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August 14 2010
Joan of Arc at Saint Augustin
There are three statues of Joan of Arc in Paris - I generally show the one by the Louvre, at the entrance of rue de l'Amiral Coligny (the street that leads to the PDP picnic area!) but for once, let me show you another magnificent one. It's located Place Saint Augustin (after the Saint Augustin church that you can see in the background) and was made by sculptor Paul Dubois, and was posted there in 1896. The 3rd statue is located at Boulevard Saint Marcel; I'll show it to you the next time I go there...
August 06 2010
Impasse d'Antin
Yesterday I had a meeting Impasse d'Antin, a little street near the Rond Point des Champs Elysées, that I never knew of before this meeting. The meeting went bad, but I had the chance to take this photo, which, even if a little over exposed, looks nice to me. That's all! (It's August, I have the right to be lazy LOL!)
July 25 2010
L'étoile !
OK, I won't even think of pretending I took this shot! Besides, it is highly prohibited to fly over Paris unless you have a good reason... No, I stole it from the television on the occasion of the arrival of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysées (that is actually what I like about this event each year: they show breathtaking views of Paris). Now, look more closely (click in the photo to enlarge it). Do you see the little "arms" around the Arc de Triomphe, embedded in the pavement? Very few people know they are there, because you can only see them from above. Well, they are star arms and that is why before being called the Place Charles de Gaulle, it used to be called "L'Etoile" (the Star).
July 14 2010
Wet march
Yes people, I know every year it's the same: bal des pompiers on the 13th, March on the 14th in the morning and fireworks on the 14th at night... But this year, during the march, something was different! The sky was full of threatening clouds that poured tons of rain from time to time. Look at these poor guys who had to play music in the rain! And yes, the blurry shape in the background is... l'Arc de Triomphe! Not to mention the planes that were barely visible in the sky! Fortunately the sky cleared up for the fireworks...
July 08 2010
Bye bye Paris...
That's it, it's too hot in Paris, I'm off for the day to Trouville! Well, it's true, I'm going to spend my day in Trouville, by the sea where it will probably be cooler, but not really for the good reasons. As some of you may remember, I have an old aunt there (96 years old!) and the news is not too good on this front. Anyway, let's focus on the photo! I took it at Gare Saint Lazare when I went to pick up my tickets. But right now I need to go to bed as I wake very early tomorrow, precisely to catch the train! (Sorry, I'm not to clear today, must be the heat ;-))
July 05 2010
Under Siege...
Scary? Yes, a little bit... Did I photograph this in a mask shop? In a Halloween costume store? Nope... This face, ladies and gentlemen is... a seat! Yes a seat! It's called Nemo, it's made by an Italian designer called Fabio Novembre and it is really cool! I found it in a store near the Arc de triomphe (21 avenue de Friedland) called Etat de siège ("siège" means "seat") and Etat de siège also means "under siege"! Really cool anyway. BTW, check this little video, you'll see Nemo better... Oh, BTW, it costs 1 000 €, which is not that bad I think.
July 03 2010
Happy 4th of July!
I know some of you will find it unfair that I celebrate the US Independence Day and not other countries' national day. I have an overwhelming amount of visitors from the US, compared to the rest of the world. According to Google Analytics, over the last 30 days I have had 19,283 visitors from the US! France is second (4,810) then Canada, UK, Australia, and the list goes on. Within the US California is first (4,016 visitors) then NY, PA, TX, FL, MA, IL, OH, WA and NJ. Now you know (almost) everything! And I'm sure you will all understand why I can wish to all my American visitors a happy 4th of July. BTW, this photo shows a little bit of the US in France; it's the American Embassy in Paris, at Place de la Concorde.
June 30 2010
Reflections
Here we go again... Today is the 1st of the month, therefore a theme day. Today's theme is much easier than the one of last month: reflections! I waited until dark, thinking it would be easier, but not really... I ended up on the Place de l'Etoile with my scooter. And the easiest I could think of, was to take a photo of the Arc de Triomphe in the mirror of my scooter. Check the reflections of the CDP community throughout the world by clicking here.
June 03 2010
An American School bus in Paris
I could not believe my eyes when I saw this typical American school bus in the streets of Paris (actually the Boulevard Hausmann) today. Of course it's not a real bus, but probably some advertising material for Longines, as the sign above the windshield shows it. Later tonight I also saw it at Place de la Concorde. What I don't really understand though, is that its licence plate is from Québec in Canada. I seriously doubt they brought this bus all the way from there, just to advertise for Longines in the middle of Paris...
May 26 2010
Notice something different?
Look at this photo carefully. I know you know this arch (called L'arc de Triomphe), but did you notice anything different? Look closer... Click in the photo to enlarge it... Bingo! The sculptures on each side have been replaced with photos. Why? Because they are currently being renovated - until June 15. The one on the right is the most famous one; it was sculpted by François Rude in 1792 and it bears the name "La Marseillaise".
May 23 2010
Les champs return to being fields
I know you think this is a Photoshop edit, but it's not! During the night of Saturday to Sunday, hundreds of French farmers brought dirt, plants and a few farm animals too, to Les Champs Elysées to turn them into a giant field. It's not a demonstration, but a "PR event" called Nature Capitale to remind the Parisians of what the country - and life at the country! - looks like. Enormous - huge - success as this kind of event does not happen very often. I loved it. So much, that I may go back tomorrow at dawn when there are less people (hopefully). BTW, the funny part is that Les Champs Elysées used to be fields (or rather a swamp area) until Marie de Medici decided to have an avenue built there, in 1616!
April 19 2010
Crack deals in Paris!
Let's start the week with a smile... I took this photo near the Franklin Roosevelt Metro (just outside the one of yesterday) and I could not help but laughing when I saw it. These green men belong to the city cleaning services. According to the Paris town hall site, they sweep 2 400 kilometers (1 500 miles) long of sidewalks and empty 30 000 garbage cans every day, and they also use big machines to clean the streets. And sometimes these machines get jammed and they have to fix them, and show us their... er... muscles!
April 17 2010
Metro Layers
A pretty conceptual photo for today. It shows the various "layers" of the Metro. I like it, but I cannot really tell you why. That's all, not much to add... Oh yes, have a good Sunday ;-)
Housing crisis? Obviously...
I took this photo on the Champs Elysées. It would be funny if it weren't sad as the woman who begs crouched against this newsstand cannot see the cover story of the magazine on the ad that says "Real estate in Paris: the real prices...". I bet she does not care anyway, as she'd have to pay on average 6 500 € per square meter for an apartment. Check this site, if you're interested in buying some property in Paris, they have all the detailed prices per square meter for each address of Paris. (Sorry for the late posting, my mistake...).
April 01 2010
Green Oasis
Yesterday was red, today is... green. Why? Because I had the chance to have lunch at the Pershing Hall hotel today where they installed a vertical garden in the restaurant, in between the two main buildings of the hotel. The effect is really cool (and yes, the food is very good too!). FYI the hotel is located in what is usually called the "Golden Triangle", that is an area in the 8th arrondissement located between Avenue Montaigne, Avenue George V and Avenue Champs Elysées.
March 26 2010
Who wants to play hopscotch with me?
When I saw this hopscotch (la marelle in French) at first, I thought some kids had drawn it on the sidewalk. But when I looked closer I realized that it was an advertisement! The usual earth/sky is replaced with Paris/Cannes and there is a web address on the side of it. I managed to decipher it (teamdacr.com), but it leads to a dead site, so I'll never know what they advertise for (apparently a team of designers and writers, but it's pretty unclear). Anyway, the idea is good and, as you can see, it rained today in Paris! Have a nice week-end everyone ;-)
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