Things of beauty
Another lovely day on the Promenade Plantee found more new flowers blooming! This beautiful rose bush twisted around a trellis about halfway down the promenade.
Note the perfect bud in the middle of the cluster of roses.
The Promenade Plantee is flowering!
Noah and I took a walk along the Promenade Plantee today, and it’s finally flowering and looking the way I imagined it could!
We watched an older man with a camera taking pictures as well, and I felt some comradery with him.
Jardin alpin
The Jardin des Plantes in Paris has an alpine garden that you access through a tunnel. This gives it the feeling of being tucked away from the world (even if several other visitors have found it too).
I love the old stones. I know the garden is quite old (17th century), and I wonder how long these stones have been in place.
Rowboats at Bois de Boulogne
It was far, far too cold on Sunday to think about renting a rowboat in the Lac Inferieur at Bois de Boulogne, but I just had to snap a picture as I passed.
What have I “learned” from Gallery Schmanz? I like boats, buildings, and the sky. I prefer close-ups. And I also like cats, but I don’t force them on you.
File under More Pictures of the Sky
But this is just a beautiful sunset with Notre Dame silhouetted in the foreground. I am really enjoying this time of year, when I’m walking home right as the sun is going down. The break in all the buildings means a clear view of the sky and a direct stream of sunlight onto Ile Saint Louis.
My brother and Megan tried to watch the sunset from Sacre Coeur at my (misguided) suggestion tonight, and instead the more glorious view was closer to home. Oops!
And the heavens opened up…
The sky above Notre Dame was stunning at sunset tonight.
I liked the visible rays of sunlight coming through the clouds. (Kind of made me think of Monty Python.)
Wild flowers in a domestic setting
Towards the end of our hike, we passed through quiet Manikata. These bright red flowers popped against the white stone.
I’m glad I’m able to upload pictures again. (Knock on wood.) Thanks for your patience with my technical issues!
Scenes from the Maltese countryside
The countryside of Malta isn’t exactly unspoiled, but I love the feeling of being the only person around for miles. I also love the lonely, nostalgic sense that ruins give me. Thursday’s first picture shows an abandoned limestone structure with flowers and cacti growing around it.
The lighting illuminates the flowers perfectly, and somehow the ruins seem welcoming despite their state of disrepair.
In the warm Mediterranean sun
NOTE: I am having extreme difficulty uploading this photo. I will continue to work on it. Until then, you can see it here.
We’re in Malta, and I’m happy as a vongole to be feeling the Mediterranean sun! One thing I didn’t expect was how much cactus covers Malta! At the Botannical Gardens in Floriana (steps outside the capital of Valetta), Mom pointed out this cactus to me.
I took another picture of it looking more like a cactus bush, but I appreciate the repetitiveness of the cactus spines in this photo.
