Photo 2 - Jeff Hester

Posted on July 8, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

Day 16 in Paris: Opera Garnier

On our 16th day in Paris, we visited the amazing Opera Garnier. This Grand Foyer was designed with the thought that during intermission, the “performance” of life goes on… so why not provide a suitable stage to showcase the performance?

Joan and I liked the Opera Garnier better than Chateau Versailles — which was great, but overcrowded (and hot on the day we went). The Opera Garnier, though newer, is amazingly opulent, and still serves as a performance hall (mainly for ballet).

I also created an interactive panorama of the hall with Photosynth and my iPhone. Check it out!

This is my photo for Day 186 of Project 365.

For more details on our trip to Paris, visit our Memolane story and check out Joan’s travel blog.

Posted on July 7, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

Day 15 in Paris: Cooking Class

On our 15th day in Paris, we took a cooking class at La Cuisine Paris. They have classes in both French and English (we chose English) and in a variety of formats.

We cooked a simple, traditional French meal:

Agneau a l’ail, romarin et moutarde
Ecrase de pomme de terre au piment d’Espelette
Crepe aux fruits rouges

Our classmates came from around the world. Texas, Michigan, California, Melbourne, Vancouver, and even Paris (one expat couple who had lived there for nine years). We had a great time with a great bunch of people and enjoyed a wonderful meal that we cooked. Thanks to Camille of La Cuisine Paris for guiding us through the process!

And for the record, I was the first to successfully flip a crepe in the pan without a spatula.

I chose this photo to represent Day 185 from my Project 365.

For more on our 15th day in Paris, read Joan’s travel blog and our Memolane story.

Posted on July 6, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

Day 14 in Paris: A Day Trip to Giverny

Giverny is a worthwhile day trip from Paris. You can tour Monet’s house, his studio, and the gardens and ponds immortalized by so many of this impressionist’s great works.

While this may not the best photo I took today, it epitomizes the scenes painted by Monet and serves as a perfect “bookmark” for our day trip. For that reason, I chose this to represent Day 184 from my Project 365.

You can read more about our visit to Giverny here on Joan’s travel blog, and you’ll find a complete overview of our trip to Paris here on Memolane.

Posted on July 5, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

Day 13 in Paris: Le Refuge du Passé

This little restaurant was well off the beaten path with incredible food. I highly recommend it, but don’t take my word for it. You can read from the over 240 reviews of Le Refuge du Passé at The Fork.

This was one of the only photos I took today. It was a day of rest for Joan and I. We spied this restaurant the night before, and vowed to return. We did, and loved it!

You can read more about our 13th day in France here on Joan’s travel blog, and you can view a complete overview of our Paris trip here on Memolane.

I chose this photo to represent Day 183 from Project 365. I liked the darkness, the narrow sidewalk and the damp pavement.

Posted on July 3, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

France, Day 11: A Trip to Mont Saint-Michel

This shot was taken at about 9:50 pm and the sun was still up. Mont St-Michel was an island, but is now connected to mainland France by the narrow causeway you see in the foreground.

We spent the evening wandering the medieval streets and steps of St-Michel. One word describes it: magical.

I chose this to represent Day #181 from my Project 365.

You can read more about our 11th day in France here on Joan’s travel blog, and you can get a complete overview of our trip here on our Memolane Story.

Posted on July 2, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

Paris, Day 10 & Antique Dumbbells at the Flea Market

On our tenth day in Paris, we journeyed to the outskirts of the city to visit Marche Puces — one of the largest and oldest flea markets in Paris. We wandered rows and rows of antiques. Bought a few small things. But it was this set of antique dumbbells that caught my eye, mainly because I’d never seen anything like them before.

You can read more about our tenth day in Paris on Joan’s travel blog, or get a great overview of the entire trip here on Memolane.

Posted on June 30, 2011July 15, 2011 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

Day 8 in Paris: Montmarte

Montmarte at night is beautiful. There were a lot of great shots today during our visit to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur, but this is the one I chose for #178 in my Project 365.

Check out Joan’s blog for more about our visit to Montemarte and video of the crazy, world-record-setting rollerblade jump we saw on a ramp down the steps of Sacre Coeur in Jour 8.