CHASING THE CAROUSELS OF PARIS: Guest Post by Kaye Wilkinson Barley

KAYE WILKINSON BARLEY:
CHASING THE CAROUSELS OF PARIS

“Kaye and Donald Barley’s photographs of Parisian carousels capture the whimsy, wit, and charm of the raucous merry-go-rounds that pepper the cobblestone streets and manicured parks of the City of Light. So grab a copy of Carousels of Paris and let your imagination wander back to a world full of colored lights and painted horses, quaint carriages and playful tigers, fantastical griffins and endangered dodos.”
—Juliet Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Carousel of Provence and Letters from Paris 

“Simply enchanting! The carousels are delightful and the photographers manage to bring them to life. I half expected them to leap off the pages. I absolutely adored this book!”
—Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author and author of soon to be released Paris is Always a Good Idea

To say I’m pleased with these kind words from two authors I admire is an understatement, at the very least.

Researching, photographing and writing Carousels of Paris has been pure fun, hearing nice things being said about it is a bonus of enormous portions.

I’ve been in love with carousels for as long as I can remember, and it started with Trimper’s carousel on the Ocean City, MD Boardwalk. It was purchased in 1912 from the Herschell-Spillman Company in North Tonawanda, NY and is still in use today.

I rode it when I was a little girl, and still ride it whenever we get back to Ocean City.

That was the beginning of a love affair which was reignited while planning my first trip to Paris.

Falling in love with Paris included falling in love with their carousels.

I knew there was a carousel at the base of the Eiffel Tower, having seen lots of pictures of it over the years.

I did not know that there are approximately 20.

They’re in the gardens – both large and small tucked away hidden gardens, and occasionally plopped down in the street near a Metro Station.

I say there are approximately 20 because some of them are there for awhile, then not. Such is the case with the carousel in front of the Hotel de Ville. We’ve missed it both times we’ve been to Paris. But we know it shows back up, so we just have to go back, I guess, and look again.

We have tried our best to capture and photograph all of them, but like I mentioned, when we get to the location specified we are no longer surprised to find that it’s gone – possibly moved to another location temporarily.

Or, truth be told, it’s very easy to get sidetracked by something else while on a carousel hunt in Paris. And one would be silly to pass by a small café set back under the trees in Luxembourg Gardens for a brief respite with a pastry and a café crème.

And maybe, just maybe, we’ll get back to Paris one day and finish looking for the rest of those magical carousels.

To photograph.

And to ride.

***

Kaye Wilkinson Barley lives with her husband of almost 34 years, Don, in the North Carolina mountains along with one little princess of a pup—Annabelle, who is a fluffy Welsh Corgi. They’re both retired and spending time doing things together they both enjoy—photography and traveling. And saving their “Pennies for Paris” to try to photograph the rest of the carousels of Paris for their next book.