Dreaming of France -- Ile aux Cygnes with Friends

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

Make sure you scroll down to Sunday's post for a chance to win a copy of a book set in France. I plan to give away a number of books set in France over the next few weeks, or months.

Before we went to France last spring, I saw an article about Ile aux Cygnes, which means Isle of the Swans. It's a mandmade island in the middle of the Seine. Apparently, it was created so people could watch the boat races in the Seine.
It's very long and narrow with some lovely views of the city.

We met our French friends who put off their trip to Poland for a day so we could rendez-vous in Paris. They had never walked along Ile aux Cygnes before either.

The Eiffel Tower is visible from so many points in the city. 

The island is lined with trees, and in March they had only a slight green fuzz, but I'm sure it's a wonderful leafy walk in the summer. Our friend Michel led the way with his map. 

My friend Danuta and I posed at the end of the island for a picture. Danuta and I have been friends since 1985 when I traveled to France as an au pair for two American girls. Her own daughters were around the same sage and we spent the summer exploring the countryside around the family house. Her husband Michel and my charges' father were cousins. 

Every time we visit France, we see Danuta and Michel, either at their home in Nantes or in Paris.

 I can't wait until we can host them in our home in France. 

Dreaming of France -- Twilight in Paris

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it

I know that Woody Allen convinced everyone that Midnight in Paris is a magical time, but I think the most beautiful time is at twilight.
We went for a walk on the last evening before we flew home this spring.
The lights and the buildings are so golden and warm.

Here we are walking along the Tuileries

This sliver of moon and venus above the straight cut trees.

And here I am posing in front of the Seine with Musee d'Orsay behind me and the Eiffel Tower in the far background. But look at the warm golden color, the beautiful sky and the reflections in the river. 

Definitely magical.  

Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France. Please leave a comment and visit each other's blogs, too, so you can get your fix of France dreams.