We’re back from 2.5 weeks of traveling: first to Paris, then to London, and then to Cologne. I took many photos — but of course I haven’t sorted through them all yet. So today I’ll offer just a couple of photos of a few iconic Paris sights to get us started on the trip.

First up in the gallery below: photos I took in a place we went to almost every day in Paris: the Tuileries Garden. Our hotel was near there, so we quickly got in the habit of going over there to relax on the chairs and hang out a bit. The weather was warmer than normal for this time of year, and tourists were out in force, all armed with their cameras to record the sights you can see from there.

Plus, I’ve added one more photo taken on the same day, but from the top floor of a museum in another part of town. Through the windows there, you get a good view of a couple of iconic Paris landmarks. The day I took these particular photos there was a dull haze in the air. However, after a little magic in my digital darkroom, you can more clearly see in the photos what was only dimly visible in the distance at the time:

BTW, in the two photos where it looks like a couple of paparazzi were taking photos of me, behind me at the time were all the buildings of the Louvre Museum … quite possibly their intended photographic subject. 😉

Anyway, much more to come from the trip. Stay tuned.