Over France, Switzerland and Austria in Gray

If windows on airplanes opened, I'd be like a dog in a car. Ooops, you may be too young to remember when we rolled down car windows and Fido would ride with his head out the window, relishing the wind.

At any rate, this is part of the beautiful landscape over France, Switzerland and Austria, taken when it was mostly cloudy, providing nearly-monochromatic images. In case you are wondering where the Alps are, I was sitting on the left side of the plane and most of the mountains were on the right. Unfortunately, I mistakenly uploaded these photos in reverse order, such that Austria is here:

This is my favorite photo of the bunch. I may use it for my Christmas/holiday card this year. Click on it to see it larger:

Zurich, Switzerland, where we had to land for a passenger's medical emergency:

Northeastern France:

Paris Air/Au Revoir

I absolutely love flying—everything about it (except perhaps the dry air and occasional cramped seats). I don't like to drive fast but am absolutely thrilled by take-offs and landings. Once in flight, it seems a special privilege to see the landscapes, the clouds, circular rainbows and the stars at night from a bird's-eye perspective. Window seats are not wasted on me but in-flight movies generally are. Movies can be watched anytime. You wouldn't want to travel with me if you love flying like I do; I tend to hog the window seat—or lean over the person who is sitting there—to see what's happening outside.

We left Paris on a gray, monochromatic morning. Look at these great patterns on the ground.

Looking Anew at Paris

My sister, who met us in Paris, one of my favorite cities, admitted that she had held no strong desire to visit the city because of the negative comments she had heard about it and its inhabitants. She was pleasantly surprised to see that everyone we met was very friendly to us. In the end, she was delighted with her first visit there. It seems time to bury old stereotypes and enjoy. It's truly an enchanting place.

A gilded statue by the Palais de Chaillot sports both a moustache and fashionable seagull hat.

A cafe offers an ornate glass for tea.

An Eiffel-Toweresque zip line for horned men:

An iguana statue for sale:

I like the patterns on these steps at La Conciergerie, near the cell where Vienna's daughter, Marie Antoinette, was imprisoned.

An elaborate tile frame surrounds subway signs:

A Few Paris Sights

Paris, City of Love, with hearts hanging in the daylight....

Arabesque decorations at the Louvre's inverted pyramid:

In this City of Lights, firecrackery sparkles adorn a classic Parisian lamppost in one of the ritzy areas of town.

This lamppost, outside of Notre Dame, gave off an odd greenish cast for a few seconds as it came on:

A chandelier in Notre Dame...

lends its shape to the ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde:

Parisian Embellishments

Two of Paris's large department stores, Printemps and Galleries Lafayette display elaborate decorations this time of year.

Galleries Lafayette:

Printemps window:

Back to Galleries Lafayette:

Early One Parisian Morning

All I can say is it is really, really, really cold in Paris right now. Brrrrrrr. We had a pretty dusting of snow, though, to warm our outlook.

Scenes at CDG

While Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport is one of the world's busiest, we arrived early in the morning and caught it in some moments of quiet. Dig this 60's architecture!

Looking down on the train station:

Cool, curvy buildings:

Interesting ceiling in Terminal 2. Somewhere in this terminal, parts of the ceiling fell in 2004, killing several people. I wonder if that is why there is a net covering the ceiling today.

I like the graphics throughout the airport. You recognize this famous lady, Mona Lisa, La Joconde...

...but do you recognize this "chick" on the elevator?