Image Collection from the City of Paris

I stumbled across a fun website, Paris En Images, and have been spending way too much time perusing images of Paris. Thirty thousand photos from the City of Paris’ collection are posted online and include fashion, photography, landscapes, and historical images.

I came acoss the three illustrations below, which were drawn in the 1950s. I was struck by how similar these looks are to some of today’s fashions – capri pants, pencil skirts, full skirts, and sheath dresses.

© Roger-Viollet. Two girls wearing breeches. Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Drawing, postcard. parisenimages.fr

© Roger-Viollet. Two girls on the banks of the Seine, in Paris. Drawing, postcard. http://www.parisenimages.fr

© Roger-Viollet. Young woman. Paris, flower market at the Madeleine. Drawing, postcard. http://www.parisenimages.fr

Later this week I’ll post a few more from this website. It’s in both French and English. Do check it out!

Three Winds 2006 Pinot Noir

Three Winds Pinot Noir 2006

Wine Name: Three Winds 2006 Pinot Noir

Origin: France (Languedoc)

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Cost: $8.50 (Trader Joes)

My thoughts: I liked the fruity smell of this wine, sort of a ripe cherry, or fig, scent. The taste was fruity but not sweet, and had a medium finish with a nice aftertaste. It tasted a tad bit salty to me, but I wonder if that’s a mineral from the soil or grapes? I like this wine a lot, and hope to try more pinot noirs.

Seigneurs de Bergerac 2002

I had a cold for the past couple of weeks so I’ve been drinking plonk because I’ve had no sense of smell or taste.  Even if it were tasty I wouldn’t have known. I started feeling much better Wednesday and now feel safe reviewing wines once again.

Bergerac

Wine Name: Seigneurs de Bergerac 2002

Origin: France (Dordogne Valley)

Grapes: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc

Cost: $ 6.50

My thoughts: This wine was a nice, opaque purple color. The aroma was fruity. The taste was a bit fruity with a little bit of tannin, and a tart, almost salty taste in the mouth. It had a medium finish. What struck me about this wine was that it was quite different from the ones I’ve been tasting, and my sweetie summed it up by saying it wasn’t as sweet as the others. I wonder if this is one of the Old World style wines Robin Goldstein describes that hasn’t been “Parkerized?” I really liked this wine, and could appreciate the difference in taste between this and my usual merlot or shiraz. I’ll absolutely buy this again!

La Vielle Ferme 2006 Cotes du Ventoux Rouge

La Vielle Ferme Cotes du Ventoux Rouge

Origin: France (Cotes du Ventoux)

Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Cinsault

Cost: $8-10

My thoughts: The aroma of this wine was “strong”- wine-likey, I guess. I had sniffed it just minutes after Todd opened it, and my first thought was that it smelled like wet cardboard. I took a couple of tastes, and to me there was a very earthy flavor to it. I tasted another glass the next evening after letting it breath for a while, and it smelled much better. My notes say it had almost a liver-like undertone – better than it sounds, but definitely a savory, rather than sweet taste. It’s a heavier wine than the others I had tasted for the blog, but I do like it. I’d buy it again for sure, particularly to drink with homemade macaroni and cheese on a chilly Portland evening.