City of surprises and an exhibition

When the winds of August die away, we are left with days of perfection.  The air is crisp, the skies blue, and the vistas are spectacular.  Yesterday was such a day.  We travelled to the city by train, swishing past streets full of blossoming trees and over the Harbour Bridge.  I am constantly surprised at how, after all these years,  the Harbour view still takes my breath away, no matter what the weather is doing to it.

We were heading for the Art Gallery of New South Wales to see a particular exhibition - more on that later. After lunch, Tony (AKA Mr Fudge) took me on the scenic route to Wynyard Station for our trip home.  He steered me through some little back streets, promising an unusual surprise.

Bird cages - dozens of them suspended overhead, with the sweet recorded sounds of birds drifting down.  I cursed, for the sixteenth time within an hour, that I had left my camera at home.  However, I did have my mobile phone, so I clicked away, hoping that some would come out.

I don't know whose idea it was ...

but I am so happy they came up with it.

I love the element of surprise and the fact that it's off the tourist track.  It's simply there, waiting to delight those who come across it.

Stepping back a couple of hours, this is what brought us to the city on such a brilliant day.  The Art Gallery had just opened its latest exhibition, photographs of Old Paris by French photographer Eugène Atget (1857-1927).  It is an extraordinary exhibition and we spent an hour or so slowly taking in the beautiful images.  They are not glamorous, but rather a history of Paris as it was from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.  If you have a love of Paris, history or photography, it's not to be missed.

This scene of children playing in the Luxembourg Gardens immediately reminded me of one of my favourite pictures which I took in the same spot three years ago.

I was taking shots of the passing parade when this little boy suddenly stopped in front of me, staring curiously.  He is such a typical little Parisian boy and I thank him for appearing before my lens.

Yesterday turned out to be a tale of two cities - two beautiful cities which I love.