Friday, March 10, 2006

A beautiful Laundrette


I would have never thought yesterday's photo would have triggered that many comments! I regret not to have had the time to add mine, but I will try to. Anyway, after seeing a photo on Bob's BarcelonaDailyPhoto with people's laundry hanging out of the window, I thought I'd show you the Parisian version. Here, there is no washer or dryer facilities in the basement of buildings like in the States and it's totally prohibited to let your laundry hang out of the window. You either have to fit your appliances in the bathroom - or the kitchen - or take your dirty laundry to the lavomat (or laundrymat) like this one.

ParisDailyPhoto 1 year anniversary minus 1 day!

31 comments:

  1. This is so cool Eric. I'm dizzy looking at the photo and I don't even see anything spinning!

    So tell me Eric (pop quiz here), what's the difference between the following:

    Lavoir
    Lavomatique
    Le Lavoir
    Laverie
    Lav'Blanc
    Bbuanderette
    Salle de lavage
    Laverie
    Blanchisserie
    Teinturerie

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  2. Eric - Yes the same in our apartment block in Melbourne. No dirty washing (or clean washing for that matter) in the streets here! City life sometimes appears very heavily regulated in Australia

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  3. LOL Michael, well, it's almost 2 am, I am exhausted and I think I'll pass on this one...

    Why don't you ask Mea's pupils? I think they will come up with the perfect definitions for you (see yesterday's comments).

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  4. And Michael H do you have the same expression "Il faut laver son linge sale en famille" (You have to wash your dirty laundry - bad things - within the family - not in public) ?

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  5. Nice angle, I think this brings depth to the shot. Great composition!

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  6. Michael and Eric- I'll be happy to pose the challenge to my students tomorrow. We'll see what they come up with!

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  7. Great Perspective!!! Nice shot. Nice contrast in colors as well.

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  8. How very modern and high tech! You'd practically expect to see an Apple logo on them. ;-) Plus, they look impeccable. Many of these places around the Bay are not that clean!

    Eric: I think you got so many comments yesterday on the cup of coffee because people look at it and think it's quintessential Paris, right there.

    And besides, as far as we're concerned, you walk on water; in other words, no matter what you take in picture, we're most likely gonna like it a lot! :-D

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  9. Tomate's final sentiment is right...

    "Oh Eric, the shot of that crotte on the trattoir is so clever!"

    Truth is, you have such a talented eye, you probably could take that shot and make it artistic!

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  10. ooh la la! How chic the laundrymats are in Paris. They are rather more grotty in the Great Canadian North.

    Reason #7462 why I can't wait to move there.

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  11. What a clean place! Even the machines themselves shine... The places I've seen so far where more run down... Also, there aren't that many anymore here in Germany...

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  12. Eric, I was relooking at your photo and I can only say one thing, they spin me right round.

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  13. hi
    just love your site and since you are having a 1 year anniversary ... wanted to send you a Big THANK You!

    cheers
    blarneybytes

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  14. Michael - I have to learn how to create one of those cool links to a music bite! Very clever, thanks for providing me with my morning dance music! :o)

    I love the laundromat picture! But - Eric, do you know the dimensions of those washers and dryers in Paris laundromats, because my recollection is that washers in France are minuscule compared to those in the U.S, which are rather gigantic.

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  15. > Mea. I am waiting for the result!

    > Rodney and Duane. thank you...

    > Tomate. Walking on water?! It reminds me of somebody, a long long time ago... LOL

    > Buzzgirl. It is way exagerated but it is really nice to hear your nice compliments. And don't try me with your crotte photo, I may do it!

    > Eurobrat. Don't expect too much though. Reality is often much less appealing that a photo...

    > Nicola. In Paris they are quite many actually. And once again theyr look much shinier on this photo than in reality.

    > Michael. Cool. I never heard about this song before.

    > Blarneybytes. Thank you for your BIG thank you!

    > Good idea Elisabeth, why don't you ask Michael how he did that?! As for the size: good remark. In fact washers are much small here that is true (5 kilos) but they can normally hold 8 to 10 kilosin laundramats. The wash cycle is something that amazes me in the US: it lasts about 20 minutes whereas in Europe it lasts at least 1 hour...

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  16. Its all so polished that it might as well be an operating room or part of a spaceship in a scifi movie. They even have numbers to make it more futuristic. I like the combination of green light and steel color surface. You got just one day left to celebrate your anniversary, so congrats on the fabulous blog!

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  17. This is a great shot. My laundry mats are not nearly so lovely or interesting, but the patrons-now that is another story!

    We are celebrating the 6 month anniversary of our very own washer and dryer. After living in the city for 5 years and having to trek back and forth, we are now the proud owner of two installed, functioning appliances. I mean, all we had to do was purchase the applicances and have our gas replumbed. Hardly any work at all!

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  18. re: Eric- I have been to Paris, just not to its laundromats. Yet.

    Btw, thanks for the comment on my blog...

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  19. It has been a while but I posted a photo of our stackable washer and dryer. All to save space.

    I like the angle and color in your photo.

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  20. Nice shot- Can't you even hang it round the back?

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  21. Eric,
    Tres chic! This shot's atmosphere and colors reminded me a great deal of the the rooms at a tiny hotel we loved in the 7th --here you can find a photo-- http://tinyurl.com/jqhmk
    Your comment about having to put the appliances in the bath or kitchen reminded me of a friend's description of her Parisian apartment in which she had to sqeeze over the top corner of a washer to enter the bath tub.
    Tomorrow, tomorrow, your anniversary day is tomorrow!! can't wait,
    -Kim

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  22. Hey, Eric!

    I did not know you has such a wonderful photographer's talent.

    Since getting back to Canada - after 10 years of Parisian living - and yes Eric our paths have crossed in Paris... I crave the day-to-day scenes. Thank you for your Wonderful blogue!

    Best,

    Val

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  23. Yes, Michael, how do you do that?!! Trop cool!

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  24. Eric I'd agree with buzzgirl - you are very talented and it is a joy to view your photos.

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  25. Okay, with the aid of our Larousse, tell us how we did (some of these were hard!):
    Lavomatique/Laverie - A Laundromat, usually self-serve
    Lavoir - A large basin/pond/pool where 18th century washerwomen did the washing
    Buanderie - Quebecois for a laundromat, seems like French for a laundry room/wash house (I'm picturing manor houses, etc)
    Salle de lavage - Quebecois for a laundry room within the home
    Blanchisserie - Laundry service / Laundromat
    Teinturerie - Seems to be the dry cleaner's

    I did just give the list to my kids before and asked them to guess what they meant. That was fun too, here are a few examples:
    Buanderie - Dirty laundry
    Salle de lavage - A room full of lava (of course!)
    Blanchisserie - Bleach

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  26. Mea: I love the lava room! :) Why not, we already have lava lamps ...

    Blanchisserie: you know, that's not so far fetched. After all, there is the piece "blanc" in it, which means white, and way back when we didn't have so many "man made" fabrics, we did bleach everything...

    * * *

    OMG, only a few more hours before ParisDaily turns 1... the suspense is KILLING ME!!!!

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  27. Eric, where are you? It's after 2am Paris time, and still no post! Are you out celebrating? Don't you know we can't wait to see this anniversary photo?

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  28. Tomate - I thought their original guesses were very creative and I was impressed that there were based (mostly) in actual French language!

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  29. Mea: love the kids comments! Please keep them coming! :)

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  30. Mea, that was great! And yes Eric and Mea, I found some of the words off a list that included French from Quebec. 1 or 2 are actual names of laundromats (businesses), so no fooling your students!

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  31. michael - i haven't heard that song in ages and it was awesome to bring back some great memories. unfortunately, i also have memories of these washing machines in my college dormitory - or something like them. you can get into a lot of trouble in the dorm laundry room by the way!

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