Monday, February 28, 2011

Smoking Valet!


Clever idea. After the smoking ban in restaurants and bars that took place a couple of years ago, most places installed smoking corners outside on their terrace. This one - a Corsican restaurant called Le temple - organized its corner around this odd looking mannequin (look at the ashtray on the tray). Pretty clever and funny as well.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Opera house


Wow! I'm not in Paris right now - still in Portugal - but I already know this is not what the opera looks like today, as the weather is certainly not as sunny as this... And though I took this photo not a long time ago, while it was still cold - and obviously sunny. I'm sure you'll enjoy this view, even if it's not "live". I'm coming back today, so I'll check for myself ;-)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Sold!


The real estate market in Paris is still very tense. Prices never seem to stop going up and up and up... (the average price/sq meter now amounts to 7 753 €, see more here, if you're interested). And though people keep buying apartments, like it says on that sign... But the real reason why I photographed it, is that this sign is no just "any" sign, it's a work of art designed by a very famous artist called Benjamin Vautier, aka "Ben".

Friday, February 25, 2011

More on bikes...


After the bikes lane, here are the bikes! I found them in the 10 th arrondissement, near the Passage Brady where I took the lastest Graffiti photo. If you think riding a bike in Paris is dangerous, well you're wrong! In fact, according to stats I found on this blog, there are 6 times less accidents on bikes than there are on motorbikes... And though most of them don't respect traffic lights according to my experience! I'm off to Lisbon today, but I'll be watching you!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

New bike Lanes


Paris is not Amsterdam, but there is no doubt that there are more and more bikes in our streets. And not only because of the Velib experiment (which is actually more than an experiment now!), but also because more and more Parisians own a bike. To protect them, there are now new bike lanes, like this one. But if you pay attention you'll see that these lanes are in the opposite way of the car traffic! Now, all one way streets have a bike lane like this. Which is a bit puzzling at first, of course ;-)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

All aboard, all aboard...


Yesterday, I went to Lille in the North of France in train (TGV ), so quite logically, I took this photo in the Gare du nord (North) station. As you can see it's the departure board. The interesting part is that besides the clock on the bottom right, the display has not been replaced with a large LCD screen nor LED digits. I don't know how it works exactly, but whenever a new train leaves you can hear the scroll of each letter being replaced by another. the photo is not very good, but I only had my camera phone with me...

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Passage Brady


There is small Passage in the 10th arrondissement called Passage Brady and it's really worth a visit if you're into graffitis (and Indian food!)... The whole place is covered with them and some of them are real pieces of art. I chose to show you this one, which made me smile...

Monday, February 21, 2011

Hello lady!


I don't know why, but I love mannequins (I posted several of them on this blog), so when I saw this one yesterday (Sunday) on my way to having lunch with a few friends of mine at rue Rochechouart, I had to stop a take a photo! There are obviously garments in the background so it must be some sort of workshop or something and I sure they did not put this "lady" at the window by shere coincidence! That's all, nothing to learn about Paris today, just a casual shot ;-)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Animal Farm


Like every year around the 20th of February the Salon International de l'Agriculture (the International Agricultural Show) returns. And like every year it's going to be as succesful as the year before. Parents love to take their kids to this show - especially the ones in Paris - to show them what food looks like before it hits the freezer LOL. And it's not only about cows and pigs of course, but also about cheese, plants, tractors... everything you can find in a farm. The French, who almost all come from a farmer background (in 1900 almost one half of the French population would still work in a farm environment) love their peasants.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Mini !


Even if you're not European you probably know "the Mini", a car that was invented by the British in 1955-57 and got famous throughout the world in the 60's. Well, we still have a few ones in Paris, like this one that I photographed in the 16th arrondissement. I've read that 80% of its length was dedicated to passengers, and only 20% to the engine, which is quite a challenge (and probably was even more at that time)! They (that is BMW, the company that bought the brand in 2000) still make Minis nowadays, but a model that has very little to do with the old one.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Paris falls...


It may not be the most glamorous scene you can come across in Paris, but it is a very Parisian one! This is a close up of a very important element of our street cleaning system. For yes, ladies and gentlemen, underneath all our sidewalks there are two pipe networks: one for drinkable water and one to clean the streets (mostly fed by the Seine after a light filtering). This system was built by Eugène Belgrand - an engineer who used to work for Hausmann and is still used nowadays, only now the cleaners are supposed to be more conscious about the water consumption (I know it's not obvious from what you can see in tis photo...)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Celia Daaaahling!


Look what I found at 5 Rue Henri Monnier, near Place Saint George... Isn't that cool? I found it in a store called Célia Darling (Célia is the name of the owner apparently) that sells "vintage" clothes (you know how successful they are in Paris at the moment...) Well, Célia had the clever idea of putting these animal masks on the head of her mannequins and it really catches the eyes when you walk by.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hep Taxi!


If you already came to Paris and took a taxi you probably found it hard 1) to spot them 2) to know if they were available or already taken. Not surprising for until recently it was not really easy: you had to guess  if the little white light on the rooftop was lit (free) or not (not free). The state of the light though was not easy to see and a lot of people - even Parisians - would shout "Taxi" without even taking a glance at the light ! Now there is a new rule: if the light is red, the taxi is busy (like in this photo) and it is green then the taxi is free. This has been the PDP tip of the day hoping to make your life easier...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The rain returns...


I knew the nice weather would not last... The rain has returned to Paris. To "celebrate" I took this photo right outside my door ;-)  FYI, it rains on average about 650 mm (25.5 inches) per year in Paris, as I already mentioned some time ago. And since we're at it, there are also 13 993 traffic lights in Paris ;-).

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine 2011


I spent most of my Sunday working and I did not even have the time to go out and take a photo for Valentine's day... I dug into my stock (and God knows it's huge!), but could not find anything as good as this or this... In despair(!) I found this, a photo that I took after the last PDP picnic in June and that I already partially published. Anyway, let me wish a happy Valentine's day to all lovers and more particularly to these two who will probably look familiar to you ;-)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Spring outfits!


I could have taken this photo at the country somewhere and though I swear I did take it yesterday in the middle of Paris. It's the end of the winter sales season in Paris at the moment, and since the weather is much warmer the new outfits are out ;-) That's all. Have a nice Sunday everyone...

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Spring!


I think "they" (whoever is in charge of the weather!) must be on drugs this year... December was as cold as January, January was cold like it is generally in February and February is so far "warm" like March! I took this photo yesterday (Friday) at a terrace at Café M at rue de Maubeuge where I felt the urge to have lunch in the sun! I even had to take off my sweater! I know it won't probably last, but God did it feel good! The Chinese must be right after all: it's definitely spring!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Apple...


Funny how apples are part of the culture for some of us... The Christians believe that things turned ugly after Eve ate the apple, Isaac Newton, who is said to have discovered gravity after an apple fell off the tree he was sleeping against... There is also the Apple cult that manages to get its worshipers to buy just about any product it manufactures ;-) and here in Paris, we now have the Apple of Charles Fourier, a French philosopher (born in 1772) who discovered the unfairness of this world -and wrote about it after he bought an apple in Paris for 100 times the price he would have paid it in his home town! Well Mr Fourier is now honored through this brand new apple sculpture by Franck Scurti that I photographed today at place de Clichy.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Crossing lines...


I had a very interesting business meeting yesterday and during a break I took this photo (of course, I'm not sure the presence of these two garbage trucks add anything to it, but I had no choice ;-)). Technically it's not Paris, but Issy-les-Moulineaux, a very close suburb that used to be pretty poor and is now a booming area, thanks to the installation of many many companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Orange...

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Job Hunting!


What it takes to find a job nowadays... The man in this ad is not just another model, but a real unemployed Marketing Manager looking for a job. To find one, he had the idea of renting a couple of billboards AND an exhibition hall (where job fairs are usually held) to greet potential employers... (check this video). Of course he did not pay for all this but got the help of sponsors looking for visibility. And it worked of course: this guy has been all over the news, and more than that, he made it to the home of ParisDailyPhoto!! I don't know if all of this has enabled him to find a position though... Check his website if you understand French.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Dawn in Paris


One of the big advantages of going to the gym early in the morning is that you get to see things you would never see during the day. Hence, this spectacular view that I photographed this morning at rue Doudeauville in the 18th arrondissement. I don't know what the cloud stripes are exactly (real clouds or plane fumes)... I'm really happy the sun returned today, it had been a really long time!

Monday, February 07, 2011

Happy (Chinese) new year!


In case you haven't noticed (like, if you live under a rock...) the Chinese are currently celebrating their new year (which is actually the celebration of spring...) everywhere in the world. That includes Paris, or course, where the Chinese community is pretty big (about 1/6th of the greater Paris area, I've read) and where it has become a real attraction for everyone... Proof is that it was very difficult for me to take a photo of the parade... I "borrowed" the camera of someone closer than me and well, I kinda like the effect! As for me, I'm still struggling with my Mandarin, but my teacher is very patient(!), so I keep trying ;-)

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Paris Greenhouses


Paris is not all about concrete and Haussmannian buildings... There are also many gardens and... greenhouses! This one is located in the Bois de Boulogne (which technically belongs to Paris) but easy to get to by Metro (stop Porte d'Auteuil). There are 6 000 different kinds of plants, but you can also see mascaron ornaments by Rodin, a stunning fountain... All this was really put together during the 19th century, but was really initiated by Louis the 15th back in 1761!

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Morning at the Unesco


You probably know the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (better known as Unesco), but what you may not know is that its permanent headquarters are located in Paris... This morning I went there for the first time in my life, to attend a few conferences held by NetExplorateur, a yearly event dedicated to new innovative projects in the digital world. It was very stimulating, and being in such a historical place made it even more interesting.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Thank you Charlie!


Sorry to bother you again with my social life, but I happened to visit another food and wine place today, a one called La Muse vin (a play on word too complicated to explain!) to attend the launch of a new Web site. It's called Thank you Charlie (now you understand the title of this post!) and its purpose is to allow you to offer a gift to someone near his/her neighborhood. How? Simply by choosing the gift on the site (anything from a pastry to a massage or a wine course...) and by entering the cell number of the gift recipient. The latter then receives an SMS saying "Someone just offered you a gift, come and pick it up at this address". That's it. Hard to tell if this will be successful, but I thought the idea was pretty cool.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

White Door


How about a "conceptual" photo for today?! I took it in the 18th arrondissement on the way back from my gym. Don't ask  me why I felt the urge to take this photo, I just did. And believe me, people around me were really wondering what I was doing (was I working for the town hall cleaning services, in charge of chasing the bad people who get rid of their things on the pavement?!). No, I was just the crazy guy who thought there was "something" in this scene LOL! Sometimes the glamor lies in the most unexpected places... Something tells me you won't necessarily agree!

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Dinner at "Bon"!


I had dinner at Bon's last evening, one of these restaurants conceived to attract "the rich crowd". They all use the same recipe: nice location (16th arrondissement), nice decor (by Starck, whose else?!), theme cuisine (Asia something), pouting waiters and priceless prices... In the end the experience was not that bad, after all ; the food is really "bon" (bon means good in French) and the atmosphere was a nice change from Mc Donald's! Shame I did not get to see what makes Bon's pride: its library, nor its fireplace nor its wine room. Maybe next time...

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Fountain Stravinsky


Yeah! today is February 1st and it's a theme day! Today's theme is... Fountains and well, since I did not know what fountain to choose, I went especially for you to Beaubourg this morning to take a photo of this very famous Stravinsky Fountain that you probably saw if you came to Paris. Only I bet you haven't seen it from this point of you as it is rarely... frozen like it was this morning. I already explained everything about this fountain on this blog, but if you want to know more visit this. And to see some other fountains around the world, well, as usual, go to the City Daily Photo blog portal...