... when it sizzles ...

... Parisians come out on the banks of the Seine. And it's not even summer yet. They think 29 degrees is hot. I must confess though that it was pretty warm yesterday evening.

The heat caused some discomfort for the players at the French Open tennis.

Capitale Nature - Verdure Champs-Elysées

Last night, five hundred workers moved into the Champs Elysées and turned it into a kilometre-long garden/ farm. The idea is to raise awareness of the importance of the agricultural industry in France. It will be in place for two days.
The first time this concept was used, twenty years ago, the same space was a field of wheat.

The Minister for Agriculture is somewhere in there in the media scrum:

Not just plants, either:

That was a kilometre of farm; but there's more to come:

Some entertainment for the masses:

General de Gaulle checking out the produce:

And the Big Boys get in on the act:

These are some of the machines that did the lifting etc. to put it all in place:

The 'artist' will later take the idea to places like Tokyo and New York.

Monet's Garden at Giverny

Some famous tourist destinations are over-rated. Monet's garden at Giverny is not one of them. It's a glorious place - even when it's crawling with tourists, one can sense the atmosphere Monet must have experienced here.

Apart from the beautiful gardens that he created, Monet must have found delight and inspiration just walking in this peaceful area.