Source: flickr.com via Marisa on Pinterest

There's such a long list of places I'd like to experience at Carnival: New Orleans, Rio de Janiero, Venice, Nice, and ... Menton! Looks out of this world.

Location: Menton, France | Photographer: Cappuccino & Baguette | Source: Flickr, Cappuccino & Baguette

Source: flickr.com via Marisa Allegra on Pinterest

I recently joined Pinterest and am finding the experience addictive. Have you tried it? It's so fun, and useful. And in an effort to streamline my life online, I'm going to experiment with posting pics for Vivaca via my pins. If it works well, I'll be happy and will have a better shot of keeping the content here on Vivaca fresh with greater frequency. Let me know how you do like or don't like it.

I'm also going to make this more of a photo-a-day blog and likely drop invitations to photogs to comment, as so few take advantage of the request. Less work for me, and you're still able to enjoy great images from around the world and leave your own comments or connect with the photographer directly via links to their work on Flickr.

Location: Paris, France | Photographer: Docinho | Source: Flickr, Docinho

Café life is one of Paris' many pleasures, and when set in the lovely Place des Vosges - one of my favorite spots in the City of Light - a real sense of unbridled joy can be achieved. Don't you find?

I love this still life taken at Café Nectarine (never been, myself) on the Place des Vosges. Just lovely. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic, like it was me right sitting there, enjoying the scene.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Emily Reiter - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Emily Reiter

I'm missing the Côte d'Azur today, so here we are in Grasse. I had the pleasure of visiting Grasse for the first time last fall and fell full on for its gritty charm. It seems one of those cities on the cusp of being great again. Lots to renovate and spruce up, but bustling and beautiful despite the way many of its shady streets and buildings exude a neglectful decay. I really liked it. Particularly the charming old details like this period advertisement. Fantastique.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Daria Angeli - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Grasse, France ★
Photo courtesy of Daria Angeli

"Coco always sat at table eleven and everyone at Angelina knew her. The establishment opened for business in 1903 under the name Rumpelmayer but Coco would've been too poor to go there then. It became her refuge late in life, in the 1950s, when a quiet cup of hot cocoa was a daily ritual."
- David Downie, Paris, Paris

Not only did I not know that Angelina's was one of Coco's haunts, I had no clue it opened under another name. Merci, David Downie! I did, however, know that it's a great hot chocolate spot. Yes, the last time I went I saw a mouse. And yes, I know it's not the *best* hot chocolate the city has to offer. But I don't care. I still love it, the chocolat chaud is damn thick and delicious, and I will always return. You can't stop me.

And how lovely is this portrait of the old girl, by the way. Right?

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Beryl Byrd - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Beryl Byrd

For all you Paris-bound shutterbugs out there, I have a few hot tips to share for getting the best shots as you explore the storied City of Light. Bon voyage and happy snapping!

This is just the sort of scene I'm looking forward to exploring with my own camera this fall. Can't get enough of those eye-popping colors and architectural details that you just don't typically find here in California, where I'm from.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Jacques Bruylands - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Vieux Nice, France ★
Photo courtesy of Jacques Bruylands

I'm not usually a fan of HDR - it typically looks fake and overdone, to me - but this example is superb! Love the processing and composition of this street scene from Old Nice. And as I'll be there later this fall, a real inspiration. Can't wait!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Pierre Turtaut - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Vieux Nice, France ★
Photo courtesy of Pierre Turtaut

"I'd like this to be my kingdom," a thirty-year resident told me several years ago as we stood on his second-floor étage-nobile balcony ... The square seems to breed such undemocratic sentiments, inspired, perhaps, by the dramatic views from on high. It's as if the architects had drawn their plans with condescension in mind. - David Downie

Even though I well know that this is prime Paris real estate, I feel very much at home in the Marais and in the Place des Vosges in particular. It seems that everyone does. Or at least in contrast to the colder and grandiose four-sided spectacles like Place Vendôme.

I learned a lot today about my beloved Place des Vosges on David Downie's historical tour but one bit did cause me to gasp a little [or, okay - a lot] - the realization that, "the weathered 'brickwork' on closer inspection turns out to be cheap trompe-l'oeil plaster applied to wood." Say it ain't so! But that said, it's clearly no less lovely than if it weren't a facade.

Location: Paris, France ★

"...take a guided tour. This can turn mystery into mere history, but it's the only way to get inside the sole townhouse whose interior is accessible to the public, the Hôtel de Lauzun." - David Downie

I think Mr. Downie has perfectly captured one central aspect of my aversion to guided tours. On a tour, mystery is nearly always transformed into a sterile or sobering dose of history.

For this reason, it was particularly refreshing to read about the Hôtel de Lauzun (or Lausun) long after I'd visited Paris and photographed its pretty portal, simply because it is pleasing to the eye. It has been much more enjoyable, I think, to have spent a great deal of time fantasizing about the building's past rather than knowing something of it outright. Though now that I do know a bit of its history, I am happier for it.

So perhaps on my next visit to Paris I'll take that guided tour and learn a little more.

Location: Paris, France ★

Looking forward to my visit to the French Riviera later this year, I got lost in Carson Ting's lovely stream of holiday snaps from Nice. This one in particular caught my eye as it's market day today in my neck of the woods. As nice as our farmers markets are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I'd rather be at this one right now, in the South of France!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Carson Ting - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Nice, France ★
Photo courtesy of Carson Ting

Happy Bastille Day!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Holy Chic - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Holy Chic

Lindsey has captured the magic of Paris and of Rue Montorgueil here, magnificently. I find this picture particularly charming for its focus on the woman with her back to us and the rest of the frame softly melting into thin air. The viewer is left to dream into sharp focus who these people are, what they're talking about, where they're going ...

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - LostNCheeseland - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of LostNCheeseland

Like a window to a dream. Love it.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - dashaboo - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of dashaboo

Paris, je t'aime.

Beautiful photo. Not sure if it's early morning or evening, but no matter. Lovely, lovely, lovely all the same.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - janellep - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of janellep

Inspired by the last image in Nichole's Paris Purple post, I thought a little trompe l'oeil was in order today. Love this one. Brilliant!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - R H Kamen - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of R H Kamen

What an installation! Is that a painting? Whatever it is, I love it. And this photo, as well. The composition with the silhouettes is just wonderful. A work of art in itself!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Lemoox - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Lemoox

Happy 1-1-11! May all your dreams come true in 2011.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - gfabbri - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of gfabbri

I hear that the snow is melting in Paris and the rain has returned. It seems that no matter the weather, the city is perpetually picture perfect. What a place.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - oblivion14/Victor - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of oblivion14/Victor

In looking for windows onto Genova, I happened upon this charming street scene. And indeed - sembra Genova ma ... it's in France!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - robramond - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Briançon, France ★
Photo courtesy of robramond