Paris Parfait

Happy birthday, Jordana!

My daughter Jordana, pictured in May making cake balls for her grandfather's 80th-birthday.

 

Please indulge a little sentimentality as I wish a very Happy birthday to my wonderful daughter! I couldn't be more proud of her.

This is also the day David and I signed the final documents for the house we're buying just north of Amsterdam! All being well, we will move on January 26th.

Later in the year, Jordana will spend her vacation time with us in the Netherlands. I suspect we'll also take a quick jaunt to Paris (where Jordana graduated high school).

Happy days! We are truly fortunate.

Canal boats and a cherub

A tree reflected in an English canal.

Just back from a quick trip to Montreuil-sur-Mer, France and England. On Saturday we walked along a canal (as though we aren't surrounded by canals in Holland!) near Ripley, after a lovely family lunch.

Narrow house/canal boats line the canal.

A man sits on the deck of his home.

Zebra-patterned chairs in the shade.

Weekend canal traffic.

A certain adorable cherub who accompanied us for lunch and a stroll along the canal.

Joseph and his mother Luisa.

The budding artist.

No autographs, please!

A quick jaunt to France and England

A faint glimpse of the Eiffel Tower through streetlights on a pedestrian bridge, Saint Cloud.

 

Am off to Montreuil-sur-Mer for a couple of days, then London and Guildford. Hope you make the most of this last "official" week of summer!

Of weddings and windmills

A windmill under renovation, Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Click photos to enlarge.

 

Last Friday, I was standing on a bridge at Kinderdijk, watching workmen renovate this windmill. On a side road, a car pulled up, filled with members of a wedding party. I watched as the family started walking towards the bridge, followed by a photographer. I took a few discreet shots from a distance, then as they approached the middle of the bridge, I spoke to the photographer (who jokingly asked to switch cameras), then to the bride and groom. They graciously allowed me to take a few impromptu photos.

Here's the happy couple, Lydia and Sadiq. 

Lydia and Sadiq with their family members.

The beautiful bride.

The bride's young attendants.

I emailed photos to Lydia, who gave me permission to post a few here.

Father and son.

More windmills at the UNESCO World Heritage site in South Holland.

The canals currently are filled with duckweed.

Apparently Kinderdijk is a popular location for wedding photos, as David and I saw two more wedding parties the same morning, including a bride and groom arriving in a gorgeous cream and teal '57 Chevy!

We are better than this.

Open door at restaurant in the French Quarter, New Orleans.

 

Four leading Alabama church leaders, the US Department of Justice and the Southern Poverty Law Center and a coalition of other civil rights groups all have sued to block Alabama's draconian - yet passed in 2011(!) - immigration law, which was to take effect September 1st. Today a federal judge issued a temporary injunction until September 29, to consider the law's constitutional implications.

As it stands, the law is "a sweeping attempt to terrorize undocumented immigrants in every aspect of their lives and to make potential criminals of anyone who may work or live with them or show them kindness," the New York Times says in an editorial. 

Read more about the country's most inhumane immigration measure to date. Read it and weep that in 2011, any thinking person could support such inhumanity: the Alabama law defies every principle of decency, fairness and equality. Shame on Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and the state legislature for their unconscionable actions!

Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is returning to court to fight AT&T and the US government's warrantless wiretapping. Read more about the cases here.

Among previous posts about warrantless wiretapping at Paris Parfait:

Don't let AT&T off the hook

AT&T maintains secret room for NSA, documents allege

Lawsuit against AT&T continues

Government intervention fails to stop lawsuit

A seat at the table

A touch of pink in a village restaurant high in the Himalayas, Nepal.

 

The people of Libya, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia have many things in common, chief among them the desire for freedom - something many of us take for granted. They want reforms including free and fair elections and better employment opportunities. They want choices that are not dependent upon tribal ties, social class or inherited wealth.

All they want is a seat at the table - a chance to participate in their own lives; to make decisions without constantly being dictated how they must live and what repressive restrictions they must accept.

We've watched dramatic bids for freedom in Tunisia and in Egypt and now unfolding in Libya. Syria remains a dangerous flashpoint, where Bashar al-Assad loyalists continue to attack, jail or murder peaceful citizens who dare to dissent.

As Syrian political cartoonist and opposition activist Ali Ferzat said in an Associated Press interview (before being beaten and having his hands broken by government thugs): "There are two things in this life that cannot be crushed: the will of God and the will of the people."

Update: Izz al-Arab Matar, a 22-year-old university student, was killed Tuesday at Bab al-Aziziya. His cousin, London-based writer Hisham Matar wrote in today's Guardian about his loss: The short life and cruel death of Libyan freedom fighter Izz al-Arab Matar.

Dancing in Delft

Dancing is part of the welcome festivities for new students at the Delft University of Technology.

"On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet."
~ Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Scroll down the page for more images from the University of Technology's Welcome Day in Delft's Market Square.

Back-to-school festivities in Delft

As the new school year begins, the Delft University of Technology makes its new students feel welcome. Musical entertainment, games and other festivities in Market Square encourage the students to join clubs and participate in sports and activities.

These photos were taken during the school's welcome day in August, 2010. At the time I was too busy to post them. I decided to post the images now, as they're representative of the sort of warm reception incoming students are given in Delft.

Two of the city's most famous landmarks - Nieuwe Kerk and the Town Hall - and environs are viewed from a unique vantage point.

"The one real object of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions." ~Bishop Mandell Creighton

Vermeer's Delft

In Delft, the Netherlands, the Nieuwe Kerk church tower is reflected in a large directional compass in the center of Market Square.

If you saw the film Girl with a Pearl Earring, you may remember that Griet - the character played by American actress Scarlett Johannson - paused for a moment on this spot, then walked in the direction of the Nieuwe Kerk. Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's home was on the street opposite the church.

The church's tower was restored, after a lightning strike on May 3rd, 1536. The resulting blaze destroyed the tower, organ, bells and stained glass windows. Wind spread flames to hundreds of timber homes and businesses west of the church. On October 12th, 1654 a gunpowder explosion razed parts of the city.

The ornate Town Hall, also seen in Girl with a Pearl Earring's opening moments. The film was based on a book by Tracy Chevalier. The original Girl with a Pearl Earring painting (1665) is at Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis, The Hague.

The Town Hall at dusk.

This building is on the Oude Langedijk, directly across the street from the church. It stands on the site of Johannes Vermeer's home. Vermeer lived and worked in Delft all his life (1632 - 1675). His paintings often depicted people going about their daily lives. An image of one of my favourites, The Little Street, is part of the online Google Art Project.

The church tower is reflected in the windows of the same building.

The church tower at night.

Across the market square is Vermeer Centrum, a museum dedicated to Johannes Vermeer's life and work. The building is on the site of the Guild of Saint Luke, a trade association for painters, of which Vermeer was a member. Curiously, not a single original Vermeer painting remains in Delft, although several are displayed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

A stone plaque marking Johannes Vermeer's final resting place in the Protestant Oude Kerk. Built in 1240, it is the oldest church in Delft.

The church's design features raditional arches and 27 stained-glass windows, as well as the sculpted pulpit from 1548.

Detail of a 19th-century hand-carved walnut pulpit, featuring the acanthus leaf.

Joep Nicolas made 25 of the church's 27 historical windows. After his death, a relative completed the last two vitrines.

While many windows depict stories from the Bible, some show reflect Dutch history and key figures of the House of Orange.

The church's brick exterior.

An arched passage.

Oude Kerk's leaning bell tower.

The leaning tower long has been the subject of debate among Delft residents, concerned about its structural engineering and stability.

Two beaches; two countries

Families enjoy a day at the beach at the Red Sea resort Aqaba, Jordan. On the opposite shore is the Israeli port city of Eilat.

Click photos to view detail.

Sailboats dot the horizon.

Familes play paddleball at a beach on the North Sea, the Netherlands.

A trampoline keeps children entertained.

Flying a kite at the North Sea.

Slow Saturday

Favourite things on a slow-down Saturday: hydrangeas and books. A 19th-century English ironstone pitcher holds a bouquet of hortensia (as they're known in Europe). Among the books on my 1930s library table:

Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th-Century

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough

My Heart Wanders by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Le Japon Artistique: Japanese Floral Pattern Designs in the Art Nouveau Era

Aitor Lara's Maestranza

Tim Walker's Pictures

While David is watching rugby games (in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup September in New Zealand), I'm sorting out things around the house, in between long stretches of reading. Time to slow down, before fall kicks into high gear... What's on your weekend agenda?

Signs of the times

Circular "window" in a brick wall, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

"The Paradox of our Age," by the Dalai Lama, hanging in a residence window in Utrecht:

"We have bigger houses, but smaller familes

more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less sense

more knowledge, but less judgement.

More experts, but more problems;

more medicines, but less healthiness.

We've been all the way to the moon and back

but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.

We built more computers to hold more information than ever

but have less communication.

We have become long on quantity

but short on quality.

These are times of fast foods

but slow digestion;

tall men, but short character;

steep profits but shallow relationships.

It is a time when there is much in the window

but nothing in the room."

Sign in the window: "I love communicating."

"7 days, more light" etched in frosted glass on a shop window in Delft.

The famous Leonard Cohen quote, highlighted in this advertising sign in Utrecht.

Class warfare

Meanwhile, the class war in America continues, with the rich calling for the overburdened poor and middle-class to pay more. Jon Stewart slams the GOP pundits and Fox "News" cheerleaders for their idiocy.

The despicable US Chamber of Commerce is lobbying the "Supercongress" to reform Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, simply so the rich won't have to pay higher taxes. As if that's not bad enough, shockingly even our Democratic president is calling for cuts to Medicaid and Social Security - although neither program has anything to do with the US budget woes.  Not only did the president not stand up to Republican hostage-takers during the debt crisis negotiations, now he wants to cut Democratic entitlement programs to which we have contributed our payroll taxes all our working lives??!! Really not feeling the love, Mr. President.

South to Sevilla

An ancient wing of Reales Alcázares de Sevilla, a palace that once was a Moorish fort.

 

I can't stay away. At every opportunity, I return to this magical city, where I am dazzled by its beauty, its art and architecture and its rich history. I am enamored of Sevilla's arch-filled palaces, lush green gardens and airy tiled courtyards.

In a city full of night owls, I am completely at home. Even with my limited Spanish, I can order a variety of tapas, smoky Iberico ham and chilled dry fino. I can walk along the Guadalquivir River and over the bridge to Triana, the working-class home to flamenco and handmade tiles. I can bicycle or ride the tramway to Plaza de Espana, where water once again fills its "moats." I can listen to the plaintive wail of Spanish guitars drifting down narrow alleyways in the moonlight.

Beginning next month, I'll briefly be in Sevilla for a photo project. In early November, I'll be back in Sevilla, collaborating on a project with a Spanish photographer. Later my husband will join me for a working holiday in Cordoba, El Rocio and other areas of Andalucia. My mother would say I'm "wishing my life away," but I can't wait to return to Spain!

An open-air balcony overlooking landscaped gardens and tall palms.

A dark tiled passageway at Alcazar Palace.

Marble pillars and floors, along with elaborate stucco-relief and tiled walls and ceilings at Alcazar. Such magnificent Moorish architecture is one of the myriad reasons I adore visiting Spain.

In Spain's machismo culture, a handful of female matadors are making their mark. Veronica Rodriguez, 23,  is pictured during a bullfight at Plaza de Toros de Sevilla, July, 2010. Click photos to enlarge.

Veronica Rodriguez watches another young bullfighter in the ring.

 

Have you traveled to Spain? What's your favourite city or place to visit? While I am fond of Madrid and Barcelona, Sevilla holds a special place in my heart.

Working windmills and the Dutch summer

Cool temperatures, blustery winds, grey skies and scattered showers, interspersed with bouts of sunshine...that's the Dutch summer!

Molens van Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Nineteen windmills built in 1740 remain. The mills drain excess water from the Alblasserwaard polders - which are below sea-level - and divert the water into the Lek River.

Reeds blowing in the wind at Kinderdijk. While Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the mills and surrounding land are maintained by the Dutch foundation Wereld Erfgoed Kinderdijk.

The same windmill viewed from different angles. As always, click images to view detail.

A blue rowboat is docked next to this working windmill.

I'm looking forward to visiting Kinderdijk in the winter, when ice skaters take to the frozen surface.

The windmills of Kinderdijk at twilight.

If you visit the Netherlands, don't miss the opportunity to see Kinderdijk!

Sunflowers needed

Sunflowers in a shop window in the French quarter, New Orleans.

 

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you."

  - Maori Proverb

Sunflowers needed, real or virtual. Today I saw a little Dutch boy struggling to carry a cheery bouquet of sunflowers taller than he was. The determined look on his face gave me hope...

Summer skies

Evening sky, the Netherlands.

 

Thinking of all my friends and colleagues in London and other cities in England.

 

"I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

"I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
and dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

"I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

"But not to call me back or say good-bye;
and further still at an unearthly height,
A luminary clock against the sky

"Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night." 

- Robert Frost

Out of the dark

Out of the dark, something beautiful emerges... Rain-spattered lily pads, the Netherlands. Click photo to enlarge.

 

"My faith did not start with a leap, but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me up while I grew. Each prepared me for the next leaf on which I would land and in this way I moved across the swamp of doubt and fear." - Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies

Lavender blue

Lavender blue flowers for the weekend, inspired by the ever-creative Suzanne Cummings...

...plus three new pots of orchids.

One of the neighbourhood storks spent over an hour perched on this chimney (if only I had a better telephoto lens!)

A bird and hot air balloon fly overhead (click photo to view detail).

At sunset, a bird flies over an historic church...

...and the sky, clouds and trees are reflected in a canal.

 

This weekend I'm planning to visit friends; ride my bike; prepare a photo essay and read Jane Devin's new book Elephant Girl. What's on your agenda? Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Spain rules bullfighting is artistic discipline

Matadors wearing "Coats of light" prepare for bullfights, Plaza de Toros de Sevilla, Spain. Click photos to enlarge.

 

In Spain, the government has declared bullfighting "an artistic discipline." From the Guardian:

"The ministry of culture said in a statement: "As it is understood that bullfighting is an artistic discipline and a cultural product, it was considered that the ministry of culture was the correct place for its development and protection."

"Supporters, who see bullfighting as an integral part of Spain's cultural identity, hope the announcement is a step towards protecting the tradition from further regional bans."

Read the full article here.

If you are opposed to bullfighting - look away now!

Young matador Rafael Cerro in the bullring at Plaza de Toros de Sevilla, July 15, 2010. Click photos to enlarge.

High waters

Swampy trees engulfed in high waters, Lake Providence, Louisiana.

Just one day after these photos were taken, the US Army Corps of Engineers was forced to release the Bonnet Carre (and later the Morganza) spillways, flooding millions of acres of farmland. The move sent waters tumbling towards Lake Pontchartrain and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. Such drastic measures were necessary to avoid New Orleans being flooded by overflowing waters of the mighty Mississippi River.

Floodwaters inundated tens of thousands of acres of Missouri farmland and threatened downtown Memphis, Tennessee. High waters also rolled through parts of Arkansas and Mississippi, bringing widespread damage and devastation. Despite government assistance, the affected areas are struggling to recover from lost crops and flood-damaged homes and buildings.

I think "high waters" is a good metaphor for the high stakes hostage drama underway in Washington, D.C. Let's hope we don't drown!

Fishing from a wooden pier in danger from rising waters. Click photo to enlarge.

Serenity

Lily pads in a canal and reflections of trees and buildings, the Netherlands. Click photo to view detail.

 

Just a moment or two of quiet reflection, before wrestling with magazine deadlines. Bon weekend!

"My writing is a combination of three elements. The first is travel: not travel like a tourist, but travel as exploration. The second is reading literature on the subject. The third is reflection."  
Ryszard Kapusinski

Theatre of the Absurd and Irresponsible

A conductor jumps from a train as it pulls into the station, Yorkshire, England.

 

It's the Theatre of the Absurd and Irresponsible in Washington, D.C., where Tea Party Republicans are manufacturing chaos and undermining all sense of reason within their own party. It's as though an out-of-control train is racing down the track towards certain doom, while passengers squabble over who is to blame, yet deliberately resist rescue.

As the clock ticks ever closer to the August 2nd deadline to avoid default, it looks as though President Obama and the US Senate must take bold action to avert catastrophe. It's obvious that House Republicans are incapable of compromise, much less governing. Who elected these uninformed idealogues??!! They seem unable to grasp basic economics and clearly don't understand how government functions or how the world works.

Meanwhile, millions of Social Security, veterans' benefits and other government checks are at risk, if Republicans force a default on the government's loans. Our Triple-A credit rating will be downgraded and world financial markets will plummet. And Americans can expect interest rates to rise.

Every day for the past week the dollar has weakened against foreign currency, as stocks and bond markets faltered. The International Monetary Fund and governments around the world are watching the US debt situation with increasing alarm. Yet Tea Party radicals refuse to compromise, unless their unreasonable demands are met.

Intransigent Republicans already have shut down the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), costing the government $30 million in fines per day. Meanwhile, airport maintenance and construction projects around the country have been suspended and at least 4000 FAA employees sent home. (Reacting swiftly to the news, greedy airlines raised airfares 7.5 percent).

Who's in charge here??!! Time for President Obama to forget trying to compromise with obstructionists, take a strong stand and lead.

The centrist cop-out

GOP fervor cuts two ways for Boehner

Here's what the Tea Party wants: chaos

Republicans abandon vote as deadline looms

Let's just call them the Deadbeat Party

'Absolutist' Tea Party takes US to brink, Murkowski says

Lawyers, coins and money

Congress: The worst spectator sport ever

Calm waters

Evening light, lily pads on a canal, the Netherlands. Click image to enlarge.

 

Just popping in for a quick hello, while juggling deadlines. Speaking of deadlines... No excuses for such rampant irresponsibility from our elected leaders.

Searching for tranquility

A peaceful canal. Click photos to view detail.

Ducks swim around lily pads.

Houses built against one of the city's original 15th-century walls.

The view from behind the wall to the bank opposite the canal.

The back of the original town wall. Wooden steps lead from private houses to the tree-lined property and canal.

A shady walkway.

Peeling paint.

Collecting fallen tree branches after recent high winds.

A profusion of colour on this small patio.

Purple blooms alongside an old warehouse.

Behind this gate is a small private garden, its trees bursting with fruit.

Still-ripening berries hanging over a brick wall.

A simple addition to a formal front door.

Unexpected blooms.

Behind this gate is a community garden.

Local residents plant and tend the crops.

Trees shade a walkway leading to the dyke and one of the town's gates.

Reflections in a canal.

Ivy-covered brick walls at a town gate.

Inside the gate, the original curved and arched walls rather unfortunately have been fitted with wood, to block wind and noise.

An iron fence protects one of the town's oldest trees.

Scroll down the page for another post today.

Dark days

Flying kites at the North Sea. Click image to enlarge.

 

Thinking of our Norwegian friends and all the innocent victims. Too many, too young, gone too soon...

Of raindrops and orchids

Streetlight illuminated in last night’s rainstorm. Photos shot through orchids on windowsill.

The orchids have survived nearly six months, a record for me! Apparently the secret is more light; less water.

After torrential rains, water (from an unknown source) started pouring down one wall of our over 200-year-old maisonette. Luckily, the rain subsided a bit, before any real damage was done.

Arched entrances and courtyards: Moorish influence in Sevilla

An open doorway looking onto a plaza behind Sevilla's stunning La Giralda Cathedral.

Most readers know that I am smitten by Sevilla. I like it so much, I wrote a poem about it. In my Paris apartment, I had a "Spanish wall." I collect antique Spanish tiles and pottery, as well as Madonna crowns, silver crosses and milagros. I'm fond of dry Spanish fino and tapas. I'm mad about flamenco and Spanish guitar.

Since first visiting the city in 2004, I have been back several times, including an extended stay in 2006 to study Spanish. Last summer I spent two weeks working on a photo essay in Sevilla (these images are all from July 2010).  Later this year, I'll be returning to Sevilla to collaborate on a project with a Spanish photographer. I'd be there now, if it weren't for the scorching summer temperatures!

The plaza behind La Giralda de Sevilla, the city's largest cathedral.

The beautiful 15th-century Casa de los Pinelos.

La Casa de los Pinelos is the site of the Academia de las Buenas Letras y Academia de Bellas Artes.

Tiled stairs leading to the second floor, which was closed the last time I was there.

A series of arches cover the pathway to Plaza del Calbido, built in the Moorish style. In this photograph, shutters are closed during afternoon siesta, in a bid to combat the intense summer heat.

On Sunday mornings, vendors participate in a small market selling vintage stamps, posters, books, photographs, military medals, antique coins and other items.

Private apartments, a restaurant, bookshop and antiques store are all part of the complex.

A series of arches at a convent courtyard adjacent to Plaza del Cabildo.

A decorative iron gate leads to a private courtyard.

Palms and plants flourish in this stone-paved courtyard.

Another private courtyard behind an iron gate.

A gated patio at Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.

This arched doorway with decorative wrought-iron Islamic symbols exits into a lush garden, complete with fountain.

Iron gates opening to more palace patios.

The palace's exterior walls were designed by the Almohads, Berbers from the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The walls stem from the complex's original use as a Moorish fort.

One of the arched entrances to the palace. This stone wall dates from when construction began in the year 913.

A workman repairs a fountain in a shaded courtyard framed by a series of arches at Reales Alcázares de Sevilla. Most of the palace's stunning architecture is a combination of designs from the Taifa and the Almohad periods.

A stone walkway is laid in decorative patterns.

Check back soon for more architectural wonders from Sevilla.

Pausing for a picture

Walking down Oxford Street, London recently I paused to snap these Selfridges vitrines. The displays highlighted the plight of cod, starfishes and other sea creatures threatened by over-fishing and pollution. The trompe l'oeil effect through the glass meant the antique cupboard displaying the cod was exactly aligned with contours of a building across the street.

The young boy had stopped to pose for a tourist photo. He looked at me, just as I pressed the shutter.

This collection of safety deposit boxes was designed to draw attention to the importance of protecting and preserving endangered sea creatures. As always, click images to view detail.

Ultra Utrecht

Early 20th-century architecture, Utrecht, Holland.

An arch leading to Dom Square featuring the Dom, the city's most famous church.

The ever-present canals, lined with dock-side warehouses and restaurants.

One of the city's numerous historic buildings, now a private residence.

'Tis the season for weddings.

A window display, shot through glass.

Eclectic style

The genius Dutch florist's creation of the day, in a Waterford crystal vase.

 

"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

On the 1930s library table, covered with French linen: 18th-century hand-written sheet music; my friend Pia's beautiful new book, "My Heart Wanders," as well as books featuring the work of photographers Tim Walker, Steve McCurry and Reza. In the background, an English Arts & Crafts chair is covered in original William Morris Strawberry Thief fabric and a 19th-century Chinese Buddha head rests on a Napoleon III stand.

Vintage car love

Last weekend a parade of vintage cars drew lots of admirers. This gorgeous roadster once participated in the Paris-Dakkar Rally.

Check back soon for more photos of cars participating in the local "Old Timers" event.

Scroll down the page for another post today.

School's out!

A boy jumps for joy following a parade Thursday night celebrating the end of the school term in the Netherlands. I was leaning out a second-floor window to get these pictures.

A marching band kicks off the 8 p.m. parade.

A drum majorette raises her baton, as another marching band joins the parade.

The drum corps.

Children in high spirits, with summer holidays ahead.

All children were presented with flowers, balloons, toys, ribbons and/or medals to mark the occasion.

Young judo students.

More sports enthusiasts.

Yet another marching band. The little boy in front helps "direct" the music.

One little girl was carrying a butterfly net; another was wearing a swimming innertube.

More proud teachers, parents and students.

Ode to London's South Bank

London skyline accented by construction cranes, as viewed from the South Bank. As always, click photos to view detail.

Last week I was in London for photo shoots and spent some time at the lively South Bank, as well as the Tate Modern. If you get a chance, go see Taryn Simon's intriguing exhibition "A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters" at the Tate, as well as the documentary photography exhibit currently underway.

Blackfriars Bridge.

Lunch break.

Busy bridge at Embankment.

Pedestrian bridge leading from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern.

Sprial metal staircase at shops near Blackfriars.

Office and residential buildings. A scene in the movie Love Actually was filmed in the courtyard.

Building sandcastles.

Gabriel's Wharf, with bespoke shops and fun restaurants. My friend Tracy and I had dinner here one evening. When I lived in London, Gabriel's Wharf was a favourite spot to meet for lunch.

A weathered boat is part of the Festival of Britain installation.

An appeal to save the albatross.

Mad dogs and Englishmen.

The ever-popular carousel.

Traditional fish and chips is still beloved by Brits and tourists alike.

As part of the Festival of Britain, a series of beach huts feature small exhibits about Britain's history.

This hut contains bottles of sand from various British beaches.

William Folkestone discovered that blood systematically circulates through the body.

A model ship and books about the sea are the focus of this beach hut.

A striped hut among a dozen or so lining the South Bank of the River Thames.

More stripes.

Experts provide advice on sailing to curious students.

Just in case...

Sign of the times.

Beneath the bridge.

The London Eye, viewed from Westminster Bridge.

The Eye viewed from South Bank later in the afternoon.

This guy and his partner in native costume danced for tourists.

He noticed me taking pictures and turned around and posed.

A Charlie Chaplin imitator.

Mickey Mouse lost his head.

Cultural contrasts: Spiderman and Arabic women and their children out for an afternoon stroll.

Hmm...he's not too sure about shaking hands.

A couple dressed in medieval costume.

The horizon's not crooked; the building is on an incline.

Parliament as seen from South Bank.

The spires of Westminster in silhouette behind scaffolding.

Big Ben's elegant clockface.

All photos taken with the Leica M9 and Summilux 50 mm f2 lens.

In the house with Kim Kardashian

Hundreds of fans waited in line outside Debenham's department store in London.

Last week Kim Kardashian - American reality television star - was at Debenham's in London promoting her new perfume. British fans began lining up before 6 a.m., in the hope of being one of the first 150 customers who were promised photos with the popular entrepreneur.

This young girl brought her father along in a vain attempt to see Kardashian. I was standing next to them.

A group of construction workers were more interested in catching a glimpse of the brunette bombshell than in working (perhaps it was their lunch break).

A Debenham's employee motioned for people to clear the road.

At half past twelve, Miss Kardashian arrived in a black limo.

Crowds immediately surged around the car, making it difficult for Kardashian to walk the few feet to the store entrance.

As she exited the car, hundreds of enthusiastic fans tried to snap photos with their mobile phones or digital cameras.

Inside the store, Kim posed with purple glass bottles of her perfume. The crowds went mad, trying to see her in a cordoned-off area behind the Fiorelli display.

Here she is wearing Gucci. (Photo by Splash. Alas, I couldn't see over the crowds to get a good photo; should have brought a ladder)!

Prior to Kim's appearance, six gorgeous girls in high black heels and short tight purple dresses walked around Debenham's spritzing the perfume on customers. I overheard one young model say they'd answered a casting call at an agency for the chance to participate in the perfume launch. "And we were told we get to meet Kim. I'm so excited!" she said.

She wasn't the only one. Fans went wild when Kim entered the store.

A few of Kim's screaming fans were hysterical, climbing and standing on display stands and knocking off merchandise for sale. "I have GOT to see her!" one of them repeated, over and over.  Security guards had difficulty controlling the huge crowds.

Who knows how long they waited to see Kim and get her autograph??!!

At Debenham's back entrance, a driver waited with a specially-painted black London cab.

And news agency photographers filed their stories on the spot...

...for an insatiable tabloid press, hungering for any tidbit about the glamourous Miss Kardashian and her $2 million engagement ring (no doubt an extra headache for Kardashian's bodyguards).

Life in the fast lane, folks! Never a dull moment.

Normal posting resumes on Friday.

Lunch break

Lunch break, South Bank, London (photo June 2010).

I'm traveling in the UK this week. All being well, timed posts should appear in my absence.

L'heure bleu

Evening blue, Delft, Holland.

Automobile lights streak past the Delft blue heart sculpture, lit from within.

Since returning from the Netherlands, I've been busy processing photos, working on photographic essays and downsizing my collections of books, antiques and collectibles. Check back soon for more stories and photos.

Delft blue

Blue heart sculpture, Delft, Holland.

 

Blue skies over a bridge lifted to accommodate large boats.

A Delft blue sign. In Delft, I took a lot of random photos. It was only when going through them that I noticed how many images sported the famous Delft blue, in one form or another!

Blue-trimmed canal boat.

Bicycle handpainted in the traditional Delft blue.

DJ on opening day of the Delft University of Technology.

Light pole decorated with Delft tiles.

 

Historic tile detail.

 

Mosaic tiles on a seat in a park adjacent to a former convent.

 

Painted bricks.

 

Vintage pieces of Delft pottery at a canal-side brocante.

 

Blue tulips.

Tiles depicting the lives of Dutch children.

 

Mosaic mural.

 

Students moving a sofa and waving at me.

 

Denim-clad traveling musicians.

 

Whirligigs.

 

Canal water marker.

 

Blue shirts.

"Tiled" window shades and stacks of blue mug boxes.

Tiled doorway.

 

Tourism slogan?

Summer's last gasp

Sword juggler, South Bank, London.

 

 

 

Cherub cheer

A little boy tries to convince his sister to exit a giant wooden shoe, Delft, Holland.

Decisions, decisions!

Children wait outside a creche for their moms to pick them up.

 

A touch of Americana outside a Delft toy store.

 

Playground murals at a school in Delft.

 

Doll furniture in the window of a private home.

Check back soon for more photos and tales from recent travels.

Tilting at windmills

Molens van Kinderdijk or the Windmills of Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Click photos to view detail.

 

In nearly two weeks in the Netherlands, we watched kite-surfing from a windy beach beneath giant grey clouds. We walked along narrow canals accented with yellow and white water lilies. We fed swans and their teenagers, as well as ducks. We watched a coot add twigs to her nest, then escort her chirping babies for an awkward swim. We hiked trails dotted with windmills. We browsed fruit and vegetable stalls in market squares and brocantes set up along little canals. We traced Johannes Vermeer's illustrious path in Delft and learned more about his light-filled paintings that still capture the world's imagination. We wandered cobble-stoned streets and narrow passageways. We marveled at the grand 17th-century architecture and symbolism of churches, old and new.

We met and photographed off-the-chart talented musicians at the Delft Jazz Festival. We exchanged stories and laughter at dinner with long-time friends in a quay-side restaurant in Alblasserdam and shared a delicious lunch at Bussia in Amsterdam with the lovely Pia Jane Bijkerk. My husband went bird-watching and through happenstance, I met an accomplished jewelry designer, with an airy atelier enhanced with a magnificent Art Deco table and Fortuny lamps (more in an upcoming post). I purchased a vintage Delft pottery pitcher at an antique shop and an exquisite covered basket over 100 years old at a brocante. I left behind a pair of shoes, so my small bag jammed with two-weeks'-worth-of-clothes could accommodate the treasure.

At another brocante I bought a seven-foot wide canvas geological world map in English, Spanish and Dutch. It was quite the kerfuffle transporting the rolled-up map in cars and onto a train back to Paris! We ate yummy caramel stroopwaffles and Dutch fries with mayonnaise and struck up conversations with strangers. We rode trains and walked and walked for miles. We read maps and explored unfamiliar neighbourhoods. We talked to estate agents and friends about specific areas. We had amazing dinners at charming restaurants, in contrast with lunch at an outdoor cafe where three bees buzzing about my head eventually chased me away.

We went to Amsterdam, Utrecht, Delft, Leiden and Rotterdam, as well as smaller places including Haarlem, Amstelveen and Zandvoort. We went to another beach town with roundabouts and design much like an English seaside town. I took over 1,200 photographs, from grand architecture and historic buildings to portraits of my friends' five-year-old daughter to first-day-of-school festivities at a technical college to concerts and quirky sights along the way.

Through it all, I felt totally peaceful, at ease and at home, even though I speak hardly a word of Dutch. In less than six months, it will be home, both literally and figuratively.  Not sure where yet, but I am confident the right place will present itself. And I can't wait!

Tall grasses and reeds lining the canals were blowing in high winds.

Windmills line the banks of intersecting canals.

Here's a video of French composer Michel Legrand performing Windmills of my Mind. Years ago, I had the good fortune to meet him in Chicago.

Check back soon for more photos from the Netherlands.