Au Revoir Paris

This is my last Paris post and i can't tell you how much I've enjoyed them...here's to the next visit! The final glimpse of Paris is by night from various places. I often find night time so much more beautiful, particularly when illuminated.

Revisited

I find it really interesting how your opinions can change over time. Most applicably with my photographs. There are shots that i am instantly happy with and will happily upload straight away, some that need little tweeks and others which quite frankly i think don't cut the mustard.

After re-visiting some albums before i had the realisation that this of course can change with time. And so here are some pictures which have been recently revived.

Its nice that they have some colour as many of my recent bits have been in black and white.

Narnia...I Wish!

I won't say much on these but reflective of the weather...that is all!

Love & Loss In Montparnasse

I'm making the most of the very snowy weather by being diligent and trying to do all the little things i usually put off in the week including but not limited to updating the blog and making Danger Mouse badges....don't ask!

At the same time i'm also trying to curb my ambition to take Narnia themed pictures! Fur coat is one thing but i'm lacking a strategically placed wardrobe.

Back to Paris! This is my penultimate post on Paris and looks at my trip through Jardin Du Luxembourg finally reaching Montparnasse cemetery and tower. I was very impressed with my last leg of the journey, mainly because i got totally lost and used typical female navigation skills of head towards the big tower. I did however end up in the right place and reaped the benefits including new earrings. The gardens were lovely but the real aim was Montparnasse and i wasn't left disappointed. I don't generally hang around in graveyards but Europeans have a different view of opinions and boy does it show. I got some of my favourite pictures to date from here.

Optimism!

This is going to seem like a rather different post to normal - going off on a tangent some would say (me!?!?! Never!!). Nevertheless it is a little different and it's been spurned on by horoscopes, a simple gift and spam emails....a strange combination you may say but all aligning together perfectly!

I don't read Horoscopes religiously however when i did happen to read mine in February on a very boring afternoon i couldn't help but feel intrigued and excited about what it said was in store for me. I realised some time ago that the things i love doing are all centered around creativity. Singing, photography, cooking, writing all give me an outlet to express myself and to be truly happy i need a good measure of each of these to keep me going. The horoscope in question alluded to this exactly and that this year would very special and important in releasing these skills to their full potential. Exciting stuff!

A few weeks ago my sister in law was looking at some of my pictures from Paris, and happened to like some specific shots. As she continually feeds me with pizza and wine whenever I'm there i thought it was time to give her a gift. The decision led me to my first ever picture being printed on canvas. I was thrilled she loved it but i missed something really important about that process. That it was a huge cornerstone for me to see something i had captured...that one moment in time...made into something that other people could enjoy.

Finally i received an email yesterday from Happify! Initially it looked like some standard spam message but I'm glad i took the time to read it properly. I will blog about it separately as its deserving of a separate post...well that and I'm only on my second day! Happify looks at the science of happiness, that it is a choice we make and something that we should work at. It's been really really interesting so far and the challenges they give you really force you to think about gratitude and what it means to be happy.

How are these all related i hear you ask?! Well, I honestly believe that we all have a path laid out for us, not set in stone but a journey that we are all meant to take. My photography has been one of those journeys and whilst I'm no David Bailey i have to learnt to be confident in my ability but that aside it has bought me moments and memories that i will never lose...that are stored in pictures for years to come. The gift that i gave was the point at which other people could share in those moments.

It's sometimes hard to appreciate what we have, what we are able to do and the things that really matter in life. We all have our paths to take, some of them aren't easy and leave you feeling lost. But happiness is a choice, it is a behaviour and we can all improve at it, starting with simple things like a photo! Whilst it doesn't take away the difficult times it helps you focus on the small things for which we should be grateful but that we can miss so easily!

Nighty night!

When I said I'd realised that I had more than enough photos to upload I really under estimated how many and with spring on its way I'd better get updating sharpish! But Rome wasn't built in a day as they say and so its time for some shut eye! With my rock and roll lifestyle I'm snuggled in bed with a hot water bottle (it is flipping cold), editing some flower pictures hoping they will remind me of warmer times to come...ttfn!

Lunch en Paris

Wow it's been a long day so writing posts about Paris seems the best and most enjoyable way to end it...that being in the absence of a glass of wine!

Which brings me onto my Parisian lunch. Yes i do realise this isn't a food blog (although i did take pictures of some of my food just to prove it did exist!) but it leads me onto the next section of my journey quite well.

Making my way to Notre Dame i came to realise despite it being particularly grand it wasn't that interesting...sorry for all the fans. That and the queue was humongous! So aside from a quick wander i opted for Saint Chapelle instead.

From there i crossed the river to Jardin Du Luxembourg which if I'm being honest i wasn't planning on visiting. BUT in the true French way i took the Laissez Faire attitude and ditched the street map. The result being a tad lost and using the typical female navigation of....i need to head to THAT building over there! I'm glad i did get lost and if i wasn't on a total mission could have spent so much more time there! I'd say it's on the list for next time but my list is growing at an alarming rate so it may the time after next or even beyond!