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Post by imec on Aug 1, 2009 17:16:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2009 17:43:53 GMT
I had the same impression in Cairo -- every room that I could see through the open windows was painted the same color of blue (darker than this blue).
Actually, (and this may surprise people from 'free' countries) you cannot paint (or trim) buildings any color that you want in France. Each region has a palette of authorized colors, and you may not stray from those, or else you risk a fine.
Personally, I approve of the system, because since my family region is Lorraine (which seems very drab and uninteresting to a lot of people), I often go there and also stray across the border, notably to Luxembourg. The architecture is very similar, but my god the colors! What are those people thinking? A trip through a Luxembourg village is enough to make any normal person nauseous with all of the clashing horrible colors.
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Post by Jazz on Aug 1, 2009 20:38:17 GMT
I love this blue as well, and it is known as 'french blue'.  I didn't know that each region in France has a palette of authorized colors, but in retrospect it all makes sense. I wondered at how beautifully the colours of Provence 'worked'...the blues, the yellow-ochres, and the rich peachy browny reds of Roussillon.  |
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Post by imec on Aug 1, 2009 20:57:00 GMT
Gorgeous, Jazz!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2009 0:45:49 GMT
This color of blue is also very popular in New Orleans as well. I don't know that I am in agreement with the color code policy. In NY it was fairly preordained that everything be painted a dull brown white or grey. One would never be so bold as to even attempt a pale yellow. A trip to Haiti in 1970 blew me away with the bold freedom expressed with their use of color. So, naturally ,when I first traveled to the Carribean and then into the Yucatan and then Oaxaca,I fell in love with all the colors and have been a fan ever since.
In New Orleans there is a no holds barred mentality about color schemes and although ,I don't care for many ,I applaud the freedom to be able to express in such a fashion that the puritanical Yankees shunned and forbid.
Jazz,that photo is positively stunning.
Imec,more fine photos, I love your eye for detail and composition. Mrs. Imec also seems to share your fine aesthetic. Thanks for these.
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Post by traveler63 on Aug 2, 2009 1:51:22 GMT
These are all so wonderful and the theme is beautiful. I now want to also visit this place. It is so nice to see an area that doesn't have 10,000 heads bobbing around. Great work Imec, for you and your children. They really seem to have an eye for photography!
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 3, 2009 19:08:58 GMT
It seems that blue might also deter the mosquitoes and other flies...
beautiful pics, I really enjoyed travelling "with" you, Imec.
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Post by spindrift on Aug 3, 2009 20:20:22 GMT
Imec - I love those shades of blue and the old stones of the houses. You have taken some great pictures. Blue is used by the Brahmin house-owners in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. There is the mighty and unassailable fort covering the top of a huge hill/rock and all the houses clustering at its feet are painted a wonderful blue. Jodhpur  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2009 20:52:01 GMT
So many interesting pictures on here. imec, any idea why they like the blue color so much there?
Spindrift, I had heard of the blue painted structures in Rajasthan as well. One of those places I really want to see.
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Post by spindrift on Aug 3, 2009 22:24:51 GMT
I wouldn't mind going there again (I've been twice).
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Post by imec on Aug 4, 2009 0:19:16 GMT
spindrift - isn't that interesting? What a beautiful blue! I'd love to see India.
deyana - not sure, it might have something to do with the rules kerouac talked about.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 4, 2009 0:56:07 GMT
Are they closet French in Rajastan? Lots of so-called "French" blue here too, for reasons similar to la Nouvelle Orléans.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2009 2:32:27 GMT
It seems that blue might also deter the mosquitoes and other flies... beautiful pics, I really enjoyed travelling "with" you, Imec. There is something about the color blue that is reputed to deter wasps and bees from making nests and hives. It is used here on the ceilings of porches and breezeways all the time by homeowners regardless of what color the rest of the house is painted. |
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Post by spindrift on Aug 4, 2009 8:33:59 GMT
lagatta - no - Rajasthani Indians are definitely not closet-Francophiles! I've never noticed Brahmin dwellings painted blue in other cities...I must remember to ask around and find out the reason.
imec - yes, some parts of India are very special and Jodhpur is one of them.....
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Post by Jazz on Aug 4, 2009 18:28:06 GMT
lagatta - no - Rajasthani Indians are definitely not closet-Francophiles! I've never noticed Brahmin dwellings painted blue in other cities...I must remember to ask around and find out the reason. imec - yes, some parts of India are very special and Jodhpur is one of them..... Spindrift, your photo of Rajasthani is very interesting. It is overwhelming that the entire city is in this colour and I am very curious as to why. Given that this doesn't happen with other Brahmin dwellings, there must be a reason. The beautiful blue of Provence...I am still fascinated. Kerouac, is there a site in English that discusses the 'colour code' of Provence? I tried to research this, but came up with little. Just these, www.boston.com/travel/getaways/europe/articles/2009/03/08/ancient_colors_of_provence_mined_from_the_land_itself/www.ecoprovence.com/index.htmlSomehow, in Provence, I felt that the colours used simply reflected a very primal sense of the land. The beautiful blue reminded me of lavender. These are some of my photos... This was where I stayed, the door leads to 'Sunflower',  a few photos of the countryside,    |
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Post by spindrift on Aug 4, 2009 21:59:10 GMT
Oh Jazz - your pictures are wonderful. I can almost smell the lavender. I have never seen fields of lavender.
What are the plants growing in lines between the lavender? Are they fruit trees?
About those blue houses in Jodhpur. The entire city is not painted blue. It's only the dwellings clustering around the foot of the fort (which is on high). You only see the blue houses when you look down on them from the fort. I didn't notice them when I was at street level. I didn't walk around the streets looking for them - I should have.
I think I know someone who might know why they are blue. I'll ask her when I see her.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2009 5:03:45 GMT
Those pictures are magnificent, Jazz. But I do wonder if it is overwhelming to live right next to lavender (or any super aromatic plant). I suppose the body just blocks out the odor after a while, which is a shame, too. I was looking for the color code of Provence, and even in French it's difficult to track down. I found lots of sites for painting companies 'guaranteed to use the authorized colors' and other documents that said that the 'colors can be consulted at the town hall' and things like that, but there really a lot less about it than I would have thought -- probably just because everybody knows the information already so they have no reason to discuss it! |
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Post by Jazz on Aug 5, 2009 18:22:32 GMT
Thanks, Kerouac. I don't know if it would be overwhelming to live next to a field of lavender, or if you would 'block it out' after a while. Perhaps it would become so much a part of you that you would sense its absence anywhere else. This reminds me of a great book, Perfume by Patrick Susskind...a well written historical 'thriller', set in France, that is the most amazing discussion of the sense of smell and the creation of perfumes that I have ever read! The movie is also good. Both are very sensual.
Spindrift, I waited all my life to see fields of lavender and it is a rich memory. Beautiful. I went in the first week of July and that is perhaps just slightly past its peak, June is the heighth. My hostess where I stayed took me on great day trips and each day, she chose obscure country roads so that I could enjoy the fields of lavender...I was obsessed. You live relatively 'close' and I think that you should visit, at least once. ( I was stunned by Tillystar's photos of lavender in England on another thread!) I don't know what the plants were in between the rows.
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I didn't know that each region in France has a palette of authorized colors, but in retrospect it all makes sense. I wondered at how beautifully the colours of Provence 'worked'...the blues, the yellow-ochres, and the rich peachy browny reds of Roussillon.
