Le Louvre: Pei's pyramid

And we're up to the letter L for ABC Wednesday.
I did "Louvre"  last time too.  But that was indoors 
and this is out, that was daytime and this is late at night, 
that was then and this is now . . . (besides, I've 
been playing along with this meme for a long time!).

[To see more ABC shots, go here.]

Ask Allan

This is the grave of the teacher and spiritist
Allan Kardec.  While I was here, someone 
told me that his grave has more flowers than 
any other in Père Lachaise.  That's because folks
come here to ask for something, and reach up to 
rub his shoulder to help their wish along.
Then if they get what they wanted, they come 
back and leave flowers to say "Merci."
(By the way, I tried it and it worked—so now I"ll 
have to come back here with my offering.) 

[To see more of Today's Flowers, go here.] 

Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts

This is very much a "local" church, catering
to its parishioners in the 12th arrondissement.
However, it does have two beautiful organs; the main
one, built by Cavaillé-Coll, is considered one of the
best examples of symphonic organs in Paris—and some
powerful music has been recorded in this church.

[Linking back to inSPIREd Sunday and Shadow Shot Sunday.]

Sur les Champs Elysées

I probably wouldn't go out of my way to stroll
up this commercialized and overcrowded
avenue these days.  However, when it's all decked
out for the holidays like this . . . well, it's still
too much, but in a fabulous French way,
and if given the chance (as I was
last November) I wouldn't miss it.

Happy New Year/Bonne Année à tous!

le coucher du soleil

Took this shot of the sun setting behind the 
Eiffel Tower and the Grand Palais a little over 
a year ago.  I'd love to take more sunset shots from
the rooftop terrace of the Galeries Lafayette
in warm weather, but by the time the sun sets in
the summer, it's close to 10 p.m., and 
that terrace has been closed for hours already.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows
and Mandarin Orange Monday.
And you know I'm Dreaming of France.]

L'éscalier

I liked this staircase so much, I took 30 pictures of it!
It's in the Petit (keeping in mind that everything
is relative) Palais—where there were lots of beautiful
things to see and not a lot of people, so I
could actually see them.  There's also a very 
nice café, they don't mind if you take 
photos, and admission is free.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

All alone at the Louvre

If you've ever been to the Louvre and seen the 

Venus de Milo, then you have some idea of 

how long I stood here before I was able 

to capture her all on her own. 

(Even so—and somewhat ironically—I did have 

to use Photoshop to delete one errant arm.)

[It's ABC Wednesday. To see more posts
that feature the letter L, go here.
And as always, I'm Dreaming of France.]