Art du jour

This morning, we went to see the Dora Maar (Dora Markovitch) exhibition at the Centre Pompidou.  She was an accomplished photographer who became Picasso's muse.  Later in her career she worked in oils and other media, in addition to photography.

Here is a portrait of Dora Maar by Marianne Clouzot.

(1927)

Here is some of her photography.

(1935)

(1936)

(1936)

Here are her portraits of Picasso.

(1936)

Here are Piscasso's portraits of Dora Maar.

(1939)

(1937)

Here is a photo of her in her Paris studio with some of her oil paintings.

(1944)

Sights along the river

This morning, we seized the opportunity to go cycling along the Seine.  Today was largely sunny, after a day of rain, and ahead of another forecast rainy day.

There are many grand buildings along the Seine, and many lovely bridges as well.  Here are a few of the sights we saw today.

Grand buildings:

Concierge on Ile de Cite

Part of the Louvre

 

 

 

 

 

Fancy bridges:

Pont Alexandre III and Grand Palais

Pont Alexandre III

Pont Notre Dame

Busy river:

The Mur de la Paix monument, the point where we turned around and headed back.

Wall for Peace monument in Parc du Champ de Mars

Walking around the Marais

After leaving a very sunny and warm Provence, our train arrived in a rainy and cool Paris.

This afternoon, Bori opted to get his hair cut at a place around the corner from our hotel.  So I left him there and walked around the neighborhood for about 30 minutes.  During that 30 minutes I encountered:

A huge library: Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville of Paris.

The Musee Picasso Paris.

Musee des Archives Nationales.

And a 18th century monastery.

Adieu to Arles

We are packing up to take the train to Paris tomorrow, so I'm leaving you with a panorama of the Arles arena.

Another day cycling

This morning, we hoped to rent bikes in le Grau du Roi.  Only one problem, the bike shop didn't open.  So we drove to Aigues Mortes, and rented bikes there.

Normally we ride from le Grau du Roi to Aigues Mortes, then back to the coast and on to Le Grande Motte.  Today we rode the opposite direction but hit most of the same spots, and one new stretch: part of the bike path along the canal du Rhone a Sete.

Here are some of the contrasting views from today.

Le Grande Motte:

The Mediterranean view from our cafe

The marina at Le Grande Motte

The view of Le Grande Motte from the jetty

The canal du Rhone a Sete:

Looking south towards the walled city, its tower is visible in upper right

River boats

River boats

Walking around the old city

Today we parked next to the Rhone, and walked along the river for a while, then walked into the old city.  It was a nice temperature to be walking around, and not much wind.

Street views are always interesting.  Guided walking tours stream through here.  Today's biggest group was a Chinese tour from one of the river cruises.

Among all the old buildings, I found 3 church steeples.

The Roman arena.

And the gates to the old city.

Sunny day at the market

This morning's weather was sunny and warm, and the market was bustling with activity.  Shorts, short sleeves, and sandals were abundant.  It felt like summer.

Here are a few scenes from today's market, mostly in the non-food section. Car traffic is replaced by pedestrians along the main road for Saturday market.

Today's live music.

And here is one of my favorite photos taken at the market this year.  A sweet portrait of a little pig.

Last visit of the season

Today we headed down to les Saintes Maries de la Mer for the last time this year.  We rented bikes and rode along the edge of the etang (lagoon), along marsh land, and fields of taureaus (bulls) and chevals blancs (white horses).

Bulls are an important part of the culture here, and their images are everywhere.  Here are two statues that are next to the arena.

Here are two views of one street in town.

And the beach.