OK, this might be the tackiest picture of this blog but, well, once in a while it does not hurt! I took it near the Ecole Militaire (7th arrondissement) at the very end of the Champs de Mars. By the way, today is November 11, the anniversary of the first World War truce. If you want to know all about it, look at last year's photo and post. Have a very, very nice weekend everyone.
Put this photo on a card, mug, t-shirt, bag and more here!
Tacky? The Eiffel Tower? Now, now, Eric!! Personally I think it's cute as a button. Love it!
ReplyDeletethis picture is going right on my desktop background!
ReplyDeletehaha tacky or not, my breath leaves me every time i see it in person........
SOOSHA_Q:
in response to your question yesterday, you actually don't need clearance to work there and there are a ton of interns...especially in the summer. it has been a VERY interesting "inside" view on Congress and how it works. the best part working there i think is the power to walk through the Capitol Building without and escort and at any time.....*sigh*
It's not tacky, it's actually quite romantic. It is la vie en rose!
ReplyDeleteI like it!
ReplyDeleteThe first time I visited Paris - indeed, from the moment I first saw her through the clouds as my plane was getting ready to land - I felt I was "coming home". I know many others who have had a similar experience, and I am sure they all have different reason for having responded this way - or be equally unable to explain the strength (or the uncanny "familiarity") of their sudden burst of emotion upon seeing your elegant and enchanting city.
ReplyDeleteYes, your photo might be a little "cheesy", but I like it, mainly because it stirs in me those memories I keep tucked away in a secret mental draw marked The Best Moments of my Life that Aren't Fantasies or Dreams. Sentimental, I know, but I am well beyond being coy about such things, having realised long ago that it's only those things we feel deeply that we can be said to have felt at all, and that you can never get away from what has touched you to the core of your being - either good or bad. Better to learn to get on with yourself, as it were, than fight what you can’t help but be in the name of being someone you can only possibly only know through other people's eyes. And, as my eyes gaze at this image, I pardon its sappiness I (no offence, Eric) and see again those sights (and even hear those sounds and smell those smells) that, in my memory and imagination, say: Paris.
However, since such reveries often bring tears to these same eyes, making it hard to see what I'm typing, I will close by saying that there is no such things Paris in the abstract, only my Paris, your Paris, etc., and that the city which I feel is more inside than outside me will haunt me until the next time I see her from sky, the window of a train, or over the steering wheel of car.
And it’s always good to come home after a hard day somewhere else in the world.
Your tacky photo took my breathe away, Eric. THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteEric, "tacky"? I was just gonna say it is so "Paris" and you gave it the perfect title. Who can resist a beautiful red rose and La Tour Eiffel :-)
ReplyDeleteI nearly forgot to say to Louis - your comment set forth my own feelings of Paris, feelings for which I have never found such beautiful words to string together as you have. I saved a copy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzy.
ReplyDeleteIn that case, you better have it without the tear-induced typos:
The first time I visited Paris - indeed, from the moment I first saw her through the clouds as my plane was getting ready to land - I felt I was "coming home". I know many others who have had a similar experience, and I am sure they all have different reasons for having responded this way - or are equally unable to explain the strength (or the uncanny "familiarity") of their sudden burst of emotion upon seeing your elegant and enchanting city.
Yes, your photo might be a little "cheesy", but I like it, mainly because it stirs in me those memories I keep tucked away in a secret mental draw marked: The Best Moments of my Life that Aren't Fantasies or Dreams. Sentimental, I know, but I am well beyond being coy about such things, having realised long ago that it's only those things we feel deeply that we can be said to have felt at all, and that you can never get away from what has touched you to the core of your being - either good or bad. Better to learn to get on with yourself, as it were, than fight what you can’t help but be in the name of being someone you can only possibly only know through other people's eyes. And, as my eyes gaze at this image, I pardon its sappiness (no offence, Eric) and see again those sights (and even hear those sounds and smell those smells) that, in my memory and imagination, say: Paris.
However, since such reveries often bring tears to these same eyes, making it hard to see what I'm typing, I will close by saying that there is no such thing Paris in the abstract, only my Paris, your Paris, etc., and that the city which I feel is more inside than outside me will haunt me until the next time I see her from sky, the window of a train, or over the steering wheel of car.
And it’s always good to come home after a hard day somewhere else in the world.
Pretty picture!
ReplyDeleteAs some of you (or may not) know, I work in a government building (I'm not a federal employee, our company is just contracted by the gov) and all the gov. employees had the day off for Veterns Day tomorrow. It was kinda eerie, walking through the hallways to the courtyard for a smoke and there being no one there! Anyways, happy Veterns Day everyone, and don't forget all the many men and women who've given their lives for what we all have.
Also, it's my nephew's 5th birthday, so happy birthday to him!
LOVE IT.
ReplyDeleteI often find the best backdrop for a photography is the sky.
Of course, that requires a lot of bending and leaning! :)
I see nothing tacky, cheesy, or sappy about the subject; it's a beautiful flower of brillant hue with a great background.
ReplyDeletei like it a lot, such an appropriate way to commemorate Veteran's Day.
ReplyDeletehave a great weekend too.
bon aller bon week end a toi aussi Eric...
ReplyDeleteet pis l'important c'est la rose...
We foreigners just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Eiffel Tower. It can never be tacky to us!
ReplyDeleteBesides, do we really have a right to talk about tacky when one of the biggest stories of the day around here is the divorce of Brit and K-Fed?!?
ReplyDeleteWow!! OMG. Well done, Louis!!!
ReplyDeleteLouis's beautiful salute to Paris prompts me to share with you guys a story as well. I apologize for the length of the post.
When I was a kid, growing up and living in Paris (a long time ago!), I used to think that the Eiffel Tower was an incredibly ugly and cheesy structure and that its sole purpose was to attract silly tourists with cameras .. We just couldn't understand why in the world that thing meant anything to anyone.
And then, I went to live in the States. During the first few years after I moved to the States, I did not travel back to Paris. The culture shock was pretty intense. I used to get so incredibly homesick, at times, that I started to collect all the pictures of Paris I could get my hands on.
Once, I received an add from Air France and cut out a small picture of the roofs of Paris with a piece of Eiffel Tower sticking out, and stuck that to a wall of my cubicle at work... it did help, having something like that to look at.
Anyway, last June, as some of you may remember, there was a blogger meeting on the border of the Seine. My father dropped me off a few blocks away so I could walk along the Seine for a while before going to the meeting. At some point, I looked up and saw ... a little piece of Eiffel Tower sticking out in the sky. My eyes instantly filled with tears. I mean, I just absolutely couldn't control it! I suppose it was like finding a long lost friend or something. It was big! It was real! It was just beautiful! (I know that Louis knows exactly what I felt at that moment).
All the way to the blogger meeting, I kept thinking up excuses in case anybody noticed my eyes were read. Fortunately I managed to stop crying before getting there and nobody said anything... A good thing, too, because I just couldn't come up with any good story. How does one explain to a group of Parisians that the sight of the tip of a structure they see every day of their life suddently made you cry like a baby?
Not tacky to me...pas de tout! A lovely photo Eric!! The website for the Tour Eiffel has great Wallpaper for your computer and I had a great shot of the Eiffel Tower on mine for a long time...that was Ahemmmm, until I became hooked on PDP. Now my wallpaper comes from PDP! I wonder if you can guess which shot I'm using now??
ReplyDelete*clue...it had something to do with a party we weren't invited to. 6 Octobre..I love this photo!
Wow Eric...is this a peace rose after yesterday's post? The comments have cooled down and it seems that your "tacky" photo has brought out some wonderful sentiments. Thanks Louis for your wonderful tribute.
ReplyDeleteTomate said, "How does one explain to a group of Parisians that the sight of the tip of a structure they see every day of their life suddently made you cry like a baby? I think everyone would have understood Tomate. Although I've been here nearly 9 years now, I make it a point to LOOK at sights like these because I know how much I miss seeing the ocean I grew up near, now that I'm far away. I don't ever want to regret these new sights that mean a lot to me.
When I lived in Paris once before and got transferred back to the States, I remember crying like a baby when the plane took off. I couldn't help it...didn't know where it came from...and frankly... didn't care what anybody thought. Even that is an important memory for me today to help me never forget. It probably also helped guide me back to the city I fell in love with so long ago.
I found your anecdote very touching, tomate farcie, and it has emboldened me to test your (and everyone else’s patience) with one more of my own, which this photograph of Eric’s has unexpectedly summoned from the depths of my past.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was in Paris was also the last time I went on vacation with my wife, from whom I have been divorced for nearly six years. Although I haven’t spoken to her in all this time, I have certainly thought (and occasionally dreamt) of her in ways that are sometimes pleasant, sometimes not - but never indifferent. Anyway, on this last holiday, she arrived in Paris a day before me, as planned, and got settled at the hotel, as planned. Unfortunately, this hotel turned out to be incredibly difficult to find - despite the fact that I was equipped with an excellent map and a good grasp of basic French - and I was forced to ring her from a public phone booth in order to get more specific directions. After a few wrong turns, I eventually found the street, at the end of which was our hotel, and, standing in front of it in the late afternoon light, my wife. Now, I don’t know whether it was simply the relief of knowing that I was within metres of a warm embrace and, later, a scotch on the rocks, but instead of walking towards her, I simply froze. I just didn’t want to let go of that moment. And what was that “moment”? Well, for me, it was as if, discovering her in that never-before-seen-street so far away from home, I was seeing her for the very first time. More than that: I was having what felt like that “love at first sight” feeling all over again, even though we’d been married for over a decade. The only other moment like it I can think of - and which, I admit, still brings a tear to my eye when I see it - is that scene in Citizen Kane when Bernstein, who is now an old man, tells of how, in his youth, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a girl - who, as it turns out, he has thought about not just occasionally, but every single day since that fateful sighting.
Which, finally, brings me back to my own “moment”; nowhere near as famous, but just as deeply etched in my mind. Indeed, of all the things I choose to remember - hell, of all the things I choose not to remember! - about her, and about us, there is nothing more precious to me than the magical image of a beautiful woman (both familiar and strange), at the end of an elusive street, somewhere in the city of love.
A beautiful photo Eric and a wonderful tribute as well to Edith Piaf. Here are the French words to the song La Vie en Rose. Maybe someone could provide the english version:
ReplyDeleteDes yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens
{Refrain:}
Quand il me prend dans ses bras,
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose,
Il me dit des mots d'amour
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon cœur,
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause,
C'est lui pour moi,
Moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré
Pour la vie.
Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat.
Des nuits d'amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des ennuis, des chagrins s'effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir
{au Refrain}
Here you go, Metalphysicalmama:
ReplyDelete(translation is a little bit too literal, but oh well)
Lyrics by Edith Piaf
Music by Louiguy
enr. 9 octobre 1946
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
The eyes that make mine lower
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
A laughter that gets lost on his mouth
Voilà le portrait sans retouches
There is the portrait without retouchings
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens
Of the man which I belong to
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
When he takes me in his arms
Il me parle tout bas
He speaks me all bottom
Je vois la vie en rose
I see life in rose (pink)
Il me dit des mots d'amour
He tells me words of love
Des mots de tous les jours
The words of every day
Et ça m'fait quelque chose
And that made me something
Il est entré dans mon coeur
He entered in my heart
Une part de bonheur
A part of happiness
Dont je connais la cause
Of which I know the reason
C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui, dans la vie
It is he for me, me for him, in life
Il me l'a dit
He told it to me
\tl'a juré
\tswore him
\tpour la vie
\tfor life
Et dès que je l'aperçois
And as soon as I see him
Alors je sens dans moi
Then I feel in me
Mon coeur qui bat
My heart that beats
Des nuits d'amour à plus finir
Of love nights more to finish
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
A big happiness that takes his room
Les ennuis, les chagrins s'effacent
Boredoms, griefs fade away
Heureux, heureux à en mourir
Happy, happy to die
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
When he takes me in his arms
Il me parle tout bas
He speaks me all bottom
Je vois la vie en rose
I see life in rose (pink)
Il me dit des mots d'amour
He tells me of love words
Des mots de tous les jours
The words of every day
Et ça m'fait quelque chose
And that made me something
Il est entré dans mon coeur
He entered in my heart
Une part de bonheur
A part of happiness
Dont je connais la cause
Of which I know the reason
C'est toi pour moi, moi pour toi, dans la vie
It is you for me, me for you, in life
Tu me l'as dit
You told it
\tl'as juré
\tthe ace juror
\tpour la vie
\tfor life, to me
Et dès que je t'aperçois
And as soon as I see you
Alors je sens dans moi
Then I feel in me
Mon coeur qui bat
My heart that beats
Well if you have given the words, then here's something to sing along with. A good old video of Edith Piaf singing La vie en rose.
ReplyDeletec'est la journee des fleurs (voir sur le blog de matthieu ( http://cherbourgdailyphoto.blogspot.com/ )et comme c'est l'anniversaire de marie ( http://alexandriadailyphoto.wordpress.com/ ) cela tombe bien.
ReplyDeleteBonne Journee
it is the day of the flowers (see on the blog matthieu (http://cherbourgdailyphoto.blogspot.com/) and as it is the birthday of Marie (http://alexandriadailyphoto.wordpress.com/) that fall well. Good Day
Wow, pretty moving I must say. That is a big difference between Americans and French: Americans do not hesitate to share bits of their lives, memory, moving moments... In France we're taught to keep our personnal feelings for ourselves and, should we share them, it should only be with close friends or relatives.
ReplyDeleteThat is often what puzzles the French. They think that because an American shared something intimate with them it means they became close friends, whereas for an american it's just normal conversation. It took me some time to understand this.
Tomate you obviously adapted well to the culture... And Michael you haven't lost it even after 9 years in France!
Louis did you tell your wife all about this second love at first sight effect? It's so beautiful.
Kpgallant. Funny you kept this photo on your desktop because it's really a photo that I took within the blink of an eye thinking "what on earth am I gonna post tonight?!"
Soosha, I did not know there was a Veterans day for WWI in the States also. Are there any veterans left? We only have six remaining, and one of them passed away the day before yesterday at the age of... 111 years.
And here is a little French exercise based on La vie en rose... click here to listen (providing you have Real Player) and test/learn French.
Olivier. Thank you for both reminders. I am on my way to wish her a happy birthday to Marie and bring her the flowers of Matthieu!
Eric, grand merci for the birthday wishes. I love the photo. A rose and le Tour Eiffel, what a joy to behold on my birthday!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Marie!
ReplyDeletePS: the link above does not work. you must remove the "here" at the end of the link in the address bar or click here
No no! I don't think it's tacky AT ALL!!! I LOVE it! It's really beautiful and I love the Eiffel Tower in the background. That rose is such a gorgeous red. I love this picture. Love it.
ReplyDeleteLove the link Eric and it proves I still have a long way to go o learn French to the level I'd like.
ReplyDeleteThis is not tacky at all - it is BEAUTIFUL!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Eric, I did tell her. Unfortunately, like the street where it happened, the traffic was all one way.
ReplyDeleteC'est la vie, n'est pas?
Very funny Louis! Sometimes la vie en rose can fade, but there's often another bloom just around the corner.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why I Love Paris!
ReplyDeleteGreat, evocative photo Eric. I have painted a sketch on my blog to remember those who died in WWI.
ReplyDeleteHow right you are, Michael! But, though we might have many loves in life, only one can be the greatest. Of course, one can never be sure whether that love belongs to yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Yesterday is not so good; today is little better; but tomorrow is by far the best, because what hasn't yet been had can't be spoilt, stolen or sunk. However, because my motto is "optimistic but not hopeful", I will certainly be keeping an eye out for, as you put it, "another bloom".
ReplyDeleteEric came to my blog! Yey! Thanks Eric for your comment. I'm hooked on parisdailyphoto, can't imagine not checking in now to see each inspiring shot. You always manage to find an interesting, quirky angle.
ReplyDeleteNice one..
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome Lynn, you know I don't have time to make many comments but I try to visit as many blogs as possible - mostly within the DP community I must confess though...
ReplyDeletefotografias muito bom / very nice picture!!!
ReplyDeletebom fim de semana / have a nice weekend
Eric - Lynn here. I'm sure you must be rushed off your feet, what with ordinary work too - i too am a journalist, writing for magazines and newspapers; it's constant, isn't it. Votre anglais est excellent. Est-ce que vous parlez courant? Je parle francais et espagnol, mais mes estudes c'etait depuis longtemps. Comme vous voyez! PDP est chouette pour mon francais... J'essaye.. Maintenant, j'ai un blog uk daily photo! www.ukdailyphoto.blogspot.com Regardez quand vous avez le temps ... bisous...x
ReplyDeleteI know your title suggests an Edith Piaf song, yet your photo seems to be singing a Joni Mitchell hit. . .;^)
ReplyDelete-Kim
Awww! You guys are making me so ery very jealous with your sweet words of love for Paris. *sigh* I really hope I can go someday.
ReplyDeleteEric, we may have a couple of WWI veterans, but we use Nov 11th to honor all veterans. I doubt kids today even care about WWI veterans because they don't kow anyone who would have served, but hopefully by celebrating all our vets, at least they wont forget it. It'd be a sad day when no one remembers the first world war and what an effect it had on...well, the world!
Thanks Michael for the link! Even before it played, I thought it would be that tune! I love that song....and must know it from movies.
ReplyDeleteBefore my trip to Paris, when I was imagining what it would be like....that song was always playing in my head! LOL! There was also an accordian! But....in reality French music wasn't there...sigh. Only old and mostly bad American music! If the cafes won't play French music, maybe you, being an American, could at least introduce them to better American music? At least from the last decade? LOL!
Wow, the comments a simply rose can evoke!
ReplyDeleteParis will always be the city of love for a lot of people so i think your picture sums it up pretty well.
ps; when i hear La vie en rose i think of Grace Jones :)
Funny how the fantastic photo of this rose evoked Piaf even before I read a word below it. I first heard this song in 1944 when I was ten. My Grandmother,Marion Von Thaer, bought me an album (literally) of Piaf for my birthday. I played her records over and over. Grandma told me about Armistice Day many times. She herself was born on September 9, 1900 and remembered the big day as a young girl.
ReplyDeleteMichael, Thanks for the video link, I loved it. If you recall the American version of the song is not a literal translation though it still has the feeling.
Eric, Your a winner, always. You have the right slant on the American ways. We do share our emotional experiences readily although it varies with personalities and backgrounds. I hope you are visiting my fledgling blog, Johnnysarc. It is still about my Paris experience though it will soon change to the South of France simply because we were only in Paris for five weeks the last time.
great blog!
ReplyDeleteTacky? I think it's gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteERIC,
ReplyDeletejust a comment on your cultural observation...i laughed out loud because it is very true. I am currently reading "60 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong" and it's a cultural study made by a french canadian man and his canadian wife (who is not francophone) who went to France for two years to...discover the French!
They touch upon so many cultural differences and one is perception of relationships.....the French have (correct me if I'm wrong) a core group of Friends who they cherish and share intimate aspects of their lives with whereas Americans make "friends" with everyone, even the person they meet on the metro etc. but that it is understood by all the different KINDS of friends....if that makes any sense.
A few of my French friends studying and working abroad in the States told me that they originally thought that Americans were two-faced because at a party, the person that they were talking to would say "GREAT! WE SHOULD DEFINITELY HANG OUT!" and then they would never call them...my friends were confused because they thought that they were friends! Maybe Americans have learned to decipher sincere relationships from the normal "nice to meet you etc.?"
In any case, I look forward to doing my own cultural study while I am abroad.... :-)
Nanajoon hit on it. Even though I am almost typically American, I still get annoyed at that "We'll get together soon!" Said with such sincerity...I think, "Yeah, yeah, you talk!" as I walk away. My thanks to Haxo for visiting "Johnnysarc" and dropping me a line to ease my brain.
ReplyDeletemerci pour ce magnifique cadeau...
ReplyDeleteelle est magnifique!
I don't think it's tacky at all! The image is quite exquisite, actually. Contrast. Nature and technology. Permanent and fleeting. Maybe you didn't mean all that, but that's what it reminds me of ;)
ReplyDeletei have to say, whether you think this is tacky or not, this is a very beautiful picture that i can't help but share with my friends. well done, well done.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very pretty picture. You have a good eye for taking pictures. I wish i was as talented as you.
ReplyDeleteOh my God! this is one of the most beautiful pictures of the city i've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteInspires me to paint a watercolour sketch with this composition in mind, Eric! I may well do... let you know.
ReplyDeleteLynn, the painting is beautiful and so special. Maybe Eric will buy it from you...
ReplyDeleteAh well Michael that's so kind of you to say, x , it's merely a ten min sketch and i'd happily send it as a petit cadeau to Eric if i knew where ! It's his anyway, it says so in the bottom left corner!
ReplyDeleteVacation is meant to be an pleasurable time with your loved ones; it is a time to let go of all of your frustrations and kick back and enjoy yourself. Vacation is meant to relieve the stresses and hassles of every day life; when you want to getaway from it all go online and find the best resort packages available. As great as it sounds, a romantic getaway cruise is honestly so much more than what you can imagine. Vacation is meant to be a time of relaxation; a break from the stress and chaos that too often comprises daily routine.
ReplyDeleteromantic getaway california
Wonderful photo. And beautiful city!
ReplyDeleteWhy Tacky?? no, no! :) it is beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteDarn! I'm a big copycat and I didn't even know it! This is a lovely photo, Eric.
ReplyDelete