October thoughts on a Paris summer

Since the cold and wet are upon us, and for no other reason, I have been playing with images from this summer one last time  

- these from Paris in June -

as a farewell to the season before I embrace the autumn, as I've been asked to do by kind and persuasive Marsha for an international blog posting (see here).

But why surrender just yet to the closing in of darkness on gloomy London days when you could be dreaming of Paris in the summer ... nursing a petit noir on a sunny pavement of a morning while watching the passers by ...

... moving on to a little kir or pastis at lunchtime, and a chilled Sancerre for the evening apero ... voilà, your chairs are ready and lined up for the entertainment of watching the passing parade

oh to be a flâneur in Paris ... Susan Sontag's 'voyeuristic stroller'. Though oops, this one below has crept in from Berlin - I just loved the range of intent expressions, of watchers and watched ...

You can see and be seen by beautiful people at Chez Julien on the bank of the Seine 

or take a bottle down to the river bank and stretch out on sun-warmed stone

(Vanessa Paradis can help you get the mood, though her sweet little ditty gets a bit repetitive, be warned)

	Vanessa Paradis La seine.mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

On a quiet pedestrian bridge closed to traffic 

there's an accordionist on hand with saccharine music for lovers

a magician's dogs patiently wait their turn to entertain

and Notre Dame glows in late evening sunshine

I'll get to welcoming the autumn, just give me a moment longer ...