Some October PARIS images

Paris in October. Palais de Thés tea and macarons from Pierre Herme at the hip Hotel des Academies et des Arts, cakes at Arnaud Delmontel on rue de Martyrs, an impossibly blue clear day with late-season roses by Notre Dame, and images of impossibly chic women who surely eschew chocolate and patisserie.

For travelers to Paris the fall is a robust season with a full cultural calendar. Go see the Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese show at the Louvre or the smaller, but fascinating Rodin-Matisse show at the Rodin museum. The Grand Palais has a major Renoir exhibition. News for Orsay lovers: in 2010 large portions of the museum will close for renovation. Go now. And finally, make it a point to visit the extraordinary Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine in Trocadero. I'll be posting a full article on this remarkable place shortly. For now, the historic plaster casts of the great architecture features of chateaus and cathedrals, the frescoes and 'wall paintings' exhibits and the fascinating contemporary architecture presentations present a heady view of past informing present informing future. And thru the end of November there is a remarkable show of 14 leading architects who have been invited to rethink how Paris should 'grow' including master planning to improve the suburban areas, thinking about how to be a 'green' city, looking at what tangibles and intangibles make for a great urban space. Wonderful stuff. And killer views over to the Eiffel Tower too.