Category Archives: Humourous

Let The Gnome Hold It In Barcelona

Quick photo of the day today — letting a gnome hold things for me today!

Gnome table in a home design shop in Barcelona, Spain

This little gnome table was in the window of a home design store in Barcelona. Not only was he rather cute, I also liked the rug behind him made out of small cut-out circles of leather.

Enjoy!

Too Full Of Noise? Perhaps Not!

This photo of the day will not be sent to my stock agencies for one big reason — noise artifacts in spite of using noise removal in my Lightroom 4 software. But at a smaller resolution, it still packs a punch of funny energy! It was taken in quite low light and actually looked almost black before I worked on it. But bringing up the image also meant bringing out the grain and the surface noise. Ah well — at least I can share it with you.

We were in a very dark cafe in the Barri Gotic district of Barcelona a few weeks ago and this man was sleeping soundly in spite of the dishes clattering and the people coming and going through that door right next to him. His wife sat there reading her Spanish daily newspaper — and he slept and slept and slept for the 20 minutes that we were in there having a cup of tea.

Enjoy!

Napping man with black beret in a cafe in Barcelona, Spain.

Oh My! I’m Publishing Photos of (GASP!) People!

3 PM UPDATE: Always wanting to make certain that I am doing the right thing, I had a talk just now with two charming gendarmes from the local police department. They assured me that if I was a valid professional, had a press pass (and of course I do!), and was not trying to infringe on people’s privacy, I am certainly allowed to take photos at public events. They also suggested that I just slightly blur children’s faces in a crowd, but they assured me that I was acting quite responsibly and they had no issues with the types of photos I was taking. I had felt quite confident that I was acting ethically and it was good to have that confirmed!
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After yesterday’s interesting little foray into EDITORIAL USE in photography, I’m back with more pictures of people taken in the context of a large PUBLIC EVENT. I can still barely believe that it’s even necessary to write that!

This morning I decided to do a little research above and beyond what I already knew.

Look what I found at the local news online — photos of identifiable people, face forward, including (wait while I gasp again) children. Like I said — NEWS coverage, whether print, online, or television, allows for picture taking at PUBLIC EVENTS such as festivals, parades, exhibits, weekend markets, and rather a lot of other circumstances where there are a lot of people present in one place.

Now, enough of that — let’s move on to the fun stuff…

At the Autrefois Le Courserons parade, these wonderful tall puppets came gliding by with no wibble-wobble whatsoever. And just look at how many people are lining the street on both sides to watch.

Giant puppets on parade at the Autrefois Le Couserons celebrations in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

And then bzzzzzzzz — there go the beekeepers.

Beekeepers in the Autrefois Le Couserons parade in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France.

Look how much fun the sausage makers were having on their float!

A jolly time being had by the sausage makers in the Autrefois Le Couserons parade in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France.

Hope you continue to enjoy these little slices of life in the South of France because it is fun to share even if I do, to quote a fellow writer and world traveller, encounter the occasional ‘Nasty Nellie’ along the way.

A Night In Nantes

A night in Nantes was part of our three day drive through France, but since it was simply a stopover and there was no time for exploration, we mainly saw the inside of our apartment hotel and the restaurant where we ate a rather bland but far-too-salty faux-Italian dinner.

Italian dining 'experience' in Nantes, France

But what WAS a humorous side note was the discovery of a popular Thursday night hang-out in the “Atlantis” area of Nantes — a huge restaurant and bar complex complete with a nightclub area, a large pool hall, and a massive bowling alley — all under one massive roof! And I have just realised that I will need to add search-engine ‘tags’ to this story that cover music, entertainment, food and drink, humour, and sports. Cool!

Moody blue cocktail bar in Nantes, France

Cocktail hour in Nantes, France with Salsa classes in the background

Pool tables at the Bowl Center in Nantes, France

We’ve lived and worked in various parts of France, mainly Normandy, for 9 months out of our 16 months on the road. Traditional cafes and bistros have been a familiar part of each segment of the four places we have lived in Normandy. But frankly, this glossy and contemporary style of venue was a side of French social life that we had never seen. The crowds inside the bars, restaurants, and the bowling alley itself were a range of ages from twenties through fifties and it was a relaxed and happy bunch.

Bowling in Nantes, France

Bodega Bar inside the Bowling Center at Nantes, France

Mark told me to “look to the right” as we strode up the polished concrete ramp to the slightly elevated 2nd level and we saw a clump of people following along with a dance instructor. Dance classes, too? I thought it was some kind of country line dancing, but it soon became apparent from the swishing of the hips that we were watching something with a distinctly South American feel. We had arrived on Salsa Night!

Small poster for free salsa classes on Thursday nights in Nantes, France

I asked Mark to go back out to the car and get one of the cameras and while he was gone, a handsome 50-ish Frenchman came up and asked me if I would like to dance. Let’s be honest, I’m improving a bit every week, but my fractured French is still rather pathetic. However, I managed to reply, “Non, merci. Mon mari est avec l’automobile et il retournez dans cinq minutes!” (No thank you. My husband is out at the car and he’ll be back in five minutes.) And then I stood there feeling quite flustered because it had been awhile since someone tried to pick me up! He smiled broadly when he heard my accent, nodded sweetly, and said goodbye. Whew!

Just thought you’d like a wee glimpse into a bit of suburban French night life. And up next? On to the Atlantic seaside!

Pampered Pets And Then Some!

If you judge by the cartoon graphics on this shopfront windows, the pampered pets inside this pet grooming shop will be getting head massages and exfoliation!

I spotted this window in the Normandy town of Villedieu-les-Poeles and it did make me laugh.

Pampered pets are a specialty in this French shop in Normandy

Need A Parking Space?

So — you live in a quaint French town full of gorgeous old stone houses on a one lane cobblestone street and you know that the painters and plasterers are coming to work in your home. How do you suppose that they will make certain that there is available parking right in front of the house which is on an uphill slope?

How tradesmen secure a parking space on a narrow, uphill, cobblestone street in France

That’s how! They simply take several large paint buckets and lay planks across them until they secure an area that is large enough to park the work van.

Voila! A very practical solution!

Photos Of The Day: Drive Oh-So-Alertly At This French Beach

The sign below is not something to glance quickly at and then ignore. If you happen to be in a car, you will be ignoring it at your peril!

Pay attention! Drivers need to be alert about what is right in front of them!

This sign is on one of the main streets in St. Martin de Brehal on the Atlantic seacoast of France. It may have been a gloomy and chilly day when we took our walk last Saturday through this village in Normandy, but at least the rain wasn’t horizontal as it had been for the previous four weeks.

Here is what the street looks like with a restaurant and bar right on the corner as you approach the beach.

The beach and the sea are just past the last building on the corner in St. Martin de Brehal in Normandy, France.

And this is the beach scene below. Walking on that beach is one thing, but trying to get a car out of the sand or potentially plunging into the high tide is another matter altogether!

If you drive down the wrong street in St. Martin de Brehal in Normandy, France -- this is where your car will end up!

A Wanderful Life

The Neverending Journey