Annecy - Please Let Me Come Back!

Errgggghhhhh.....I did a million and one things last week as soon as I got back to L.A.

And I have a million chores and "must dos" waiting again.  I so do not want to even think about them ...................

I am missing Annecy and her sweet Savoyarde charms.  Can't believe I was there on the lake

exactly three weeks ago.  (The weeks fly so fast, no?)

Strolling these beautiful story book streets, soaking up their colors.

They call Annecy the Venice of the Alps.  My Italian relatives came from just over the mountains and they spoke a Franco-Italian dialect which may just have been Arpitan, the old language of Annecy.

Maybe that's why I felt so at home.

Or maybe it's just the cozy relaxed vibe in Annecy.

And the cheeses bigger than my head.

Or the brioches bigger than my body.

You can get sandwiches that look like this in Paris, NY, or L.A. nowadays that's the good news.

But they don't have the whoosh of fresh mountain air still clinging to them.

And I haven't even seen roasted mussels for sale - not even - at the San Francisco farmers' markets lately.

I didn't have enough time to savor views like this.  And drink in the limpid reflections from the clear mountain water.  I know it's snowy-ish and cold there....sooner than later.

 But I want to go back.  I do I do.

Holiday Highlights for a Happy Weekend

Something magical happened to the Paradis Family two weeks ago.

(Annecy, France)

It started two days before departure, when we learned, that accommodations we had booked and paid for in March for the Berner Oberland (Switzerland) were not actually going to be available!!!!!  

There was a little bit of drama, I have to admit. 

(Countryside just south of Annecy)

But sometimes, other things are just meant to be.

(a village "fleurit" called Chapeiry)

Like a lovely gite, and the French countryside just 40 minutes south of Geneva.  It was HEAVEN.  (Since this post is about highlights,  I will tell you more about it later.)

Our blissful week in the Haute Savoie was way way too short.and we were obliged to move swiftly on to London via Wagamama at Heathrow, Terminal 5.  (A too quick change of gears........no kidding!)

(Who needs Duty-Free shopping or airplane food and inflight dehydration?  I get my healthy comfort food pre-boarding and by the time they're handing out scones and clotted cream an hour before landing I'm not feeling stuffy and gross, but rather 100% ready to indulge!)

(Comptoir Libanais - conquering London these days)

It was all about a Jolly Olde visit with Mr. Paradis' family - an obligation I am rarely unhappy about.  (Well mostly never!)  

(The Cloth House, London)

London is an ever-changing delight.  Inside......

(Osterley Park, West London)

and always, (changing not-so-much in the best ways):  OUT.

More soon. 

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Peak Life Experience - Paysage Paradis

I had to get away.

I did.

And it was WONDERFUL!  (L'Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc, France)

more soon......................

Space Exploration

These pics are from my summertime

Tumblr trawling.

Sorry to all, no attributions here again.

It goes without saying I wouldn't post them if they weren't

wonderful pictures.  I'm happy to credit any photographer

who wants to come claim their photos.

These are spaces I'd love to invade.  You?

There's a Pattern Here.......

at Passage Paradis.......

of not posting pics like this

for quite some time!

Have you missed them?

I

certainly have.

Delicious repetitions!

(Most of these pics come from "The Poetry of Material Things" and "Rhubarb in the Garden")

Latest Blog Discovery - My Attic

You know how I love color.

"Color" should be my middle name I think, sometimes.

Have I mentioned my love of pattern also?  (I think I might have.)

and the natural world?

Miniatures and paper-and-cardboard?

Cooking?

Gardening?

Art?

Yve Klein blue?

So how could I not adore "My Attic"?  (All pics via My Attic.)  You might too.

Tumblr Goodies

For the end of the first week of September 2014......some all- around-the web takings
(Sorry I did not keep track of the sources for many of these.  Come claim them?)

a flowery

farewell to summer.

Anybody have a summer that looked anything like any of these pictures?

If yes, lucky lucky you.

(le bord dore des nuages coucou Beatrice!)

For the rest of us

we can dream.

(Newfoundland, Anthony Lanzilote for the New York Times)

 Escaping into someone else's world can be pretty low-impact.

  It sometimes suits me down to the ground.

Have a lovely weekend!