Paris in the Wintertime....

Paris in the wintertime can be spectacular with the cold bright nights and the lovely sparkly lights. Look how well all the monuments are lit up for our sightseeing delight....

I was there recently with a group of students attending a Model United Nations Conference - Here we all are in front of the Arc de Triomphe. Happy New Year to everyone and best wishes for 2012......

Shadow Shot Sunday 134 - Cap D'Ail

In a few days' time, I will be heading back home to Cap D'Ail on the French Riviera after spending Christmas and New Year at my other home in London. Hopefully sunshine and blue skies will be greeting me on my return.....

Here are some shadow shots from the coastal path outside my apartment which runs from Cap D'Ail to Monaco. These were taken in mid December, so it is easy to see why people started to winter here during the Belle Epoque era....

For more shadow shots from around the world, click here for the new Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 133 - Compton Verney

Here are some nostalgic summer shots from last August when I was in England visiting Warwickshire. Not very seasonal I know but the glorious countryside makes for some gorgeous shadow shots for sure. Merry Christmas to all shadow shotters everywhere!

For more shadow shots from around the world click here. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas Everyone From Nice.....

Merry Christmas everyone from a bright and festive Nice.....

Shadow Shot Sunday 132 - Antibes

Here are a collection of decorative doorknobs and window widgets casting their fine shadows in Antibes and Cagnes-Sur-Mer on the French Riviera...

This post is for Tracey in Brisbane who has hosted Shadow Shot Sunday so wonderfully well for the past three years - her hosting will be sorely missed...

Fortunately the reins are being passed on so the meme will fortunately continue....check out the other shadow shots this week by clicking here. Enjoy!!

Asian Arts Museum - Nice

The Asian Arts Museum in Nice is well worth a visit, not least because of its scenic setting on the lake. The interior displays range from India to China, Cambodia to Japan, and Thailand to South Korea. The works of art are beautifully displayed in a cool, white interior...

I visited on a lovely Autumn day and the rich colours of the foliage in the surrounding parkland really enhanced the beauty of the Museum and its exhibits....

The Museum also hosts a varied programme of temporary exhibitions, and on the day I visited, there was this charming display of Indian village folk art called Mithla....

The Museum is located out near the airport in Parc Phoenix which also has a whole array of other attractions of particular appeal to children. The number 10 bus connects to central Nice. Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 131 - Cap D'Ail

We have had some wonderfully bright and sunny days here in December on the Riviera, so the shadows are still stark and strong...

Walking the coastal path between Cap D'Ail and Monaco at this time of year is particularly pleasing especially when you come across these colourful kayaks pulled up on the beach at Plage Marquet close to the Monaco border...

I really like the combination of colours, shapes, patterns, and textures....

The beaches in winter are still so appealing for a brisk walk - here are the contrasting blues of the rest of Plage Marquet with the high rises of Monaco in the distance...

For more shadow shots from around the world click here for Tracey's weekly meme Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!!

Musee Cocteau - Menton

This is the newest Museum on the block, located in Menton on the French Riviera, east of Monaco. This gallery only opened its doors on November 6th a month ago, and houses the full range of works by artist Jean Cocteau who is perhaps best known for his writings - La Machine Infernale and Les Enfants Terrible........

The tour starts at the Fort by the sea which still houses paintings, ceramics, and mosaics, and then moves to this stunning new gallery further along the promenade. The contrasting contemporary architecture of the new museum is quite striking in close up.....

In addition to writing dramas and novels, Cocteau was prolific in the visual arts of painting, film making, poster design, illustration, ceramics, murals, and mosaics. Rumour has it that he completely decorated a friend's house on the Riviera with large interior murals in her absence - when she returned she was not impressed, but his work still seems to me striking in its range, variety, and visual impact.....

Outside the old fort you can find these charming mosaic murals.....

....And outside the new Museum is this gigantic lizard mural - complete with a young unicyclist enjoying tracing the lines of the lizard....

Menton is easily reached by the number 100 bus from Nice or by train, and the town itself has many additional attractions to explore. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 130 - St Paul de Vence

Another splendid shadowy Autumnal scene in the heart of the medieval village of St Paul de Vence. What is this space awaiting so patiently??

A hearty afternoon game of Boules of course.....and here is more Boules being played outside a cafe on the coastal path in Cap D'Ail complete with pumpkins and Autumn foliage...

I am so enjoying this season which I haven't witnessed for over six years. For more shadow shots from around the world click here for Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!

Musee Picasso - Antibes

The Musee Picasso is housed in the imposing Grimaldi Palace where the artist was given a studio when he returned to Antibes in 1946 after leaving wartime Paris. He spent his later life here infusing his work with Mediterranean light and joy.....

The seaviews from the Palace terraces are quite spectacular and must have been so inspiring for an artist. So many of the great French artists gravitated towards Provence and the Riviera to paint this light and colour.......

The Museum displays a wide range of Picasso's work from paintings, to sculpture, and ceramics...

The variety of ceramics is a particular highlight of the collection, and I really like these plates decorated with a range of faces and expressions....

One particular joyous work entitled "La Joie de Vivre" (1946), painted shortly after his arrival, depicts a lively mythological scene with the artist as the flute-playing centaur and Francoise Gilot as the dancing Maenad surrounded by leaping fauns and satyrs...

I am gradually working my way round all the galleries and museums on the Riviera as just so many artists were here. The Musee Picasso is well worth a visit (closed Tuesdays) as is the rest of Antibes. More on Antibes in a later post. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 129 - St Paul de Vence

The Riviera is ablaze with Autumn colours at present, so here is a Shadow Shot featuring an Autumnal theme......

To see more shadow shots from around the world, click here for Tracey's weekly meme from Brisbane, Australia. Enjoy!

Musee Renoir - Cagnes-Sur-Mer

I visited the Musee Renoir in Cagnes-Sur-Mer on a gloriously sunny Autumn Day with bright blue skies and Fall foliage making it quite clear why an artist would choose this place to live and paint....

Renoir spent the final years of his life here, and inside the house you can view twelve of his original paintings on display, as well his studio complete with the wheel chair from which he painted...

For me the interior of the house was of mild interest compared to the beautiful garden setting with rolling vistas across to the medieval village of Haut Cagnes-Sur-Mer. The gardens are full of palm trees, orange trees, and mature olive trees which in Autumn were just stunningly beautiful...

Musee Renoir is located in the town of Cagnes-Sur-Mer easily reached by train or bus from Nice (Number 200, 400 or 500) The museum is open daily from 10am -6pm except Tuesdays (and beware it is also closed from 12-2pm).