Le Jardin de la Vallée Suisse | Paris Travel

Les jardins des Champs-Élysées.

Our Silver Paris

Welcome to my Paris travel journal,

where I share our experiences of our special journey to Paris.

Please use these posts as a guide for your own travels

to this amazing and wonderful city!

Or simply read, and dream...

Our actual anniversary day, a Wednesday, was turning out beautifully--a little chilly (in the 60s), but the clouds had cleared since we were at the Louvre, and we rested the aching parts of our bodies at le jardin des Tuileries and les jardins des Champs-Élysées.  We were awed by the two palaces, and now we were on the backside of le Grand Palais, about to step into a charming little garden virtually empty of tourists and Parisians alike.

Situated on the corner of cours la Reine and avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt, behind le Grand Palais, this was very much a "secret" garden, green and wonderful.

This little garden is called jardin de la Vallée Suisse, and it is a rocky, watery oasis in the midst of a  bustling city.  I love finding out-of-the-way places that surprise and delight, and this garden did both of those:  stone walkways and little stone arches, bubbling brooks and little waterfalls, leafy bowers and benches waiting for visitors to sit and relax.

We had had a lazy start to our day with a late morning breakfast, so we hadn't been hungry at lunchtime.  It was now 2:30 in the afternoon, and we were still up for wandering (with our walking-tour book as our guide, of course!) before scouting out a restaurant for a late lunch.  This was the perfect place to wander and wonder.  Come wander with me!

Fernando had to stoop to get under this arch.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

P-2012 Week 7 -- 2/12-2/18

Project 2012

Week 7 -- February 12-February 18

1.  Take pictures
2.  Share at least one--and up to seven!
(Click on the graphic above if you're interested in joining us!)

I'm back!  Yes, I've been back for a while.  I mean, I'm back to blogging on a regular basis.  I think I'm back into my routine.  (Let's hope, anyway!)  I'm now just a few days behind, and catching up quickly.


My favorite photos

Just a couple more from the conference...  One of my food images.  I never did get one of these strawberries; for obvious reasons they disappeared very quickly.  :)

[43] Strawberry

One of the many teapots gracing the tea tables.

[44] Tea party accent

A few days later, I was pretty much photographed out.  My sister D convinced me to go on a (very chilly) golf cart ride around the community, and I took my camera for a few shots to prove I did something in Georgia other than shoot a two-day conference!  I usually take two images of every shot, so I decided to play around in post-edit with some color.  I'm fascinated with how color--or the lack thereof--can change an image's mood.

[45] Dock {color}

 [46] Dock {aged look}

If the below were taken in my Chicagoland, you would see rocks without the waterfall, which would be shut down for winter.

 [47] Neighborhood waterfall

Another water scene along the golf cart path.  The houses on the lake were impressive, to say the least.  I saturated the below shot, then went completely black and white for the next one.  I think the B&W one is the better shot with the contrast in dark trees and light sky.  However, the clouds and sky reflect beautifully in the first image.  I like them both.

[48] Lake view {color}

[49] Lake view {black & white}

That's it for this week.  I'm trying to pick up my camera again, but I'm afraid that the next time I post weekly images, I'll have more boring indoor shots of my teacups or something.  At least I'm trying.

Until next time!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

Tooley Pond Road

I love the Midwest!  People are generally straightforward, honest, and hardworking.  I love the change in seasons (praise the Lord for both a/c and heat!).  I do miss the ocean, however.  I grew up in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey just a few miles from the Atlantic.  I haven't been there since I was about 15.  I lived in Norfolk, Virginia for a year when Fernando and I were first married, so I saw the ocean a time or two.  But it has now been 22 years since I've physically been standing at the edge of the Atlantic.  I'll go back pretty soon, I hope.

One thing I don't get much of in the Prairie State is waterfalls.  So our family determined to take the opportunity to search a few out in the Adirondacks.

Tooley Pond Road is about an hour from Lake Bonaparte, just west of Cranberry Lake.  Once we figured out that the trailhead to each waterfall was clearly marked, we took off through the forests in search of some roaring water.

The first waterfalls--Rainbow Falls--were the prettiest to photograph.

A quick snapshot.

With tripod set up and smallest aperture possible.

Same set-up a little farther downriver.  I like this photo best.

OK, a shot from Danny that proves I hiked over rocks in a skirt.  :)

I'm showing you the next photo because it is funny.

It may not look funny.  Several of my "family photos" were taken with the help of a plug-in remote, a ten-second timer, and a 17-year-old who can clamber over boulders and make it back into his spot just in time.  However, when the sun is shining in your eyes, everyone is counting down, Fernando asks, "Is it ready?" and Thomas sneezes moments before the shutter clicks, it is funny.  I don't think I'll choose this one for our Christmas photo.

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

Visit my family blog!
Indeed My Heritage