We took a late November/early December trip to Paris & Venice with my husband and his parents for their birthdays. Any time in Paris is worth photographing, but because of the grey weather in the temperate zone I was not sure what to do with the photos. I had been to Paris several times and felt I had already photographed everything in better light and warmer weather. Late November can be a challenge because it is not quite winter but everything is dead. Christmas decorations are put up sporadically in Europe as they don’t follow our retail calendar but instead follow the advent calendar. I ended up choosing black and white to make the color issue moot and lend a feeling of timelessness to the photos. It seems to have worked, as you can’t tell whether they were taken now or in the 1940’s – or maybe the 1890’s in some cases. They are now my favorite photos of Paris which I’ve taken. I’ve included a few of Venice as well.
What is funny is that if you go to Europe enough, you will eventually see your favorite building without scaffolding, as who hasn’t had the experience of spending a small fortune on travel and then walking up to the universal icon you’ve always dreamt of visiting only to find it hidden beneath steel. Last time I saw the Château de Chenonceau and the Rialto Bridge, both were hidden by scaffolding. Now it was removed (and quickly put on other famous icons like the nearby Château d’Azay-le-Rideau to stay for several years). I am not complaining, these are ancient treasures. I’m glad the countries of Europe work so hard at restoration. We love the results.
