Champion jockey Frankie Dettori riding Spring of Fame in the Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein race. Dettori is pictured in the parade ring, just before the race Saturday at Hippodrome de Longchamp, Paris.
A Qatari tent set up on the grounds of Hippodrome de Longchamp. The state of Qatar is sponsoring this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's biggest horse race.
These two men have taken off their shoes and are facing Mecca, during the late afternoon call to prayer.
The hat tent at Longchamp, offering chapeaux for sale. Traditionally, women don stylish hats for Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
A table of straw hats in varying hues and designs.
Another group of straw hats for race-goers.
Wool and felt hats with fur trim.
Most of these casual styles on display can hold up in rain, which is predicted Sunday. Inside the tents (below) are traditional Qatari crafts and traditions. In one tent, a woman invited me to sit down on the cushion next to her, while she applied henna to my right hand. We spoke in Arabic, which was good practice for my upcoming trip to Jordan. As the henna was still wet, I told the woman I'd return Sunday to photograph her, her friends and their beautiful costumes.
Barring pouring rain, I'll be snapping pics of both hats and horses and posting them late Sunday and Monday. Hope you have a fun Sunday outing planned!En route to Longchamp this afternoon, I walked past a white panel truck with its side door open, parked on a busy street. Inside was a platform made up like a bed, a hooker sitting in front of a dressing table applying lipstick and another lady-of-the-evening standing on the sidewalk, dressed in fishnets and black lace and wearing enough makeup to cover France. She was smoking a cigarette, while hoping to catch the eye of potential customers headed to the races. Later I saw the police making them leave. Only in Paris would such a business venture be attempted in broad daylight in a posh residential neighbourhood!
Scroll down the page for an additional post today.
P.S. Tara, if you ever want to visit the Derbyshire / Nottingham area of the U.K. Youre welcome here. We have the house up for sale at the moment [ moving to my family in New Zealand ] . Will take a while though. If you both get the urge, were here. take care of yourselves. best wishes, Kathy and Paul Smith. xxx . P.S. Am also on facebk.
Posted by: kathy | 11 October 2009 at 22:04
Definitely, would love to meet you there. Excuse the spelling and grammer, am useless, lol. Plus, have had surgery on my hands, makes it difficult to type. Good job I've a walking stick as well, or I'de be toppling over, lol. Take care Tara. Carry on with your beautiful photography, you bring so much pleasure to others.
Posted by: kathy | 11 October 2009 at 21:07
Thanks, Kathy! Wish I'd met you and your husband. Perhaps you'll be at the Arc in 2010?
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 10 October 2009 at 20:06
LOVE the new photos, just wish you had taken one of my hubby and I. It seems like we went to all the same places at the same time. I have most of the same shots, but not to your artistic degree. Ive only got a little cannon digital, lol.
Posted by: kathy | 10 October 2009 at 19:36
Would love to see a photo of you wearing it. Bet its beautiful. Bit different to my m and s effort, lol.
Posted by: kathy | 10 October 2009 at 19:08
I didn't wear a hat this year, as it would have hit against my camera flash. But the one I wore last year, purchased in Antwerp and created by a Dutch designer, was very expensive (but worth every centime). :)
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 09 October 2009 at 23:23
Yes Fifi, but the hats are VERY expensive to buy. The mens simple pull on hats STARTED at 1 hundred uk pounds. The ladies, 200 uk pounds, for the simple unadorned hats. That was the cheapest price I could find. Its Paris though, what do we expect?.
Posted by: kathy | 09 October 2009 at 22:04
You looked beautiful, made me long for my youth again. I also had my hand hennaed, isnt it a work of art?. The Qatari ladies looked very nice in their traditional costume. Loved all the crystals around the edges of the Head ladys outfit. Spoke to her at length and she was very nice. The gold exhibition was fabulous wasnt it?.
Posted by: kathy | 09 October 2009 at 19:58
Hi Kathy - I expect that was me. My hairdresser got carried away w/ the blonde highlights last week. :) Thanks for the kind words. Sorry I didn't get to meet you in person. Thanks for the kind words about my photos.
Posted by: Paris Parfait | 08 October 2009 at 23:23
Ooooh FAB... even you arrive without a hat... you can purchase one!
Posted by: Fifi Flowers | 08 October 2009 at 18:08
Hi Tara, Were you the very pretty blonde girl taking photos outside the sheiks wives rooms, where they were showing Qatars lifestyles. I was the lady who , with my husband [ who was sitting ], was talking to the sheik and his enterage. I was the british lady who had long dark very curly hair. I wore a long black fitted coat embroidered with russian style piping. I love your photographs. XXX
Posted by: kathy | 07 October 2009 at 21:38
these are gorgeous photos! i even saw a plaid one, i would wear. lol
love ya!
Posted by: christina | 05 October 2009 at 17:09
I cannot think of a better tour guide/mentor/teacher/friend to travel to a foreign land with. I will be completely out of my league in terms of photography skills but I hope to keep up with you in other ways!
Posted by: Donna | 04 October 2009 at 19:39
Well, no. Sadly my Sunday doesn't involve speaking Arabic with Qatari women who apply henna to my hands and then I go snap photos of glorious Parisian happenings. Uh uh. I'll be...um...mowing the lawn. Doing laundry. Yes, exciting!!! lol
Oh thank goodness you post here all your exotic daily adventures, or there would be no escape at all!
I love the tents with all the layers upon layers of rugs. So beautiful.
I'll bet you enjoy being able to practice speaking Arabic. Brush up Tara! We don't want to be in *that* boat when we get to Jordan! lol
Love you, have a most incredible Sunday. xoxo
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | 04 October 2009 at 18:09
Believe or not I still have in one of my hatboxes the gorgeous hat I wore on my last visit to the hippodrome; here it would merit strange stares, there I got probably more compliments from both men and women that I could count. I miss Paris, I miss Provence, I miss Boulogne-sur-Mer and I miss wearing gorgeous hats probably just as much.
Posted by: Allegra Smith | 04 October 2009 at 03:45
One can never have too many hats ... . or books.
Or
friends who take beautiful photographs of your favorite things!
Jjjj
Posted by: judith | 04 October 2009 at 03:11
Once again ..i am drooling all over the keyboard..ooohing loudly... and the dogs are loking at me...
Posted by: pam aries | 04 October 2009 at 02:11
Fascinating photos. I would love to try on a few of those casual hats. (I am seldom hatless outdoors.) Love the outfit on the hat shopper. Thanks for the great photos!
Posted by: Helen | 04 October 2009 at 01:21
I wore hats in the 80's... "sigh"... will you show us a picture of your henna? I'd love to see how it turned out!
Posted by: elsie | 04 October 2009 at 00:34
Racehorses are so beautiful.
Posted by: Maia | 03 October 2009 at 22:13