On a Break

Versailles Kitty, 2006

I'm working on something new for the web and taking a break from Living Vicuriously. Just living curiously for the moment.

Zen Monday: #124

photo by Katie Murphy

It's Zen Monday, the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box until the end of the day to avoid influencing the discussion, unless you people get totally out of control. So far that hasn't happened but there's a first time for everything.

There's no right or wrong, we're here to have fun.

You may notice we have a guest photographer today. A warm round of applause, please, for Katie Murphy!

French Filling

Some people make it a point to get to Paris every year. In the absence of that possibility, I make it a point to get to Nicole's Gourmet Market & Cafe in South Pasadena whenever I want a taste of France.

Now, before anyone outs me, I'll admit I practically starved in Paris. I didn't know how to order what I wanted. It's scandalous to say so, but I'm not crazy about a lot of French foods. (I once told this to a foodie friend and it made her cry.)

But I can handle French bread—lots of it. I love macarons, too. In fact, just about any French pastry will be fine, merci beaucoup. And you won't hear me complain about French chocolate.

Nicole's has all these things, plus sandwiches and coffee, and a little French grocery, too. Though it's a bit too far from the Louvre to be perfect, I've never left there hungry.

Parc San Marino

Virginia Jones has two (count 'em, two) daily photo blogs: Birmingham, Alabama Daily Photo, where she posts explorations of her home town, and Paris Through My Lens, where she posts her photographic visions of Paris, a town she and I have both dreamed of living in.

I think Virginia and I both love our home towns or we wouldn't blog about them every day. But we like to dream about Paris. I've never met anyone who's been there who didn't yearn to go back, even if they've been there many times.

Virginia's been there many more times than I have, and she's taken lots of pictures. Her photo of the gate at Paris' Parc Monceau inspired me to post a picture of this often-overlooked gate at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino. Karin Bugge also posted a photo of this gate in one of my favorite Altadena Hiker posts. All three of us managed to photograph our gates under moody skies. Maybe we're all daydreamers.

My vision of living in Paris involves exploring the ancient streets, gardens and history until I've discovered every inch of the city. This fantasy includes having unlimited funds despite not having a job. I imagine one reason Paris seems so dreamy to those of us who've visited as tourists is precisely because we're on vacation and we're allowing ourselves the leisure to explore.

I'm lucky: blogging about Pasadena gives me not only the opportunity but the motivation to explore Pasadena, and to find hidden treasures like this gate. Next time you're at the Huntington, seek it out.