Advertising age
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Like all underground transportation systems in the world, the French metro makes the end meet by selling advertising space. This, since... 1947 (and a little before too)! Generally rented by the week, this space has seen thousands of ad campaigns since then! One artist - Pierre-François Grimaldi - had the idea of turning them into real pictures. Some of them can currently bee seen at Galerie W, near Montmartre. Quite clever - and interesting for "old" Parisians like me who may remember some of these campaigns!
On the case...
Monday, June 04, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Can you smell blood on PDP today?! Well, you should, for besides the Queen Jubilee in the UK, the French news is full of the story of Luka Rocco Magnotta, a Canadian porn star who is said to have killed a man, made a video and sent the victim's dismembered body parts in the mail (read more here)! Even worse - after all this - he took a flight to... Paris! Some witnesses say that he stayed in the Batignolles area (a quarter of Paris where I used to live 10 years ago!), others that he is currently in the suburbs... Anyway, I could not help but live dangerously (LOL) and went back to my old neighborhood to take this photo. If tomorrow's PDP photo is of one of my body parts, you'll know why... ;-) In the meantime I'll be singing this... UPDATE: He was caught in Berlin today!
French Tennis open
Sunday, June 03, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
The French tennis open (called The Rolland Garros tournament in France) has started. It's always a big thing, not only for tennis fans, but for the Parisians (and French) in general. Of course, I could not miss it... But if you think I took this photo in the Rolland Garros stadium itself, you're all wrong! I took it in front of the Paris town hall, where they installed a huge screen with seats and tables where people can watch the show comfortably (click here for a broader view). Pretty cool actually...
A journey to Versailles in Autolib
Saturday, June 02, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
I already mentioned Autolib twice on this blog (here and here). It's a car sharing system that allows you to pick up a car from any station in Paris and suburbs and drop it in any station, when you return... Well, for the 1st time today I used it (to go to Versailles). The system is very well made. All you need is to scan your licence and ID and swipe a credit card in one of their stations, then choose your plan (I took a daily one for 10 €/ 24 hours and 14€/hour) and get familiar with the driving of an electric car (it's really not very different from "normal" cars). Cherry on the cake ; the whole system remembers the radio stations you memorized so that the next time you take a car, your favorite radios are already preset!
Tranquility, really?
Friday, June 01, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Today's theme day among the CDP community is "Tranquility". Frankly there is not much that makes me think of anything tranquil in a big city like Paris! I first thought of showing you water, but even on the Seine there is a constant circulation of boats and "bateaux mouche" ! So here is a scene that I took last night, right after I went out of the Marigny Theater on the Champs Elysées. The street is pretty busy of course, but the sunset is rather "tranquil"! As always, have a look at what the other CDP bloggers posted for today's theme day...
Doing justice to the Palais de la justice!
Thursday, May 31, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Curiously enough, I never photographed this beautiful building, called Le Palais de justice (the Justice Palace), which is the "headquarters" of our justice system. It is located on the Ile de la Cité, in the very middle of Paris right near the Conciergerie where Marie-Antoinette was kept prisoner after the French revolution. I went inside this palace only once, to attend "la conference des avocats", a sort of funny fake plea open to the public, staging young lawyers .
A walk among the trees
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Here is another photo I took the same day in the Luxembourg gardens. I love that scene: the light, the way the people are dressed, the "corridor effect"... And thanks to Lois Simon who quoted Wikipedia in the comment box yesterday, we know that... "In 1612, Marie de Medicis planted 2,000 elm trees, and directed a series of gardeners, most notably Tommaso Francini, to build a park in the style she had known as a child in Florence."
Some work, others don't...
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Here is a scene I photographed at the Luxembourg gardens and I thought it was a good illustration of yesterday, a day we call Pentecost Monday which is a Catholic feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the remaining eleven Apostles of Christ. It used to be a holiday, but in 2004, the Government decided to make it a working day to raise money for the elderly. Of course, this decision gave way to many protests... resulting in a partial reinstatement of the holiday! Funny photo though!
Fire at the Eiffel Tower!
Monday, May 28, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Last Friday I had the pleasure of joining a group of students from Miami University (Ohio, USA) who are currently travelling in Europe and wanted to meet "true French people" and expatriates "in the flesh". It was really interesting and fun (they were really smart!). Since dinner was at Café Kléber on the Place du Trocadero, we walked towards the famous esplanade! The weather was stunning, the tower was in good shape and so were the showmen and women who were performing in front of the tourists. See for yourself!
Love souvenir!
Sunday, May 27, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Cute photo isn't it? I took it at Les Pont des Arts, where, like I already reported several times, lovers from all over the world who come to Paris, attach a lock to the grid as a symbol of their love. There are a zillion of them now, and the Paris town hall often has to remove them or to replace parts of the grid. That's probably what happened there and these two people were lucky enough to be the first to attach their lock right after the grid was replaced! This was definitely worth a souvenir photo!
Forced to be 2 minutes early!
Saturday, May 26, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
I'm often asked what are the main cultural differences between the French and other nationalities (namely English speaking ones!) and the management of time is definitely one. Hence the "scandal" that is currently taking place in your train stations at the moment: the SNCF (railway company) has decided to close the doors of the TGV (bullet train) as early as 2 minutes before departure! No way you can "jump" on board at the last minute any more... Imagine! Why is it that French people often arrive just on time or late? I have no idea...
Paris Elevator
Friday, May 25, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Here is a very typical Parisian thing: an elevator from the beginning of the century (the 20th). You find them in most Haussmanian buildings and some of them are really nice. This one, that I photographed in the 17th arrondissement even has a little bench on which people can sit during their journey! You have to keep in mind that when they were first installed, they were pretty slow; some of them where not even electric, but worked with a pretty complex hydraulic system, not always very reliable (I remember an old uncle who told me he got once trapped in one that would never stop going up and down!).
Cruising the Seine
Thursday, May 24, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
The weather has finally decided to be nicer... Parisians are thankful and so are the tourists. At least the ones that cruised the Seine on a "bateau mouche" today! My eyes got caught by the lady in green in this photo, but it's only now that I realized she was being photographed by someone with a pretty "professional" attitude... Maybe she's a model or something! Anyway I love the atmosphere in this photo.
Don't drop and go!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Some people complain that Paris is a dirty city. To be honest I don't think it's any dirtier that most large cities in the Western world, dog poop apart of course! (A lot has changed on this front by the way...). It's true though, that some people won't bother making the effort of reaching the next garbage can even though, there is one every 100 meters maximum... The Paris town hall has decided to react , threatening all polluters a 35€ ticket if they are caught dropping anything on the pavement. Will it work? I'm curious to know...
Spooky Eiffel Tower
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
I often hesitate to show the "classic" views of Paris thinking that you can see them everywhere, like in guidebooks. Sometimes, though, I don't resist! Especially when the light is "different" or when the scene is intriguing... Like in this photo. You probably recognized the "lady" on the left, but probably not the one on the right... She represents La Jeunesse "the youth" and was sculpted by Alexandre Descatoire.
(1874-1949)
The debut of a successful business
Monday, May 21, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
It's always funny to jump in the past and see how the business that someone started a long time ago are still up and running and "pretty modern". That is the case of Le Printemps, one of the first Paris department stores created in May 1865 by Jules Jaluzot and Jean-Alfred Duclos who took the risk of investing in an area that was not very popular then. Only they believed that the new Saint Lazare train station would change all this, and they were right! They also "invented" fixed prices; for the first time customers would not have to bargain each time they wanted to buy something, simply pay the price on the label. How revolutionary!
On the bench
Sunday, May 20, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Look what I found at the Porte de Versailles today (Porte de Versailles is an area located in the South West of Paris where they have large exhibition halls, including the famous Salon de l'agriculture that I already mentioned several times and the Foire de Paris (Paris fair). It's just a bench, put a pretty colorful one. I thought it would make a cool photo and it does (the shadow helps, I must say ;-)) That's all, have a nice Sunday everyone.
Bike ride
Saturday, May 19, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Traditionally there are many "official" holidays in May in France (1st, 8th Ascension, Pentecost...) and this year a lot of them fall a day or two close to a weekend so that it's easy to take 3 or 4 days off for the price of one! That is precisely why Paris is currently very quiet, as last Thursday was a holiday and a lot of people have made "Le Pont" (the bridge)! I stayed, for I already took some time off recently at the beginning of the month and have to work now (I also have to finish the new design of PDP!). If the weather is nice I may take a little bike ride though...
Zoom on Notre Dame
Friday, May 18, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
It's not because today is La Saint Eric (in France, a country of Catholic tradition, each day is associated with the name of a said Saint) that I'm showing a bit of Notre Dame, but just because I found out only yesterday that they installed telescopes in front of it, so that people can see the stunning details of its facade better. I did not try it though, because I did not have any coin (1 €) so I can't tell you if it's worth it. One thing I'm sure of, is that it helps making cool photos ;-))
Fête du pain 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
As you all know I'm sure(!), in France the 16th of May is the day of Saint Honoré, the Saint of... bakers! That is why we are currently celebrating bread at the moment. How? In several ways, including a large exhibition in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, where I was able to taste some bread specialty and take this photo. If you notice, the baker in the foreground is a woman, as more and more bakers are now female bakers.
New President
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
That's it, as of today our new President, François Hollande, is in charge. The whole "coronation" took place today which involves a trip to the Elysée to switch places with the former President, then a car ride between the Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, then a few handshakes with the crowd (we call that a "crowd bath"!) and a few other traditional stuff. As you can see, yesterday's sun was gone today and obviously the French protocol does not include the use of an umbrella... We have an expression in French that goes "mouiller sa chemise", which means "to put in some hard work". I think it could not be more appropriate, providing the amount of work that awaits for him!
Wish you were here (you too I'm sure!)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
The weather is currently lovely in Paris at the moment; just the right temperature (20°C - 68°F), plenty of sun, and another holiday in the pipe (newt Monday!) this Thursday. I took this photo from the Jardin de Belleville, a park that not many tourists visit and from where you can enjoy a very nice view of Paris. I highly recommend it. BTW the dome that you can see in the background is... the dome of the Invalides Pantheon (thank you Marnie! sorry for the mistake) .
Belleville artist worksops
Monday, May 14, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Betty Boop visits Paris!
Sunday, May 13, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
I really don't know why someone made posters of Betty Boop and posted them on the walls of Paris, but here is one of them, that I found near the BHV (Bazar de l'hôtel de ville) department store. Maybe in a few days we will discover it's simply an ad campaign! Anyway I thought it would be a nice Sunday photo, even though it's not very Paris centric, nor even French! FYI Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer that appeared for the first tim on August 9, 1930! [Uptade] Doh! I did not even notice that Betty had the body of Marilyn! There must be something going on with these two ladies, as I also found this.
Silver liner
Saturday, May 12, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Yes, it's a classic. Only the sky was so beautiful today that I could not help but taking a shot.The boat on the Seine is not really a "liner", but a boat on which you can enjoy a nice trip on the river and admire the Seine embankment which, to me, remains the most beautiful thing in Paris. BTW the water level has risen a lot lately; flood pictures to come for sure... I also have to decide on a date for the PDP picnic...
Cycle racing in Paris
Friday, May 11, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Don't go thinking the Tour de France started earlier this year, this cyclist is probably just an amateur that I caught on "film" yesterday in the Bois de Boulogne. The Bois de Boulogne is a 3.3 square mile park that borders the west side of Paris in which you can find several lakes, restaurants and even a racecourse. That is precisely around this racecourse (called l'hippodrome de Longchamp) that the cyclists train. FYI several buses allow you to go to the Bois de Boulogne, which is a nice location for a picnic for instance.
Playing with Europe
Thursday, May 10, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
In front of the town hall there was until today an exhibition targeted at kids, dedicated to... Europe. They probably organized it a long time ago, and though it's wonderfully timely, as, as you may have heard in the news, Europe is once again at jeopardy. Greece has no more government, Spain and Portugal have a huge debt problem, and France and Germany have to negotiate on the latest treaty. It's not easy to build a new country... BTW, how good is your European Geography (I scored 55)?
Paris Flat Iron
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
WWII Armistice
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
Today (May 8), is a holiday in France; we celebrate the WWII armistice (the end of the war). There will be a big event on the Champs Elysées for the occasion (to which exceptionally, both the new and the former President will attend). I happened to be on the Champs Elysées yesterday and I came across this sculpture of Charles de Gaulle, by Jean Cardot that I already posted a long time ago and from - another angle. I thought it was pretty timely, as de Gaulle played a large role during WWII.
And the new President of France is...
Monday, May 07, 2012 Publié par Eric Tenin
That's it! The polls didn't leave much suspense to be honest, but at least now we're sure; the next French President for the 5 years to come is François Hollande, from the socialist party. He will officially start his new job on May 15 (which does not leave much time for the former President to move out!) and even possibly on May 11 with an unofficial encounter with Angela Merkel from Germany. If you want to know what this new election will change and what "French socialism" really means, I recommend this article. I wish him (or rather us!) good luck.
