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These shots are from our eleventh day in Europe (Thursday/Juedi, November 1)…All Saints Day. We spent the holiday with throngs of Parisians…walking from the Gare de Lyon through the Marais and along the Seine. Dawn to dusk.

At dusk, we reached the Musée d’Orsay…one of our perennial favorites. Naturally, we snapped a few rhino butt photos…but this time with a nighttime twist…our birthday present to good ol’ Matt.

At the Place de la Concorde, we rode La Grande Roue de Paris.

We finished the day with an evening stroll along the Seine…the quay is dotted with musicians, artists, and lovers. All in an evening in Paris.

The holiday photo show was another wonderful success. Opening night was fantastic. Room 106 had never looked so open and inviting. The walls were jam-packed with new art…nine styles from nine artists…everyone with a different view of the world…slightly askew 🙂 So many friends dropped by to wish us well and share a glass (er…cup) of wine. We celebrated the day with a scrumptious dinner at the Presidio Social Club…Mahesh, Judi, and Chris joined Jeff and me…my oxtail stroganoff was rich, and my warm chocolate cupcakes were amazing.

On Saturday, Ft. Mason was bustling with art buyers, tree shoppers, and brunch goers. A strong wind on the Bay brought out a gazillion sailboats. The sounds of lapping waters mingled with the squawks of seagulls.

OK…this post took a while, because there were just sooooo many pictures to wade through. I’m not sure I did a good job of filtering…I love them all 🙂 These shots are from our tenth day in Europe (Wednesday/Mercredi, October 31)…it was a really long day…a great day…my birthday. The original blog notes are HERE.

We awoke to our first morning in Paris…a brilliantly sunny morning. These shots are from our apartment on the Seine, and our walk to the train.

We spent the majority of the day at Versailles. One of the most prominent features of the grounds at Versailles is the placid Grand Canal.

Another hugely popular area is Le Domaine de Marie Antoinette, with its idyllic hamlet, small farm, and Temple of Love.

We toured the Grand Tianon…

…and the Petit Trianon…

In between, we wandered the majestic gardens, past elaborate fountains, and hidden whimsy. The entire day was lit by warm sun with a sky laced with delicate clouds. In the late afternoon, some of the large fountains were running.

Being late fall, most of the statues were wrapped up tight in preparations for winter. I snapped dozens of shots like these…because they amused me 🙂

We returned to Paris for a birthday dinner on the Ile Saint Louis.

With patience and some help from Jeff, I finished up my images for the Ft. Mason Holiday photo show tomorrow night. I always have a little bit to do, but this year seemed more hectic than normal. (Frankly, every time I frame my own work, I remember why framing stores are in business…and swear “never again, never again” 🙂

Anyhow, the work is done. This will be my 13th or 14th show? The work is a variety of images that I have never shown before, although attentive readers will recognize these images from various graffiti posts…and a couple of recent Amsterdam shots.

I’ve reposted the series as a set here.

Elmo Shropshire–the guy who wrote and sang "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer"–lives right here in the Bay Area.

Talk about useless dinnertime trivia!