The Life in My Years

Banner photo: Fort la Latte, Plévenon, Côtes-d’Armor.

An American’s observations of a first time trip to France.

Color directly influences the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings.” ~ Wassily Kandinsky, Concerning the Spiritual in Art.

Whether it’s a market stall, or a vast garden surrounding a chateau, or a just a bike parked in front of a bright building, France is a gala of colors.

It was our usual ritual. After getting up early and having cookies and a quick cup of coffee, I was out the door while Cora slept in. I took the metro to the historic 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris.

Just browsing.

When it comes to capturing a good color photograph produce markets are always

low hanging fruit.

Rue du Trésor is a little dead end alley. Looking down the the little street I saw lush greenery and a bright pink building. Sometimes it’s a blue and yellow bike and a bright pink building that catches your eye,

and sometimes it’s random street art in miniature seen in the old Jewish District.

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We booked a tour of the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, which is still in restoration. At the end of the tour we were given unlimited time to walk around the interior. Sometimes it’s the inconspicuous that catches the eye. Like the colored columns I found in one of the chapels.

Or the sunlight filtered through stained glass that dappled one of the frescoes.

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A five minute walk from Notre Dame brought us to Le Marché aux Fleurs de Paris (the flower market), which wasn’t super busy but was still super colorful.

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It was gray, drizzly and windy in Normandy but once we crossed into Brittany the rain retired and we were blessed with sunny weather

and

on occasion, some magnificent clouds over the pink granite coast.

Below, the Ploumanac’h Lighthouse peeks over the pink granite of the Côte de Granit Rose.

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One day trip by car to us to the 16th century village of Locronan.

Inside the old church, the tomb of Saint Ronan was painted by sunlight colored by the stained glass windows.

Throughout Brittany we saw flame red hydrangea. This plant was growing outside of an old stone house in Locronan.

Our road trip took us to the village of Pont-Aven

and once we crossed into the Loire Valley, the quiet little village of Crissay sur Manse, which dates back to the 16th century, but on one quiet lane sports some modern street art.

While headquartered in Tours in the Loire Valley, we took a day trip to Chateau de Villandry to view it’s magnificent gardens.