Photo Tour Day

The much postponed Photo Tour finally happened on Sunday, which worked out well, because it was a gorgeous, sunny day - the best we've had so far.  We met Rebecca, the instructor, and the rest of the group at the Hotel de Louvre at 9:30.  Rebecca was great - an Australian professional photographer in her mid-twenties who has been living in Paris for eight months.  There were three other couples along with us, all with one paying customer and one tag along.  Dave was our paying customer (actually, this was his Christmas present from Annie and Maggie) so I was just along for the ride. 

Rebecca first showed everyone how to turn off auto and use the manual controls on their cameras (all but one had digital SLRs).  She then gave everyone great pointers on composition.  We started in the courtyard of the Louvre, taking very artsy shots of the pyramids and fountains, and then moved into the gardens of the Louvre.  We then crossed the Pont des Artes and took a few shots on the left bank and on the bridge, then came back to take pictures in the courtyard of the Palais Royale.  The tour lasted for three hours and, according to Dave, was very helpful (and a lot of fun).  Check out Dave's blog if you want to see the real artsy fartsy pictures he took (they're pretty impressive).  The pictures below are just the tag along pictures I took (not very impressive).

After the tour, we went back to the apartment for lunch, and then headed out for yet another Paris Walks tour, this time the second part of the Marais walk.  Because of the gorgeous day, the sales, and the fact that the Marais is closed to traffic on Sundays, the streets were mobbed with people.  The tour pretty much took place right in our neighborhood -- a lot of it right on our street- so it was very interesting, but impossible to take pictures because of the crowds.  

After the walk we went to our local market street and bought a roasted chicken and potatoes, a baguette and a bottle of wine and had a delicious dinner.  All in all, a wonderful day.

Louvre pyramid

Professor Artsy Fartsy at work

Rue de Rivoli

Bubble man

Palais Royale park

Place de Vosges