Corso Vittorio Emanuele II

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I have been to Rome several times, and each time, a new experience surfaces. Depending on the time of the year and the season, Rome either attracts or repel me. In the height of summer, you can literally be smothered with dust and the heavy air with the stifling heat, but in the winter months, the city can be serene and grand. Actually it is always grand. Like a living museum, the city and the Romans who live here provides a visual entertainment, full of historicities, stylish fashion and the typical reserved warmth of Italians. Rome of course is a city steeped in history, and a crossroads of peoples from all over, a meeting point and a cultural mishmash. Not least, due to the fact that Vatican City, the seat of the Catholic Church welcomes millions of pilgrims from all over the globe throughout year, especially in the warmer months.

Bistro

L9996680Villiers Street, WC2

Walking home to catch the underground at Embankment and the interior light of this bistro caught my attention because of it’s warm and cosy hue. I noticed the waitress in a white blouse and black skirt, the traditional French outfit, clearing a table and managed to capture three shots of her.  Two were blurred due to the slow shutter speed, and this was the sharpest.

La Madeleine

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Our Lady of Lourdes chapel, La Madeleine, Paris

A brief visit to Paris this week brought me to the Madeleine district in Paris in search of parking space. After dropping by at Galerie-T in Cadet to see the Tokyo-Ga Imaginary Bookstore set up,  I had intended to visit the Gary Winogrand exhibition at the Jeu de Paume at Concorde, but having got there, I found a long queue which I had not planned sufficient time to stay lodged at. Disappointed, on the way back to the underground garage, I popped into the imposing neo-classical La Madeleine church, at the end of Rue Faubourg St Honore.