My soup - posts tagged '18th'

Paris in the snow

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:00:01 GMT

It had to happen... With the cold weather we're having at the moment, you won't find it surprising to hear that it snowed in Paris. I thought of you and went out this morning around 11 am, took my scooter (yes!) and went up to the Sacré Coeur. The place was full of tourists, but I managed to take this pretty Parisian scene ;-) I hope you'll like it. If not, I'll show you some more, later this week ;-) A special thought to the poor people in Perth (Australia) who suffer from the heat at the moment!

Parisian fireplace

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:00:02 GMT

It's pretty rare that Parisians have a fireplace that actually works, and though, yesterday, I had a nice afternoon with friends who have, what we call a Poêle Prussien (I looked everywhere, I could not find their origin). Very cool! Most Parisians think it's forbidden to make fire in a fireplace in Paris, whereas it is allowed, under several conditions (you have to have you chimney pipe cleaned twice a year, you're not allowed to burn just anything, etc.). I have a couple of fireplaces in my apartment, now I'm tempted... (Of course the price of wood may put me off this idea, but that's another story).

Merry Christmas 2011!

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:00:45 GMT

Original? Nope! Seasonal? After all traditions aren't that bad, are they?! While you see this photo I'll be filling my stomach with unnecessary fattening food and exchanging gifts with people who already have everything! But I'll also be surrounded with a lot of people I love, so it's well worth it! Again, have a great Christmas eve everyone (for those of you who celebrate), watch for your stockings (if you haven't been naughty of course...) and come here and let us know what Santa brought you;-) I will... BTW I took this photo at the entrance of my gym. If you notice, someone stuck a "Merro" on top of the "Merry" sign. I really wonder what that means...

Sacré Coeur in the mist

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:02:00 GMT

Those of you who have been following PDP for some time now will probably remember the Eiffel Tower in the mist photo (big hit!), well, now look at what I saw yesterday evening on my way to dinner at Montmartre... It was really stunning. Let's us not forget that the Sacré Coeur is located on a hill (130 meters - 426 feet). Not very high, but it does play a role when it comes to "'touching the clouds...". Have a nice weekend everyone.

A cute little theater...

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:05:01 GMT

I have passed by this place many times thinking each time "this is really a cute little theater!", but never managed to take a proper photo (it's located on a little square with lots of trees that makes it difficult to take photos). Anyway, this time I'm pretty happy with the result. It really looks little a mock up doesn't it? FYI, it's Le Théâtre de l'Atelier located at place Charles Dullin (who was the art director of the theater at the beginning of the 20th century), right by Montmartre.

Gallery opening

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:15:54 GMT

I'm just back from the september opening of one of my favorite art galeries in Paris: Galerie W. The place was packed and I really wondered - and wandered - a long time before I found the photo I wanted to take. And suddenly, at the end of this narrow corridor that leads to one of the rooms, I saw this fragile silhouette. There was my photo du jour ;-)

Very elaborated graffito

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:02:13 GMT

I found this "graffito" - I don't really know what to call it - in Montmartre and I'm still amazed by its quality, for it's actually made of little square tiles, which probably took a lot of time putting together. Louise Michel is a famous historical figure in France; she was born in 1830 and played an important role during the Paris "Commune" in 1871. It was not so usual for a woman to take part in the political life at that time. I guess the one who made this piece of art is one of her admirers...

Place Dalida

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:04:00 GMT

Yesterday morning I had a business meeting on avenue Junot, probably the most chic avenue in Montmartre - where a lot of famous people lived. On the way out I walked around a little bit and ended up at the Place Dalida, that I had never been able to find before! Dalida was a very famous Italian/Egyptian singer who used to live in France, precisely in Montmartre (listen here to one of her songs). She was also a good friend of the present Paris mayor. BTW, this bust of her was made by Alain Aslan.

Green Paris

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:01:00 GMT

I'm just back from a very long weekend in the South of France (near Nîmes) where I attended a wedding and spent some time off, far from the city buzz... And though no need to go that far to feel like you're in the country while in Paris! Hence this Parisienne that I photographed in Montmartre and who obviously has green fingers! Maybe did she win the Balcons fleuris (balcony flower decoreting) contest that the Paris city hall organizes every year?!

Big Jump!

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:35:44 GMT

I don't know if you remember Taïg Khris, a French guy who loves to jump off anything with roller skates on? Last time he jumped from the Eiffel Tower and yesterday he did the same from... le Sacré Coeur. And now that I have connections in Montmartre ;-), well it was easy for me to cease the right moment! Taïg Khris claims to have broken the record of the longest jump on roller skates with 29 meters. Impressive. Watch this in motion, in this little video if you want more...

Paris bloggers Meetup

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:06:00 GMT

Two evenings ago, I attended a Paris blogger meet up, organized by ParisParis.in. About a hundred "Paris lover" bloggers were there and it was fun. It took place at La Bonne Franquette, a non too touristy Montmartre 400 year old restaurant - I had Boeuf Bourguignon, as some of you who follow me on Facebook may have already seen ;-) During the evening, a young woman showed me a photo a photographer took of her. Stunning! I wish I had taken it.

Where is everybody?

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:05:00 GMT

Those of you who visited Paris will probably think this is a fake! Why? Because generally, at this very famous location (Le Sacré Coeur), there are dozens of people running around, like little ants... (depending on the sources, it's the second or third most visited places in Paris, with 10 million visitors per year!) , but not this morning at "dawn", when I passed by there just before going to a meeting in the neighborhood. Enjoy...

Barbès

Thu, 05 May 2011 22:01:03 GMT

Here is a famous area in Paris, called Barbès (after the name of the boulevard that starts from right after the metro line. It's famous because that is where a lot of people from northern Africa (mainly Algerians) gather (that is where a lot of reporters went to get reactions from the Arab community after Bin Laden's death for instance. Lately, it was a lot in the news, because there is mosque nearby and it's too small for everybody to fit in, so people have to pray in the street, which is against the rules of our secular state. Touchy topic, as you can imagine ;-)

Cleaning Paris

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:08:00 GMT

Paris is a big city, with plenty of - sometimes - careless people, pollution, dogs(!), etc. and it needs to be cleaned regularly. For this, the Paris town hall uses an army of sweepers and cleaning vans, like this one that I photographed at 8 o'clock at rue Doudeauville , while the sun was still low (hence the reflexion on the sidewalk...). About 1 500 km of streets are cleaned every week (2 400 km are swept everyday); a never ending story.

An apartment with a view...

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:04:00 GMT

Look at this view! Could that be more Parisian?! Well... guess what? This is the view I shot from a close friend's apartment, on Saturday. And if I tell you that a lot of you know him (through the comments box), you are going to start wondering who this lucky guy may be... Well, it's "Nasty GG", aka Jérôme, who just bought this new apartment facing the Sacré Coeur and much more. A lot of sun, 2 balconies, a stunning view... I'm thinking... what a fabulous location for a PDP gathering ;-))

What it takes to garden in Paris!

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:31:16 GMT

Funny how even in the middle of concrete, in the least expected place, people still manage to grow plants and trees and turn them into a real garden. That is what I discovered by pure coincidence yesterday morning at the end of a dead end in the 18th arrondissement (impasse de la Chapelle). This garden is part of the "shared gardens initiative" which aims at promoting "urban ecology" apparently (well so the web site says...). Well, not sure I would feel very green in this environment, but I'm glad it exists!

Sacré Coeur at dawn

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:06:00 GMT

It's been a while since I've shown you Sacré Coeur. I swear it's not a mock-up, although it may look like one ;-) I took this photo from far away in the 18th arrondissement and I don't think I've ever photographed it from that side. Anyway, by now, you probably already know this church by heart. It's located on top of Montmartre, was built around 1875 and 1914, and it's one of the major landmarks of Paris (and apparently the 5th most visited place in France. I bet you cannot guess what the top 4 are!)

Meat delivery

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:04:00 GMT

Here is another slice of Paris, and that one is of flesh and blood! Not like these fancy exhibit openings I've attended these past days ;-) I took this photo this morning, after my gym. I was actually stuck in the traffic because of this guy delivering his meet at the local market at rue Dejean. Scary in a way...

Concrete plant

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:02:00 GMT

My gym neighborhood is an endless resource of photo opportunities! Here is the one I took this morning in a small passage off la rue Doudeauville in the 18th arrondissement. The building is obviously about to be taken down and rebuilt and in the meantime they put bricks to block the windows and avoid squatters. Someone had the clever - and somehow poetic - idea of drawing a pair of curtains and a fake plant as if it were a real window! Isn't that cute? I love it.

Paris falls...

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:04:00 GMT

It may not be the most glamorous scene you can come across in Paris, but it is a very Parisian one! This is a close up of a very important element of or street cleaning system. For yes, ladies and gentlemen, underneath all our sidewalks there are two pipe networks: one for drinkable water and one to clean the streets (mostly fed by the Seine after a light filtering). This system was built by Eugène Belgrand - an engineer who used to work for Hausmann and is still used nowadays, only now the cleaners are supposed to be more conscious about the water consumption (I know it's not obvious from what you can see in tis photo...)

Apple...

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:46:03 GMT

Funny how apples are part of the culture for some of us... The Christians believe that things turned ugly after Eve ate the apple, Isaac Newton, who is said to have discovered gravity after an apple fell off the tree he was sleeping against... There is also the Apple cult that manages to get its worshipers to buy just about any product it manufactures ;-) and here in Paris, we now have the Apple of Charles Fourier, a French philosopher (born in 1772) who discovered the unfairness of this world -and wrote about it after he bought an apple in Paris for 100 times the price he would have paid it in his home town! Well Mr Fourier is now honored through this brand new apple sculpture by Franck Scurti that I photographed today at place de Clichy.

Dawn in Paris

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:01:02 GMT

One of the big advantages of going to the gym early in the morning is that you get to see things you would never see during the day. Hence, this spectacular view that I photographed this morning at rue Doudeauville in the 18th arrondissement. I don't know what the cloud stripes are exactly (real clouds or planes fumes)... I'm really happy the sun returned today, it had been a really long time!

White Door

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:11:00 GMT

How about a "conceptual" photo for today?! I took it in the 18th arrondissement on the way back from my gym. Don't ask me why I felt the urge to take this photo, I just did. And believe me, people around me were really wondering what I was doing (was I working for the town hall cleaning services, in charge of chasing the bad people who get rid of their things on the pavement?!). No, I was just the crazy guy who thought there was "something" in this scene LOL! Sometimes the glamor lies in the most unexpected places... Something tells me you won't necessarily agree!

The naked truth!

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:02:00 GMT

Let me introduce you to... Jean Baucher. Or rather his replica, as the real one died in 1995... He was - among many other things - the head of Le Moulin Rouge for sometime and he is now buried in the Montmartre cemetery in a grave, that, to say the least, is not exactly discrete! I thought of posting this photo because I just read Le Moulin Rouge is on the verge of being totally transformed; there will be a new glass entrance, a brasserie on the rooftop, a new, smaller cabaret spaceinside... These are the plans of Jean-Jacques Clérico, the new owner. I don't know if he already reserved a slot at the Montmartre cemetery and if he had his statue already made ;-)

Last leaves

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:01:03 GMT

Funny how nature works. I went to visit a friend in the 18the arrondissement and in the courtyard of her building I took this photo. We're in the middle of winter, but some leaves are still on trees or just on the verge of falling. Don't ask me why, I just thought it would make a nice Sunday photo. And I think it does ;-) Have a nice Sunday, I'll be staying inside for the cold is back again in Paris. Thank you all for your nice birthday wishes BTW ;-) Aging with you all is much less painful!

Aging in Paris

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:04:00 GMT

I came across this charming little lady in a garden in the 18th arrondissement. She was coming in my direction and I knew right away I wanted to take a photo of her. So, I waited for her to walk away a little bit and took this shot. I just learned a few days ago, that the oldest French person lived until the age of 109 (and 146 days!), not far from Paris. He was born in 1901 and I often wonder what people who were born that long ago think of today's world ;-)

Dead hostages return

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:09:00 GMT

Two poor young French guys got killed last Saturday in Niger after they were kidnapped in a bar by
what is believed to be Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) - see more here if you're interested. Why them? For no reasons, they were simply picked up by chance... I had no intention of mentionning this sad episode as, unfortunately, tens of people get abducted and die everyday in the world, and then I saw this paper in the middle of the street, just like this (I did not touch anything), partly wet because of the rain. It simply moved me.

An inviting grave

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:09:00 GMT

Call me weird, but sometimes, when I want to take a little break from the rush, I take a walk in one of the many cemeteries that we have inside Paris. And for the first time in my life I visited the one of Montmartre, right at the bottom of the "Butte", near the Place de Clichy. A very interesting one, with many famous people. I took a few photos while I was walking without knowing exactly whose grave I was taking. It's only when I came back home that I discovered that I had taken the tomb of a famous French actor who died recently: Jean-Claude Brialy.

No to prostitution

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 23:03:00 GMT

I often go to rue Doudeauville in the 18th arrondissement at the moment (that is where I shake my body on a Powerplate to keep in shape!!). It's not exactly the best neighborhood in Paris - it's not the worst either - and obviously they have to deal with prostitution problems. Apparently the best way inhabitants of this apartment building have found to protest is to hang this huge sign saying "no to prostitution!" (I once almost did the same to protest against noise coming from a restaurant beneath the place I used to live in). It reminded me of this sign. I really wonder if it's going to be any efficient...

Autumn leaves

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:01:00 GMT

Yes, I know, every year I post a photo that looks more or less like this one, around the same time of the year...But autum leaves make good photos and when they are taken in Paris, it makes a big difference ;-) I've taken this photo, in a little garden near the rue de la Madone, in the 18th arrondissement where I went shopping for Chinese food (there is a litlle Chinese quarter over there). That's all, have a nice fall/autumn Sunday everyone, except for those who live in the South hemisphere who are gently entering Spring...

Arrest this woman!

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:01:01 GMT

This woman is a dangerous outlaw, can you guess why? No, she did not rob a bank and put all the money in her purse(!), she simply wears pants and this, ladies and gentlemen, in France is forbidden! Yep. In November 1799, a law was passed saying that all women willing to "dress like a man" should first go to the Police and ask for a written permission! The sad part is that even though in 1892 et 1909 two very liberal laws allowing women to wear pants "under certain conditions" (horse or bicycle riding) were passed, it is still officially forbidden for women to "dress like a man"! Recently a few people from the Paris council asked that the law be removed, but the authorities replied that they were more urgent matters than this. Which is true, as, as you can guess, nowadays this law is no longer applied!

Talented painter

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:11:00 GMT

I'm not a super fan of galery openings as 1) I don't really appreciate the snobby crowd that generally hangs out there and 2) I get bored very quickly (probably a consequence of the 1st point!). Last evening however, I went to two openings and I actually enjoyed myself. I also discovered very talented people. Like Pierre Alex. the man who made these 6 stunning paintings (I know it's hard to really appreciate them in this photo, but that was not my point...) that I photographed at the wonderful Galery W, in the Abesses area near Montmartre. More about the second opening (including a little surprise!) soon...

Les toits de Paris

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:32:42 GMT

I don't know why exactly, but there is something really special about the Paris rooftops. First of all, because you can easily see them (buildings must not be higher than 25 or 31 meters depending on the areas - with a few exceptions though) and second because most of them are shaped the same way, and made of Zinc with orange chimneys. I love them. And I'm not the only one... They have inspired several artists, including film maker René Clair or Hiner Saleem and of course, this very famous song by Berthe Sylva!

Theme Day: Bright colors

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:01:00 GMT

Here is a very nice theme day. I really encourage you to check the photos of all participants in this Theme Day around the world, as there are some amazing shots (I just did and saw what people who are ahead of (my) time photographed and it's really cool - and bright!). I took my photo in a souvenir shop near Montmartre (the same day I took this one) and I saved it for today. It's got everything: Eiffel Towers and bright colors! Enjoy your Sunday everyone.

Montmartre Sales

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:02:00 GMT

I photographed this scene at the Sacré Coeur, the large church on top of Montmartre. During the tourist season (which is basically 365 days per year!) you can see lots of "Vendeurs à la sauvette" (street hawkers) that sell everything from fake Vuitton bags to silly little stuffed puppies like in this photo. Of course this is highly illegal, but the Police cannot chase them every minute and they always have someone on the watch. I must confess it made me feel uncomfortable, because it gives this place a kind of Souq atmosphere which is pretty far from the high-end, sophisticated fashion capital Paris likes to think it is...

A taste of the old times

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:05:00 GMT

I took this photo in the upper part of La rue des Martyrs (the one part that is at beginning of the Butte Montmartre. It's a very traditional street, with old shops and active local life (and a few tourists too, yes!). It's been named that way after, - supposedly - Saint Denis, bishop of Paris in 250 AD, walked through it after he had just been beheaded (yes, you read it right after!). Actually he is said to have picked his head up and walked six miles after it was chopped off! See the whole story here.

Tourists are back in Paris!

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:02:00 GMT

Yes! Ladies and Gentlemen... Tourists are said to be back in Paris - and in France in general. Well, we'll know for sure at the end of the year of course, but "they" say that due to the slight drop of the Euro, people from outside Euroland are more likely to come back. In 2009 "only" 74 million visitors had crossed our border (that is 6% less than in 2008) and among them -10% Americans and - 17% British! France still remained the #1 tourist destination in the world though! I took this shot near Montmartre (you can see the Carousel in the background) last Saturday and, believe me, it was full of tourists...

Tour de France

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:07:00 GMT

Today (Sunday) the Tour de France arrives in Paris. I don't know if I'll have the strength to go the Champs Elysées, crawl through the crowd with the hope of taking DA photo! What amused me, though, is to see yesterday (Saturday) all the tourist shops carrying the Tour de France merchandising items such as T-shirts, mugs, caps, you name it. I did not know the Tour was so popular that it's now souvenirs material... I'm not a big fan of this event, but I really admire these guys (I heard that some of them spend 7 to 8,000 calories a day!) Follow the Tour live on video here, the arrival should be at 3:30 pm, Paris time).

Little Quiz...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:01:00 GMT

For once, let me offer you a little quiz... You will probably have recognized is a fireman on top of the so-called Fireman ladder. In your opinion, what is he doing? A) Rescuing a cat, B) fixing a bulb on the street lamp, 3) None of the previous. Don't cheat! And when you give up (we say "give your tongue to the cat!" in French), click here and find out... I took this photo yesterday morning (Monday, July 12) in the 18th arrondissement, precisely at this Firemen station.