Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Paris Plage is open!


Here is my first photo of Paris Plage of the season! If you've been a visitor to PDP for some time, you know now that every year around July 20 (until August 20ish) then embankment of the Seine turns into a giant beach with "real" sand, a swimming pool and a few activities such as Taï Chi or rock climbing. I took this photo last evening (Monday), on the first day of Paris Plage, while the sun was going down on Paris... More info (in English) here.

52 comments:

  1. Now we know why the naked lady was naked! She was getting ready for the beach!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I know where I wish I were right now! Eric, a beautiful photo! Did you get to go to the Paris Plage yesterday?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks wet and wild. I didn't realize there was a pool -- how big and deep is it? Can all the little French doggies go into the pool?

    "Oh la la - les demoiselles de Paris plage" a dit the mustachioed, bereted, smiling Frenchman:

    [8^{)

    ReplyDelete
  4. GREAT SHOT!!!! Ooooh, that is a nice one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. And she'll have fun, fun, fun
    'Til her daddy takes the T-Bird away.

    Ok, it's old surfer music. It's the beach thing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooooh, great picture! And what's the temp in Paris these days -- is it plage weather? It's been hovering close to 100°F (around 37°C) here in NYC for the past few days.)

    ReplyDelete
  7. It seems to me like if the three nymphes you photographied (twice) at the Jardin des Tuileries were coming to Paris Plage!!! Lol!
    Very nice shot!! La plage est de saison, n'est-ce pas? :)

    I love Paris Plage concept. No more cars allowed on this part of the embankment during the whole coming month : how cool!! With a little more heat that will be fine!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elaine, surfing naked is bad for your health. Rocks, coral, not to mention sand getting in uncomfortable places. Although, hanging ten might not be much worse than hanging around a bicycle seat (see June 10).

    ReplyDelete
  9. Amazing photo Eric! Oh.. no matter what they say, I like Paris during summer time. The only bad thing is that lots of things are closed, but there´s so much to explore and visit just the same.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Rose! I´m here now but I´m just leaving...

    Só passando pra deixar um beijo pra vc!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The sun and silhouettes remind me of a classic. The Endless Summer.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gorgeous shot, Eric. I can almost smell the sand.

    Suzy...(et et et)...!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful photo, Eric, I'd put this in my top 10, maybe even top 5

    ReplyDelete
  14. This would be another "only in Paris" moment.
    What can I say!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jeff, I always found that swimsuits captured and held the sand in uncomfortable places. But she could easily develop a painful sunburn. Do they truck in coral reefs as well? Now that's commitment!

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's hot, muggy and raining in the Midwest. Sure could use a day at the beach - better yet a day at the Paris Plage.

    Speaking of the Midwest, tomorrow is the anniversary of Carl Sandbergs death so I dedicated today's David's Photo Art to Carl. Please stop by for a look.

    David’s Digital Art!

    ReplyDelete
  17. It is a glorious image. I have the sea,sand and promenade but I don't unfortunately, have such wonderful weather. I don't have such pretty Parisans either come to think of it to capture. The image I can create sadly the ambience not. Ah well i Can always visit virtually. Goodnight all.

    ReplyDelete
  18. How ironic that while much of the rest of the world tries to imitate Paris (as evidenced by the Paris Casino in Las Vegas, countless French restaurants, etc.), people in Paris are trying to imagine they are someplace they are not -- the beach.

    I can report from a Costa Rican tropical beach town that is truly a surfer's paradise with one of the world's best beaches, that even though we do not have any Parisian architecture (not a single Mansard roof in town), and no grand boulevards (we have only one paved street and no traffic lights), we nevertheless have a French bakery operated by a woman from Paris, we have several French chefs, and the interior decorator who my wife and I used for our condo is . . . French.

    If Paris has a sandy beach in summer, what is next, a mountain for skiing with imported snow in winter? Is it the goal of Parisians to have everything in Paris so you never have to leave town?

    ReplyDelete
  19. That's funny! Why would you ever need to leave Paris? You've got sun, sand, and the Seine!

    Eric, very cool and wonderful shot!! Amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Here is another thought for the Paris Plage. Is there any place in the Seine where there are rapids or a swift current? I have seen people surf in a river by hanging on to a rope that is tied on to something on the shore, so they are not moving, but the water rushes underneath their surf board while they surf in one spot. It is the surfing equivalent of walking or running on a treadmill or riding an exercise bicycle. It is exercise that is similar to the real thing, but you don't go anywhere.

    You could include surfing to the Paris Plage beach scene if you could add some rapids or increase the current in the Seine. Without the challenge of riding the ocean waves, Parisians could probably surf the Seine and still keep their berets on their heads!

    I bet Leonardo Da Vinci, while he was in residence in Amboise and doing his planning in hydrology for the French king, could have figured out how to surf the Seine, if only they had surf boards back then.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Loved the shot! Everybody loves the beach.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great capture, Eric...and just as the sun was going down too! So the plage is back, huh? Geez, talk about rubbing it in our faces. The weather is so miserable (hot and humid) here in the Midwest that even the squirrels are fanning their nuts! My Paris Plage is my kids blow up pool (that has a slight rip that I can't find), a few buckets of sand, plastic kid toys scattered all over my backyard, a radio, and some wine coolers waiting to be inhaled by me and the dog. Hey, but I'm enjoying my little Seineic view just the same. And yes, I've got sprinklers, too! Seriously, I'm glad that the Parisians have the plague again. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I will be walking on Paris Plage tonight :D
    I'm leaving for Paris in a few hours, and I can't wait anymore !
    (I just had to brag, LOL).

    ReplyDelete
  24. Bettina, I'm happy for you. Living vicariously through you. Please report on your trip!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I concur Petrea, good for you Bettina, we'll be with you in spirit.
    Beautiful shot Eric, I do wish I were there!

    ReplyDelete
  26. That's beautiful! Too bad it's so cold here in Paris...maybe August will be, er, hotter than July, in the words of Stevie Wonder.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Well Eric, I hate to RAIN on your parade, but this photo, although great, doesn't compare to this one you posted 23 juillet 2007.

    Materfamilias, tell me if it makes your top 10?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Bring on the Tahitian and Maori dancers!

    ReplyDelete
  29. What a fantastic shot, Eric. Adorable. I always love the Paris Plage idea but i want more angles too , more shots, more to see ! Please... :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. David from CostaRica:
    We do have snow slopes in Paris in wintertime: set up for a few days during winter holidays in the Stade de France ;-) However, not as fun as real slopes in the Alps or the Rockies...

    ReplyDelete
  31. Spectacular use of light, shadow, mist and human reaction, topped off by by capturing the upper half of La tour eiffel as well! This is a competition winner!

    dERMO

    ReplyDelete
  32. Photos of Paris Plage are always appreciated and this is no exception.

    Coltrane: LOL

    ReplyDelete
  33. Awesome shot, Eric. I love the silhouettes and shadows. But who needs the beach when we've got the

    EIFFEL TOWER!
    EIFFEL TOWER!!
    EIFFEL TOWER!!!

    (thanks for covering for me while I was offline, Petrea!)

    I just got back from several days at the marvelous Santa Monica shore. I thought of you, Monica!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Coltrane, That was really funny and so descriptive. I can just picture you in your backyard blowing up the plastic pool for your girls.

    Michael, I thought of that photo also (same style -- Eric is developing a style):-) I thought of the rowing race or kayaking photo too (even though it wasn't in July or August). I just thought it was COOL! I guess I will always like that one -- unforgetable.

    About Eric's photo of the day: I like the woman's dangling earing. That was the 1st thing that caught my eye :-)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Eric, I need to confess, I don't understand what is happening in this photo, even though I like it. I don't see any sand, just the wet pavement and the white line. Are they spraying water on the road before bringing in the sand?

    Bonjour Thibault. Ca va?

    Ou est la Reine Guille?

    The Paris Plage brings back memories of the picnic. I haven't contacted everyone in my book, please foregive me. I keep thinking of it too late in the evening. I'll send some e-mails soon. With the cost of airfares,
    I calculate but then
    I don't know when
    I'll see the Seine
    Again. Alors,
    Je suis pas bien.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Jeff, the queen is in Tokyo... No doubt charming the soy off the sushi...

    ReplyDelete
  37. I can picture Guille charming the soy off the sushi - ha!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Oui, je sais la reine est à Tokyo. But she was commenting from there over the past week or so. I wonder if her computer went kaputt or if somebody was just su shi c, he charmed the soy off of her her! Could someone rice to her royal level? At any rate, I wish her and everyone else the best, near and far.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Jeff, remember your own words written here another day : 'It will pass. Go to a pretty place, sip a glass of wine, and listen, look, relax'.
    Is it that the hangover that you spoke of us very well lately...

    ReplyDelete
  40. This is my fave Paris Plage picture. It has a piece of Eiffel Tower in the back, need I say more? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Guille was not charming the soy off the sushi LOL. Guille was in 2 different planes for 17 hours, ate awful-awful-awful meals (NEVER choose Aeroflot, you hear me?!)and is now back but just need to sleep. She took the time to pay you a visit coz she missed you all and hadn't had her PDP fix for 4 days now!

    If the weather is okay tomorrow, I'll take avantage of it and go to Paris Plage... But I heard that it was not really the summer time here... ;)

    Bises

    ReplyDelete
  42. Bienvenue à maison, G.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Oi Monica...beijinhos pra vc tb...

    Suzy
    Thanks for the hint...I didn't see ET until I read your comments.

    Guille
    Don't listen to Micheal! You know what he is like. We are honoured of you taking the time to come and say hello!

    Jeff
    All the best to you too... and can I have some of whatever you have been drinking?

    Lynn
    I like that picture more than all the others.

    Eric
    This picture is wonderful and I much prefer this one to the big toe one which you sold me for millions in Facebook!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Guille, is there a reason why Tokyo went from two weeks to one week?

    ReplyDelete
  45. I love Paris Plage!
    I wish I was there...even though I live by the sea!

    ReplyDelete