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January 15 2012
Change of lighting?
I had a busy, tiresome weekend and I did not find a single minute to go out! Therefore here is a photo I meant to show you earlier and totally forgot about it. It's "an" Eiffel Tower - not THE Eiffel Tower - taken at the Christmas market they had in the lower part of the Champs Elysées. Also a one which lighting is probably not copyright protected, unlike the one of the original one - which I think is a real scandal, but don't get me started...
December 24 2011
Caught in the act!
So I did have to go out today (to pick up my latest presents I ordered online!) and I could not resist grabbing one of these excellent crèpes that they sell everywhere at the moment. I had a chestnut one stuffed with crème de marron (only in French, I did not see any entry in English spread). Yummy! The woman was really wondering why I would take that many photos during her making the crèpe ;-) Anyway, I thought this would put a smile on your face to see how greedy I am (and why I have to go to the gym every other day LOL!) Have a wonderful Christmas eve tonight everyone, for those of you who celebrate Christmas of course.
December 16 2011
The first food truck in Paris
It may not be the best photo you'll find on PDP, but I absolutely wanted to share this slice of Parisian news that I just came across with, by coincidence. This, lady and gentlemen, is a "gourmet" food truck and It may not seem very extraordinary to you, but for us Parisians it is! It's called Le camion qui fume ("the truck that smokes") and it was "invented" by chef Kristin, a Californian girl (what a surprise!) who came to Paris to attend a cooking school (Ferrandi). The interesting part is that she also seems to be an expert at promoting the concept on the Internet (Website, Facebook, Twitter... you name it). I photographed the truck at Place de la Madeleine, but it moves everyday. I wish her all the success she deserves and next time I see the truck, I will surely try the food (see a review on this blog and/or this one).
December 11 2011
More Christmas lights...
I'm just back from dinner in Paris and on the way back I passed by Avenue Montaigne, a famous avenue located off the Champs Elysées. It's one of the most luxurious streets in Paris and for Christmas they decorated the place in a stunning way. It was hard to capture the beauty of the scenery in a global photo so I chose to show you a close up - the "flower" in the foreground actually belongs to one of the fake trees they installed at the crossing of avenue Montaigne and rue François the 1st.
December 07 2011
Place de la Concorde
Today I left home when it was still dark and I came back home when it was already dark! No chance for a day shot! Which is OK, since the big Ferris wheel is back on the Place de la Concorde and it looks much better at night! Besides, this view too never ceases to amaze me! I'm having another long day at Le Web tomorrow, so I don't have much time to write intelligent stuff in this caption, sorry ;-) I'll catch up on Saturday!
November 09 2011
The PDP calendars are out!
Here is another photo I took at the Petit Palais while I was visiting in the inside garden. unfortunately I forgot to make a note of the sculptor's name, so there is not much I can tell you about them. Instead I'll seize the opportunity to let you know that the 2012 PDP calendars are just off press (well, off Zazzle!) and that there is even a 30% off offer until midnight Pacific time. Like last year, there is a B&W version and a color one. I hope you'll like them.
November 05 2011
Another good address...
Here is a place you have to make a note of, if you come to Paris. You'll find it right in the heart of Paris, off the Champs Elysées, but you'll be surprised how quiet it is! Why? Because it's located right in the middle of Le Petit Palais... Tip: when you walk in ask for a free ticket to the "permanent collections", you can then walk in to this little secluded garden and enjoy a two course meal (including a glass of wine and coffee) for 24 € ! BTW, I took this photo Friday morning, as you can see we're having a sort of Indian summer at the moment.
October 26 2011
Biking on the Champs Elysées
Another nice dawn view on the Champs Elysées. Nothing to add, I'm sure you'll like it too ;-)
October 24 2011
Champs Elysées at dawn...
OK, it was not exactly dawn, but 9 o'clock... But at this time of year (we're about to change time this weekend) it's almost like dawn! The light was really beautiful and since it was Sunday morning Les Champs Elysées were almost empty.
October 23 2011
Vive la France!
So we did not win (the World Rugby Cup final) yesterday, but I had great fun. I woke up early to make it to "The Freedom" a pub located off Les Champs Elysées that I already mentioned here where the owner of fashion store Koko (a true Kiwi!) had organized a giant NZ meetup (French could join too ;-). Needless to say that the atmosphere was, well, very festive and that we heard a lot of "La Marseillaise" (listen) and "God Defend New Zealand" (listen) singing. Great moment.
September 05 2011
Hotel Crillon
Due to its location (facing the Place de La Concorde), the hotel Crillon is probably one of the most luxurious hotels in Paris. The actual building was constructed in 1758 by architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel, then it was later bought to be used as a private home (yes a private home!) in 1788 by the Count of Crillon. It was confiscated during the revolution period (in 1791) then becamee a hotel in 1907 (read the whole story here is you're interested). What you see on the left is not the actual building, it's a fake facade which purpose is to hide the real one while it's being redone. Cool isn't?
September 04 2011
The most expensive avenue in Europe
The news came last Thursday after commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield released their annual study regarding the price of the rental value of the major shopping streets in the world : The Champs Elysées is the most expensive shopping street in Europe - and the 5th in the world - before New Bond street in London. It will cost you 7,364 euros per square meter per year if you plan to open a little shop around the corner down there! No wonder only big chain stores can afford it... After Abercrombie and Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger, H & M it will soon be the turn of Banana Republic and... Marks and Spencers (from the UK). BTW, I took this photo from the Arc de Triomphe, as you probably guessed already!
August 09 2011
Paris in the 50's?
No, it's not Paris in the 50's, it's Paris in the 2010's! And though when I took this photo it really made me think of it. Something about the color probably - that I did not modify, before you say it! The funny part is that Les Champs Elysées have not changed much since then - have a look at this site, and this photo in particular. Or even Parisavant.com, that I already mentioned here and where you can see the same locations taken from the same angle with a 50 or 60 year difference.
August 08 2011
Creative architecture
You find this building a little dark for a Haussmanian construction? You're right, but wait the story is interesting! As you can guess, it's not a real one, but a concrete cast of a Haussmanian facade. And why is it so? Because the architect (Edouard François), had to solve a problem: unify 7 different era buildings into a unique one. He had the clever idea to hide them behind this facade, that he calls a "concrete 3D wall paper with glass windows hanging like paintings". Pretty creative... BTW, it's a hotel and it's located at the corner of rue Quentin Bauchard and rue Vernet, just off the Champs Elysées.
July 24 2011
Vive l'Australie !
Today the Tour de France landed on the Champs Elysées, like every year since 1975. You may know it already as this race seems to be extremely popular throughout the world (they say it is broadcast in 190 countries!), this year an Australian (Cadel Evans) won for the first time. I'm really happy for this country that I really like. Now I debated between showing you a photo of the winner and a stunning aerial photo of Paris that I stole from the television and... well the latter won! You can see the Seine on the left, the Eiffel Tower of course, in the foreground Le Grand Palais and the big avenue in the middle is... Les Champs Elysées. Again, a very rare occasion (with the 14 Juillet march) to see Paris from the Sky.
July 14 2011
Bird's-eye view of the arch....
Thank you so much for your nice wishes yesterday ;-) Like last year I don't resist showing you an image that I grabbed from the television and that you will rarely see (it is normally forbidden to fly over Paris). The Arc de Triomphe in the middle of La Place de l'Etoile from the sky... I love it. Did you notice the red trucks? They belong to the firemen brigades that marched, like I was telling you yesterday.
June 08 2011
Celebration
I'm just back from a dinner with very good friends of mine, in the suburbs. On the way back, I drove through the Champs Elysées and saw the French flag was hanging, in between the arches. This generally happens when we celebrate something, like Bastille day (le 14 juillet,) or the end of WWII. In this particular case I don't know why... Maybe one of my readers will give us the solution. Anyway, it's a classic, but it's still beautiful ;-)
May 26 2011
Visit Paris in a Tuk Tuk
There are many ways to visit Paris, other than with the public transportation... I already showed you the hop on hop off bus, the 2CV tours, the bike tours, the Segway tours, the Bateaux Mouche tours, here are now the Tuk Tuk tours! One never ceases to innovate in Paris when it comes to dragging tourists around! Apparently there is half a dozen of Tuk-Tuk companies (I have no particular interests in this one, I just photographed it by chance). PS: Saturday the weather should be fine, so don't forget the picnic...
May 25 2011
A sunny day in Paris
I spent the whole day in Trouville today (no, not to prepare the G8 summit! but to sort out some personal matters), and on the way back I passed by the Champs Elysées where the sun was slightly going down. It was one of those days where I feel really happy to live in Paris. Silly? Yeah, a little bit, but I'm sure that a lot of you - Paris lovers - would have liked to be in my shoes ;-).
March 10 2011
French billionaires
The French may not be good at high-tech products or industry in general (even though we have a few blue chip companies, like Alstom, the maker of the TGV (bullet train)), there is one area in which we excel: luxury! It was not really surprising therefore to find out today in the 2010 world's billionaire list made by Forbes, that among the 5 richest Frenchmen in the list, 4 owe luxury businesses : Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Liliane Bettencourt (L'Oréal), François Pinault (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent...) and Alain et Gérard Wertheimer (Chanel). The first one - Bernard Arnault - is even the 4th richest man on earth and the richest one in Europe...
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