There is a chain of flower shops in Paris called au Nom de la Rose which only sells roses. They do a beautiful job of displaying their floral arrangements in front of the shops.

I always want to buy at least one of their arrangements. Such great color.

There are, of course, sculptured flowers on buildings like those you would find on a cake out of icing.

And these.

I think one of the most beautiful places in Paris in the Fall is the Luxembourg Gardens. The Tuleries Gardens always seem too large, spread out and bare with those large expanses of crushed gravel while the Luxembourg Gardens have more trees and grass (even if you can’t get on it) and is enclosed in a smaller space. Because there are crisp leaves underfoot, trees overhead, some with colored leaves, and wonderful pots of mums it is always especially lovely.

There is a copy of the Statue of Liberty there, not quite as large as the one in NYC.

There was a man there with this fantastic model ship. I think it could float but didn’t stay around long enough to see it launched.

The spectacular Medici Fountain in the gardens with a pot of mums.

There are these great wreaths of ivy along the fountain.

I love reflections in smooth water, especially when the light is good.

I am always on the lookout for the colors of Autumn. As the days start getting shorter and night is falling too soon, it is something that warms my heart when I get a glimpse of red or yellow.

Sometimes the color is spread out along a wall.

Sometimes it is yellow leaves scattered across a bench shaped from books.

Or it could be a casade of red leaves falling down a door.

Sometimes color can be found at your feet.

Another little mix of some things which caught my eye on a sunny cool day in Paris.

I was with a lady the other day in Paris who was crazy about iron decorations so everywhere we went we looked for it-and found a lot.

A woman happilly feeding the birds.

“Would someone please get these pigeons off of me?”

I think this is such a great shape. It’s a light near Palais Royal, an area where I am often hanging out with my camera.

Even though Autumn officially arrived some time ago, I didn’t see too many traces of it in Provence. Some trees had started to turn yellow and there were tinges of gold and rust in the vineyards but the countryside in Provence is full of evergreen trees and Oak trees which aren’t known for their foliage. I was often reduced to a slow speed in my car when I came upon a tractor pulling a wagon full of grapes heading towards the Co Op so the vendage was underway.

It’s hard to beat a field of pumpkins to get that autumn feel. Actually, these aren’t the American variety of pumpkins but they taste the same to me. I loved how they were lined up in the field.

Two more views.

The vibrant color of some pyracantha in my yard.

Another plant in my yard which always turns such a great red.

And finally, speaking of red, a cropped photo (I’m trying to hide my hair before my haircut done several days later. Mary’s hair looked really great) taken in Lourmarin where I got to meet the delightful Mary whom I had only known from her blog: link She is as nice in person as you would think from visiting her blog. Now if I could only get her to decorate my home.

Behind the Louvre Museum, heading over to the Left Bank is the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge spanning the Seine. It is always lively and you never know what you will see there. You might see impromtu parties, guitar players or singers. and sometimes some art work on display.

These two dapper gentlemen were there this day being filmed by someone, just strolling along with all of the tourists with their cameras taking photos of them who would also be in the shots of them.

From the middle of the bridge you can see Ile de la Cite, the island where Notre Dame is located.

A look in the other direction with the Orsay Museum down a way on the left.

A housboat tied up on the Seine right below the bridge. Wouldn’t you like to try this?