In this special photo essay, we are not featuring photos from and around Vancouver as usually, but we wanted to share some of the photos we brought back from our lovely holiday in France with you. These snapshots were taken during the many relaxing walks down the narrow streets full of old quaint cottage-style homes within the Butte aux Calles neighborhood of Place d'Italie in Paris' south-east 13th arrondisement. Curiously, some of these homes in Paris strongly reminded me of the architecture back home in Vancouver. Have a look yourself!
Place d'Italie
This part of the city looks very much like homes found in Vancouver's Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighborhood. Not only in their appearance but that Place d'Italie is also a very ethnically diverse area.
Do you see the resemblance to Vancouver Eastside?
Strolling down this Paris street I couldn't help thinking of the many attractive places to visit in Vancouver Eastside along and around Victoria Street in the Commercial Drive area. Narrow and quaint streets that are so close to the heart of both city's Downtown.
One of the Quiet Side Streets in Paris
The Charming Properties on Villa Daviel
The charming properties on Villa Daviel in Paris' 13th arrondisement are redolent of the quaint homes on the Fairview Slopes neighborhood of Vancouver Westside.
The Eiffel Tower at Night
I took the photo of the Eiffel Tower from the elevated vantage point of the Jardins du Trocadero providing the best view of this iconic structure. Trying to think what would be an equally recognizable structure in Vancouver, I came up with the illuminated Lions Gate Bridge spanning the First Narrows between the world famous Stanley Park and the North Shore communities of West Vancouver and North Vancouver. You get great views of this iconic structure from Downtown Vancouver or Grouse Mountain. I invite you to do so sometime.
Lions Gate Bridge by Kris Krug
Our lovely Paris holiday featured a great second visit to the Musee D'Orsay. The former train station, Gare D'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts structure with its characteristically large arched windows that houses the biggest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world.
Musee D'Orsay in Paris
The first Vancouver connection turns out to be the pleasant surprise of meeting our dear friends Bill and Nikki while walking the rooms containing the likes of Renoir and Monet. The other Vancouver connection is the restored Beaux-Arts architecture of the old CPR railway station which is now Waterfront Station, the nexus of the Skytrain, Canada Line and Seabus. Here are the photos of these famous Vancouver landmarks for comparing with the beautiful Beaux-Arts architecture of Gare D'Orsay.
