Paris Perfect

I feel fortunate enough to be able to say I have been to Paris more times than I can count and have navigated accommodations from hotels high and low, staying with friends and renting private apartments.

If you are planning a trip to Paris looking at hundreds of apartment rentals on AirBnB can be overwhelming and time consuming. You also never know if it’s really going to look like the pictures or even who to expect will greet you. I’ve had great experiences that way and horrible ones. This time in Paris I used Paris Perfect, a short term vacation home rental site. It’s curated to a standard quality with properties that have historical relevance to Paris and perfect locations married to modern day comforts (wifi, obviously). I say wifi obviously because I stayed in an AirBnB once that the owner hadn’t paid his internet bill and I had to track him down and ask him to do that so I could get online and work! They have an English speaking office in Paris available for you 7 days a week should anything occur. Check in was great and flexible and the apartment came with an amazing guide to the area from restaurants to museums to just cool streets to walk down. But really… it was all about experiencing that bourgeois view of the Eiffel Tower from bed. 

Other things to know – the company has been around for 20 years, each property listed has gone through a vetting process to makes sure it’s Paris Perfect standards, and they offer gourmet add ons like a private chef to come cook in the apartment, cooking lessons, and food tours of Paris. And, since Americans sometimes don’t realize this is a thing in France, the apartments they list come with air conditioning and elevator service, two things which are actually rare in private residences. I have stayed in a 6th floor Parisian walk-up without A/C in summer… it was very “authentic”.

Here are some photos from our stay… 

Paris in the Fall

Another autumn has come and gone, another year of memories with fleeting snapshots from Paris to add to my archive. I love Paris in the fall, the dynamic sky, the ease of getting lost in the day just wondering and watching, and the romantic nights when she beings to sparkle like no other. With each passing year I always reset my eyes on this city of photographic love.

“There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.”

― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Part II: Paris

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy.

Paris is so much to me…a constant source of inspiration, of light study, and beauty. When we stepped off the train from London at Gare de Nord, the smell hit me, that same familiar Parisian smell of coffee and cigarettes, and dusty old books in a garden of roses. The hotel, so quaint, with the Eiffel Tower framed between the walls of the street. We sat in cafes and drank wine, watching the people go about their day, their loves, their minds lost in their own thought. I wonder what they are thinking and have I thought that same thing before? We climbed the stairs of Sacre Coeur, danced with the states at the Louvre, and watched the sunset on Pont Neuf. On a poetic day we found ourselves on a train to Normandy, on a walk through the beaches of Omaha in silence, imagining the horror of war, looking up at the fate of too many. I always love Paris – it’s never goodbye but only I’ll see you soon…. and soon I did.

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy.

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy.

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. Continue reading “Part II: Paris”

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Breast Cancer Awareness

Today is the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness month and in support of all people affected by this disease, I illuminated the Eiffel Tower pink. The Breast Cancer Awareness’ illumination campaign lights over 200 prominent global landmarks pink as symbols of hope and empowerment. The Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign’s virtual map on Facebook allows you to turn your part of the world pink by writing a message of hope. I wrote my own message of hope and encourage you to do the same today.

To learn more about the @BCAcampaign go to http://www.bcacampaign.com/

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It is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I am so honored to be making a cinemagraph to “shine a light” somewhere around the world as a part of the awareness campaign. In my own family this year we learned the importance of early detection and how it can save our loved ones which we would be devastated to lose, so as an artist this project is particularly meaningful to express and share.

Please join me in the process by voting on where in the world I should go and illuminate a cinemagraph! You vote means a lot to me… and don’t let the above picture persuade your vote… hint hint… cough cough…. 

VOTE on Facebook here & thanks y’all for the support

http://www.facebook.com/questions/278741792156355/?qa_ref=ssp