Eiffel Tower | The Daily Norm

Feb 17

February in Paris – Part 1: Sunset in the Tuileries

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles – so sang Ella Fitzgerald in a song with which many a Paris-lover can identify. For Paris is truly a city for every season, even in the wintery rain. And it was precisely because our weekend in Paris was destined to be a wet one (according to some forecasts at any rate) that upon our sunny but late arrival there at the end of last week, we thought we had better rush out and take what photos we could while the city remained dry. With a mere hour to go until sundown, this meant photographing what we came upon first, and for us in a lucky location staying alongside the Palais Royal, our pre-sundown photographs were taken in perhaps one of the most beautiful of Paris sites – the Tuileries and around the Louvre.

In the yellowing light of a dying day, the carefully manicured hedges of the Tuileries melt into the distance behind the subtly glinting statues which stand all around the gardens. Behind it all, the imposing palatial magnitude of the Louvre complex dazzles with its sheer magnificence and complexity, a scale which is seconded only by the equally majestic buildings which extend the full length of the Tuileries running alongside the glamorous Rue de Rivoli.

The Tuileries are not only beautiful in themselves, even in the winter when their leaves are much depleted, but they also provide for the perfect place in which to study the perfect vistas of Paris, whether it be the masterfully crafted symmetrical view down the across the Place de la Concorde all the way down the Champs Élysées and along to La Defence, or the ever omnipotent site of the Eiffel Tower silhouetted against the sky. For this reason there could be no better place from which to start our most recent reconnaissance with the city, nor indeed this Daily Norm photographic tribute.

: The ultimate Paris shot

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Feb 14

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Valentine’s in Paris – Normy pops the ultimate question

It’s every Norm-girl’s dream. Whisked to Paris by her hunky Norm lover, taken to exhibitions, to restaurants, having his arm wrapped around her on evening strolls along the Seine, taking rides on carousels and sipping coffee outside packed bohemian cafes. All this Normette has experienced in the last few days of her Valentine’s trip to Paris, but she could never have imagined just how special this trip could get.

Normy had it all planned. The date was Valentine’s, festival of love, and the location was of course the Tour Eiffel. Wrapped up warm to face the February cold, Normy whisked Normette up the express lift to the third and highest floor of the tower, where spectacular views of Paris awaited. And then, just as the skies were beginning to dull and descend into a rosy pink, and the lights of Paris beneath began to sparkle like a carpet of diamonds, Normy genuflected forwards (Norms don’t have knees you see), took Normette’s single cold hand in his, and asked her to do him the greatest honour of all things, and agree to be his Norm-wife!

Normy and Normette: engaged on the Eiffel Tower (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

As if the cold hadn’t made her eyes water enough, Normette reacted with flowing tears of unabashed joy. Her heart beating asunder and her smooth gelatinous skin feeling suddenly goose-pimpled all over, Normette answered almost instantaneously: “Yes! Yes! Yes!!”. At that moment fireworks appeared to explode all around them (or perhaps that was just in their heads) as the significance of the moment manifested into a chorus of cheering exultation – Normy and Normette had got engaged!!

What happier story can there be for this Valentine’s day than the tale of two beloved Norms, united at last, despite turbulence and strife over Christmas, and facing the joys of a united life ahead. I leave you with a view of the moment of their engagement, and heartfelt Valentine’s wishes from all the Norms, and from me.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Valentine’s in Paris – Normy love upon Dali’s Mae West Lips (daily-norm.com)
On the Twelfth day of Christmas, my Normy gave to me… (daily-norm.com)
Valentine’s kiss for equal marriage (daily-norm.com)
Norms do… Hopper’s Nighthawks (daily-norm.com)

Nov 27

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Sunday Supplement: Le Paris Formidable

Ahhh as this blog goes to print, I am breathing the air of Paris, the most beautiful city in the world. Paris has no substitute for me. It is the ultimate jewel in the crown of global cultural offerings, every corner of the city exudes architectural magnificence, the Haussmann boulevards are so perfectly laid out that down each road your eyes feast upon one stunning postcard view after another, as the Tour Eiffel, the Arc de Triomphe, the river, the Opera Garnier all come into view. On the streets, the air is crisp and wintery but across the breeze the scent of a magnificent city in perpetual motion fills even the most unwitting visitor with a sense of anticipation. Even the antiquated metro has its own scent of the art nouveau. I adore Paris, from the inherently atmospheric tip of the Butte in Montmartre, to the boutique lined cobbled streets of the Marais. It is a constant inspiration, and I need to visit at least once a year to have my ultimate fill of this stunning city.

So it’s only suitable then that in this week’s Sunday Supplement, I focus upon the painting which started it all for me when I was 16 – Le Paris Formidable.