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September 03 2010
Tomate Party
Here is my little tribute to my "oldest" follower (well, I guess) for when I saw this poster, I could not help but thinking of Tomate Farcie (stuffed tomato) who is a regular commenter to PDP! In this particular case Tomate has nothing to do with food, nor gardening, but with "music" and dance. If you're interested - and I'm sure you are! - it'll start at 6 am (yes AM!) on Sunday morning at the Plaza Madeleine at 8 place de la Madeleine. Have fun! (Why on earth do I suddenly feel so old?!)
September 02 2010
African art at the cloister
There is a lot more that funny shaped baguettes in Le Marais ;-) There is also a lot of art. Hence this African art exhibition in Le Cloître des Billettes (the Billettes cloister) - a sublime place built around 1430 ! - I love African art so I'm a little biased of course, but I'm sure you will all agree that these sculptures are positively stunning. I wish I had won the lottery and could afford to buy them... See the little video here if you want to know more about this exhibition and about Marie B who made them.
August 28 2010
What's cookin'?
What's cooking? Well, probably croissants and baguettes, paints au chocolat and pastries... as I spotted these guys - probably on a break - just outside the Boulangers-patissiers (bakers) chamber which happens to be on L'île Saint Louis since 1845, one of the best locations in Paris. As you can guess, among other things, it's a training facility, so that is probably what these people were doing: getting trained. I wonder what they do with the leftovers !
August 20 2010
Sprinkler at Paris Plage
I know you're going to say I'm obsessed with kids playing with sprinklers (remember?), but what can I say, I think they make great photos. This year, they installed some of them in a sort of jungle area, which makes it even more out of place! Great success among the kids, needless to say. Especially since the nice weather has returned and that we're expecting very high temperature this weekend. I'll be in the South again, after 4 days in Trouville where it rained ;-)
August 17 2010
Learn to play soccer young!
Here is a very popular game in France... We call it a "baby foot" (yes, we often create faux English words to make things sound more fashionable!) and there used to be one in every single café throughout the country. Now they have been replaced with arcades games or pinballs... I found this one at Paris Plage and loved it because it's particularly small (a baby baby foot in other words...). And I love the energy in this photo too.
August 15 2010
Water for 1 €
Here is a photo I've been dying to take for a long time, but I never dared digging out my camera in front of one of these guys. "These guys" are more or less illegal immigrants, all part of a "business gang" that sells water or miniature Eiffel Towers to tourists. According to an article I found on the web, they make about 400 € a month on average, which is not much. Needless to say they are pretty camera shy as their business is not exactly appreciated by legal shopkeepers, nor the Police... I personnaly would not buy water from them, not because they are illegal, but because I'd be afraid of what is really into the bottle! Did you ever try?
August 10 2010
Deck chairs at Paris Plage
I went to Paris Plage today to take a few photos and my favorite one is probably this one, as it shows exactly what this event is all about: spend some quiet time by the Seine, surrounded by the magnificent scenery of the river banks in the same exact deck chairs you could have in a sea resort. I love it! And though it's time for me to take a little break by the "real" sea... And it's not going to be Normandy this time, nor Brittany, but the South... (And don't worry, I will still post a photo everyday on PDP, needless to say!).
July 22 2010
Rover at the Town hall?
This will probably remind my British visitors of something! I found these big plastic balls in front of the Hotel de Ville (town hall). They are actually targeted at kids who take great pleasure in moving them from the inside. I must say I was tempted too - but I'm way beyond the age limit! They are probably part of the Paris Plage program - which goes now much further than the river banks, but I could not find anything about them on the Web...
July 06 2010
Jogging along the Seine
Summertime, sun, outdoor, feeling more relax... isn't that the perfect moment to go back to "doing some exercise, I feel so good afterwards!" Well yes, that is surely what this lady is thinking - besides running along the Seine is probably much more appealing than among cars... Mind you the embankment of the Hudson river is not that bad either, remember? As for me, I just renewed my membership to the gym yesterday! (You did not think I was going to run anywhere else than on a machine, did you?!).
June 27 2010
Wish you were here!
I know you're going to be envious, but I can't help it! The weather in Paris at the moment is really nice (a little too hot maybe...) and walking down the embankment is a real treat. FYI? the first bridge is Pont Marie and the second one - in the background - is Pont Louis Philippe. I hope this will help you start the week with a big smile...
June 23 2010
De Gaulle Portrait
More of de Gaulle! They installed a huge portrait of him on the Hotel de Ville building and it's really impressive. What's even more impressive is that this portrait is actually a mosaic. It made of 1038 other portraits, the ons of the Compagnons de la Libération, that is people who played a role in the liberation of France during WWII (this includes members of the resistance, but not only). Click here to see a close up of the portrait and take a look at some of the mini portraits.
June 07 2010
Another Souvenir from the Picnic
The place we had the picnic on Sunday is very very popular. So popular that a lot of people go there to take a walk or lay in the sun by the river between the Pont Neuf (in the background) and the Pont des arts. And before they go, they often want to leave a little souvenir on one of the many trees that are planted there! That is what I grabbed in this photo ;-) How romantic is that?! BTW, I worked all evening for you. The video is now ready - well it will be @ 1 am French time. Don't expect too much though... It's just a little souvenir.
June 06 2010
PDP Picnic 2010
Hello everyone, here is DA photo you've all been waiting for... Due to the bad weather, a lot of people were discouraged (I don't blame them, even I wouldn't have come if I weren't kinda involved in the gathering!) but eventually it did not rain and we even had a few rays of sun... As always it was wonderful to meet all these -very - nice people. We were lucky enough to have a chef among us (Ulla, just behind the man in the green shirt) who brought some delicious food. Champagne was brought by... Drummond (for yes Drummond, his wife Mae and his humor were there!). Pasta Salad by Anissa, the lady from the Hungarian Cultural Center. I was spoiled by Jeff and Rose, we all thought of Lynn (PHX-CDG), spoke to Lynn (UK) on the phone and had nice talks and laughs with everyone, including newcomers. And yes, I think I was photographed a few times, although I did not notice anything in particular... (Maybe Sab did!). I also took a few videos and this year, I promise, I will post them!
From left to right, starting with the last row: 1-Jeff, Cathy, Mae, Drummond, 2-Ulla, Guille, Linda, Rose, Michael, 3-Andy, Anissa, Philip, Allan, 4-Vicenzo.
June 05 2010
Roland Garros final
Believe it or not, today (Sunday) while some lucky people will have a blast picnicking on the embankment of La Seine with a bunch of PDP fans (LOL) some others will be sitting in front of their television watching the final of the French tennis open, better known as Roland Garros (after the name of the stadium where it takes place)... Unless, unless... they take advantage of the giant screen that has been installed in front of the town hall and where I took this cute father and son photo today...
May 15 2010
Fête du Pain 2010
Like every year since 1996, we are celebrating "Le Pain" (bread). It always take place in May because according to tradition, the 16th of May is the day of Saint Honoré, the Saint of... bakers! In fact the main reason for this celebration is that French people only eat 165 g of bread each year and that this is not good enough for the bakers' business! Problem is: bread makes you gain weight... But shush! Website: la fête du pain.
April 24 2010
The secret to living longer...
If you left your heart in Paris, well don't worry, the Federation française de cardiologie (the French Cardiology Federation) can probably do something for you LOL. Hence this exhibition that they organized this weekend in front of l'Hôtel de ville (town hall) to raise awareness on heart disease in France. No secret recipe here; they promote exercise (check the Tai Chi lesson on the Making of!), a low cholesterol diet, no smoking... Again, it's not the most glamorous photo of PDP (although if you look carefully you'll see Notre Dame in the background!), but I thought this was "very French" ;-)
April 11 2010
Paris Marathon 2010
Yesterday (Sunday) was the Paris Marathon. So right after I handed out my old scooter to the lucky winner on ebay! I rushed to the center of the city to catch the runners. As always it is extremely moving to see these people running - sometimes to raise money for charities - and the crowd around encouraging them. As always I also took a zillion photos and made a little Animoto. As a main photo theme, I chose this guy, who is a garçon de café - a waiter - and who ran with his tray (he probably also takes part in the real garçon de café race that we have each year) ! Quite admirable. BTW, if you're wondering about the next PDP picnic, well, look on the right and check what the little grey haired man has to tell you...
March 23 2010
Antoine & Lili in Le Marais
Weird encounter with a mannequin today! I found "her" at rue des Francs Bourgeois, in the Marais, just outside a pretty "in" women clothes brand store called "Antoine & Lili". I checked everywhere and I was totally unable to find out who hides behind this brand (they have 15 outlets in France and 6 in Paris, including a large one by the Quai de Valmy in the 10the arrondissement). All the stores are painted with a super bright color. Clever. And, by the way, they also have a stunning website.
March 21 2010
Ile Saint Louis
A recent study ranked Paris the most expensive city in the world to live in (which I seriously doubt really), but when you see this scenery, you don't regret spending a little more than in other big capitals! This is actually the skyline of a part the Ile Saint Louis, a very old part of Paris that was built during the 17th century (you can see how crooked the buildings are!). Most of these buildings where originally Hotels Particuliers, that is private houses belonging to one and only one family. Things have changed now, but for the price of real estate. Not only is it very difficult to find an apartment there, but when you do, prices have no limits! More detailed info here.
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