Favorite Walk in Greece~ Travelin' Tuesday

We are anticipating a possible business (paperwork) trip to Greece this fall

so my favorite walk is on my mind. 

For years I have craved, zoomed, snapped and framed

the colors of Earth's natural blues and greens together, 

against each other. 

Even though the camera never does them justice,

I can't help myself. 

They have become touchstones for me

and I honor them and my dreams together. 

This walk along the backside of Nafplion's Old Town

scales both the rocky cliffside and the water. 

And ends back around toward the Old Town 

with a cup of Greek coffee (not to be confused with Turkish),

a view of Bourtzi in the foreground

 and Argos across the bay.

And when the deep, rich, hot demitasse beverage made from the beans of a tree

have taken hold, 

a walk along the palm-lined waterfront to the Old Town is in order.

I'll save the town itself for another post. 

Fall is now upon us. 

Hope you are enjoying all that it brings. 

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Light in Paris

Just sending out a little love light

to some people in Paris who are having a very difficult time.

Wishing I was there, wishing I could help, 

but light I can do.

Every little bit helps. 

Evenings with an Author~ Peter Steiner at the American Library in Paris

This Tuesday September 18th, 2012 at 19:30, The American Library in Paris presents-- Evenings with an Author-- featuring Peter Steiner, American novelist and cartoonist for The New Yorker. 

His detective series, starring former CIA agent Louis Morgon, is set in the Loire Valley where Steiner also spends time. His most recent book, The Resistance, flashes back to the 1940's Nazi Occupation where every French citizen is forced to resist either the Nazis, their neighbors or their own morality. And with his arrival to St. Leon-sur-Deme in 1975, under the floorboards of his own house, Louis stumbles upon a 30-year mystery. 

Booklist calls it: "Brilliant, evocative, elegiac and infused with sadness...A powerful and beautiful reminder of Faulkner's dictum that the only thing truly worth writing about is 'the human heart in conflict with itself.'"

While I haven't read his work, you can bet I will be. He also has three previous thrillers (The Terrorist, L'Assassin, Le Crime). 
Click Here to find his blog. 



American Library in Paris  is located at:
10, rue du General Camou
(Just off the Champs de Mars and the Eiffel Tower)
75007 Paris, France
• Tel. +33 (0)1 53 59 12 60
http://www.americanlibraryinparis.org/ 

More Passy Walk and Delicious Italian Deli~ Missing Paris Day

We're back at the Cimetiere de Passy for another Walk in Paris.

Just a few more interesting tombs (or is that an oxymoron?), 

this one with the often-used phrase for those buried after World War I. 

And this one reminds me of the Annunciation,

of which I took a series of photos, while traveling across Europe,

for a friend who collected them. 

One frequently finds stone flowers and bouquets among live plants 

lovingly placed by friends and family who care for their tombs with meticulous detail. 

And my favorite. While I don't know exactly the patriarch's profession,

one can speculate. This is one of the most visually descriptive I've seen in tombs. 

**************

Just down from the cimetiere,

 off rue de Passy and Place de Passy

(which has a permanent covered market

from Tues-Sat, 8:30-1 & 4-7

and Sunday 8:30-1)

is rue de l'Annonciation

with one of our favorite Italian traiteur and deli's at #40. 

Delizius,

filled with cheese-stuffed peppers, marinated artichokes and pasta of all kinds,

is the perfect take-out stop before heading home or picnicking along the way. 

Picnicking being a favorite French past-time,

one can do it most anywhere,

in the park, along the highway, I mean anywhere.

Hope you enjoyed the last of this segment of Passy Cimetiere,

at least until you can see it for yourself!  

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

The Blood of Lorraine~ Teaser Tuesday

Hosted by MizB at should be reading.

Here's how to play:

*Grab your current read,

*Open to a random page,

*Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page,

*Please no spoilers!

*Share the title and author.

Today's selection is from Barbara Corrado Pope's 'The Blood of Lorraine' (p. 58):

"Martin heard another cough, and much shuffling of papers behind him. Charpentier had caught on. Martin was about to grind the witness down by asking in slow, excruciating detail about her past and present life. He would make her spell out every name, every address. every date. And drive her a little mad in the process. 

This should not have been difficult. Martin's refusal to respond to her provocations seemed to have put her in a state of animal-like alertness. Although she maintained her pose, straight as a statue before him, the way she clutched her shawls together with white-knuckled fists gave her away." 

I just finished Barbara Corrado Pope's 'Cezanne's Quarry' and so enjoyed Magistrate Bernard Martin's mysterious case involving painter Paul Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence that I went straight to her next book not even realizing it was part of a series. Now Martin is on a new murder case in a new town in France, 1890's Nancy in Alsace-Lorraine during the time of the Dreyfus Affair, and he must determine who is killing innocent Jews in the anti-Semitic atmosphere between two communities as well as how to face his own personal tragedy at home. 

Having spent some time in the country in Lorraine, I love reading the familiar descriptions of Nancy and learning about the historical significance and the diaspora of this time period which I knew nothing about. 

In looking for the book cover for this post, I just noticed on Amazon that she has another coming out next year set in PARIS!! Can't wait for that. What could be better? Historical mysteries set in French places I love!