At Home and In Paris

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Back Home Trying to Enjoy This Wonderful City!

Sometimes, the nicest thing about being on a holiday is that you're happy to be home again. This is especially true when we are returning home from the north. Once we hit the road along the river, even after 7 1/2 years living in Paris, I still felt like a visitor, Oooo-ing and Ah-ing as we passed the Eiffel Tower and the Alexander III Bridge as if it were the first time we had ever laid our eyes on them. The same applies as we enter the Place de la Concorde. I genuinely feel like a chronic tourist! I can't hold back the sensations and the feelings of exhilaration. Walking into our own Paris apartment with a warm, furry greeting from Mickey still feels like a dream. We had been gone for nearly three weeks -- that there was much to catch up with in our hometown."

But more recently, there has also been a tragedy! On October 7, 2023 the state of Israel, the birthplace of my husband, was brutally attacked on one of the holiest days of the year, just 50 years after the Yom Kippur war began in 1973. By now, the details are well known by all and have not only come to the forefront in the newspapers but have been a preoccupation in our home. This is probably why I have not published a post since October. Many images from nearly every place else in the world warn us that humankind has turned a corner now and for the future, not only in The Holy Land, but for Jews everywhere and for all peace-loving human beings on the

planet. These times are full of uncertainty. Some images provide hope, like the photo in the news from Germany of the flying of the flag of Israel between that of the EU and the DE. Still, there are also images of blue Mogen Davids painted on the doors of homes and businesses in this city at night. Antisemitism seems like a creeping,

eerie fog, another arrondissement scarred by signs of prejudice and hatred discovered as each day dawns. So, although we had been enjoying life in and around Paris, with so many spectacles, musical as well as theatrical, and visits to those art exhibits closing and the new exhibits opening, one by one at the beginning of Fall, as I sit at my computer, wanting to share my experiences and images of museums, public buildings, and beautiful sunrises captured on simple walks at dawn, I feel it may be inappropriate of me to do so during these times of war that surround Europe. Nevertheless, I also thank the powers on earth and in the heavens for our lives on this island of beauty. So, I have decided to share some of these images with others to remind people what can be and will hopefully always be somewhere on earth. I will share photos without much comment to allow the eyes to take in the beauty of a world that still exists,

and our hopes for tomorrow, here and in other beautiful places!🌎 Here is our little rue, dressed up for the holidays and the new year. The portrait of Mickey was painted by Tasha Terrablanche in Lake Constance, Germany. She is a gem of an artistic talent and completed the commission in time for Ted's Birthday.

He was excited and happy to have such a special surprise. At that time, Ted was walking nearly every morning at dawn and took some of the most beautiful photos of the nearly empty streets, the brightly decorated shops, bakers finishing their morning bake, the beautiful reflection on the river, notable buildings, and empty gardens. He loves having the whole city practically to himself, and on these special walks, I don't slow him down, nor do I distract him from taking note of historic places and those historical figures who are honored here and there.

Beautiful fall colors of the still leafy trees were captured here and there, on the Ile Saint-Louis, along the Seine, and in the parks and broad boulevards.

L'Hotel Marine is not a hotel but a museum and a few great restaurants!

Every place is so close to home that we can never get lost!

Sunrise along the river is magical!

Work is humming along on schedule for the restoration of the Notre Dame de Paris!

The top windows are filled with colorful fantasy figures!!

The side of the Palais Garnier opera is all dolled up, while the front is still under construction with a new temporary façade! OhLaLa!

Constant drizzle makes crêpes a must-have snack and leaves rental bicycles vacant while the streets are clogged with cars, thanks to a mayor with great foresight and a certain lack of realism!

Fun for families for the holidays and the intermitant blues skies!

The Tuileries on the way to the Louvre Museum!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, help to make the season bright!

Three-quarters of a Century is Not So Old, After All!

Warm Wishes for a more peaceful, healthy, and Happy Holiday Season and New Year to All!