I still got a sickness of the "coque". Herr Doktor, understanding enough English to comprehend that if he stated it was an emergency, I could claim it on my travellers medical insurance marked the form as such. He took my €50 bill and sent me on my sick little way with my form marked "emergency" and a perscription for amoxicilline.

So... now I need to rest and drink lots of fluids. Good thing wine is a fluid!

Formidable clouds and Jen & Tal are le wasted in Le Marais

Even though the sun doesn't always shine in Paris, the clouds can sometimes provide the most dramatic of back drops. As caught by Tal on my little point n shoot camera.

Earlier in the day, we decided to enjoy some of this wine that France is known for. So... we hit up Le Baromète located at the corner of rue Pastourelle and rue Charlot. My wicked Time Out Guide describes it as an unpretentious wine bar where a glass of wine averages €3.50. Upon arriving, we discovered just how unpretentious this wine bar is! How unpretentious is it, you ask? It's so unpretentious that there wasn't even any background music! The place was barely open. But the host was a loverly older French man who didn't speak a word of English and who brought us out the bottles so we could write down which delicious wines we were sampling. The price of the wine was a about €5 a glass, but they were delightful. We also enjoyed some stinky cheese!

We wandered about a bit more... had another glass of wine and delightful salad at another spot. Tal constantly refused to hop on a Vélib (citing being too le wasted to ride a bike) and also claiming that we couldn't window shop if we were on bikes. To that point, I relented my constant pestering of mounting a Vélib bike. Gotta admit, the window shopping here is STELLAR! On a side note, we popped into a delightful clothing shop which reminded us of Kate and Audry Hepburn where we discovered the most exquisite dresses and pill box hats! We thought about getting something from there for her, but then I noticed that the dresses started at €1600! No, that is not a type-o!

Anyways.... I then decided we needed photos of us in a Parisian rue. I wanted to ask someone to take the photo, but Tal thought it best if we just hold out the camera and snap it ourselves... and this is the result:

Right. Enough of the "self portraits"

Avéc mon soeur...

In Jen's absence, I did some crazy things no one will ever know. 

However, I also took the opportunity to spend a bit of time with my dear sister Cloé. One wild night, I even walked all the way over to her place for a wonderful dinner, complete with wine and special stinky cheese. 

Here is Cloé in her new apartment that she has recently moved into with her also kinda new boyfriend Gabriel. She is holding exhibit A, an Italian phrase book that we shall employ on our trip to Italy in early May. I learned Ping Pong is still Ping Pong in Italian. Thank goodness, cause I was lost on that one and starting to get concerned..

This is Cloé & Gabriel's new living room that they pretty much rebuilt from scratch after moving in. There were many renovations to be done, so they tell me, and all in all it took over a month! But it was worth it for me, as I found it extremely comfortable to hang out in. 

Me, goofily excited to be hanging out with my sister. 

Gabriel, a nice shot taken by my artistically inclined sister, using my gear!

This was the next day, Cloé needed to get some plants to complete her new home. She is a discerning yet stylish shopper, and wore good colours for the occasion.

This one was almost a winner. Almost. 

A random building detail. 

One guy, when Cloé asked if he had a certain type of flower, led her to the dirt section. 'Really? You want me to pay 8 Euros for this?' Je ne comprend pas!

Sacré Cueor

IMG_2261, originally uploaded by Natalia Vignola.

Well, a few days have passed I realize, but up now are a few piccies of my wander through the streets of Paris on Easter Sunday - which culminated in a suicidal visit to Sacré Cueor, which I will speak of no further.

Regardez ici: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29732202@N04/

Derbyshire road trip

My loverly hosts Jon & Sonya made many a dream come true whilst I stayed with them. All I had to do was ask, and they made it happen. I asked if we could take a road trip out to Derbyshire to see little villages set amongst the hills of the Peak District. And of course, we did! Sonya planned the route, Jon drove and I took it all in.

If there is one word to sum it all up, I'd have to say stunning! Some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen... and that's saying a lot since I'm from one of the most beautiful spots in the world! We headed east along the M6 and it didn't take too long to get out of the metropolis that is Manchester and into country views.

The village names we came across seamed so "British" to me; Disley, Chinley, Glossop, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Buxton. We stopped to check out an old church and graveyard, two enormous railway viaducts built during the Industrial times, and of course we stopped at a pub in Chapel-en-le-Firth where I ordered my first Shandy Bitter (a mix of sprite and bitter ale-surprisingly refreshing and light!).
Above: Railway Viaduct near Chinley Above Chapel-en-le-Frith

Although I only had a peak into Derbyshire, it was definitely enough to whet my appetite. A return to the north of England is high on the to do list, but next time with much more time to spend exploring Manchester and Derbyshire. Above: Chinely church & graveyard
Above: Road sign on outskirts of Chinley

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

While Jen has been off in the UK eating fabulous curry, I have had a mission of my own: to find a fabulous pair of shoes. 

My sister of course was the woman to talk to, and she did not fail me. She took me to her favourite Parisian shoe store, and within 20 minutes I was walking out with a sufficiently enlightened Visa card, and THESE:

My first pair of impractical, expensive heeled shoes, that are truly FABULOUS!

Side trip to Manchester for Jen!

Photos will follow... just letting you all know I've safely arrived in Manchester, England and have been enjoying myself immensely! Of course, I'm fortunate enough to stay with Jon & Sonya - two of my fave people in the world. So far, I LOVE Manc and don't really want to leave! Believe it or not, the sun has been shining 3 of the 4 days that I have been here. Yes. It's true. I even have photos to prove it, which will be added once I am back to France.

I've watched a football match in a very British pub - and yes, Man U won!! I've won a medel for winning Musical Statues, learned new words, seen where Noel Gallgher wrote one of my fave albums "Definately, Maybe', learned how to cuss in Manc accent, had the best gin and tonic EVER (due to the Indian Tonic they use over here) and drank about a million cups of tea! Oh... and the curry! The CURRY! Brilliant!

Right... off to visit a proper little village in Derby (I think is where we are goin...).. I wonder if I'll run into Mr. Darcy!

More later,

This what I got up to Sat night.

The Warehouse Project Party
Saturday April 11th
Manchester, England

http://www.thewarehouseproject.com/calendar/

I lied.

There is no way to see the photos on black with Flickr. This is annoying to me. 

Seine, moon and clouds.

IMG_2003, originally uploaded by Natalia Vignola.

Full moon at the Notre Dame

IMG_2160, originally uploaded by Natalia Vignola.

It was full moon. Paris did await. We loaded up our gear and wandered towards the Seine in the hopes of a nice shot or two that would take our breath away for years to come (high hopes? nah, we're that good.)

For more piccies visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/29732202@N04/ - and search ubliani to find Jen's! There is a button somewhere that allows you to view photos on black. I highly recommend doing this for the optimum experience.

Just a lil more Notre-Dame

I thought I'd upload a few shots to attempt to give an idea of the scale of this place. It's HUGE! Walking in you feel so tiny in comparison, which was probably the idea when they built it, to make you feel so insignificant in respect to "The Church" and provide ever the impression that the organization is so mighty. Dogma aside, the place is astounding.

I used my ultra wide angle lens for most of Notre Dame. It must be noted tho, that for a moment, Tal and I switched cameras and she took the photo directly above!


Tal, you see shoots Canon. And how do I know this? Because her damn "White" lens gets into the frame of my ultra-wide shots.

People's exhibit A:
And people's exhibit B:

Case Closed!