Farewell 2012...

Each day in the French calendar refers to a Catholic saint (saint Eric is on May 18th for example!) and today is also known for being La Saint Sylvestre. Of course Dec. 31st is more famous for being the last day of the year, the day we celebrate the coming year. I thought a peaceful photo would be suitable... So here you go everyone, let me wish you a great year, wherever you are in the world. See you in 2013! FYI, the top of the tower with the cross in the background of this photo belongs to La Sainte Chapelle, on the the Ile de la Cité.

Spring in December...

If it weren't for the bare trees you could easily think I took this photo last spring, couldn't you? The sky is stunning, the chairs are out, and so are the lovers! Well, I did  take it yesterday (Saturday) at the Tuileries gardens, while I was taking advantage of this stunningly mild weather we have at the moment (15+°C/60°F). I know it's not going to last, but what a nice way of closing the year. In case you're wondering, what's written on the wall is part of a piece of art by American artist Lawrence Weiner. 

Christmas is over!

After Christmas, each year, I generally show you a dead Christmas tree that someone left in the street for the garbage people to collect. This year, I've found something different as a proof that Christmas is over: a broken Christmas tree ball! I know it's silly ;-) But when I saw it, I immediately thought it could make a cool photo and, well, I think it does (haven't I been very self-satisfied these past two days?!). I also got scolded by a taxi who probably thought "gee, these silly tourists, they really photograph the most stupid things!"

Still there (just checking!)

I had a meeting in the North of Paris yesterday and on the way back I passed by... Le Moulin Rouge. I photographed it several times here, so I looked for a new angle! And where there is a will there is away... I waited for the traffic to stop (which is not that obvious at this location, believe me!) and made an extensive use of "my" perspective! I'm kinda proud of the result I must say! I think I even deserve a little song ;-)

Bye-bye Santa!

I'm just back from a very traditional Christmas with one part of my family and well, even though it's always exhausting (food, food and more food!), it's always a pleasure to take some time of with people who are dear to you. Now is the time to go back to reality! I hope you had a good time too and that Santa (le père-noël !) was good to you ;-). Here is a photo I took in Montmartre where they have a Christmas market. 

Monkey chocolate business

Art can find its way everywhere, can't it? Like in chocolate for example... Hence the stunning sculptures that Patrick Roger, one of the finest chocolatiers (chocolate maker) in Paris can do. One of his stores is located at Place de la Madeleine, and that is where I took this photo. This chimp is entirely made of chocolate as you can imagine, and he was not the only one in the store. Huge success! Now I need to taste what I bought there!

Nativity Scene

I bet the title of this post probably surprises you, and though this is... a nativity scene that I photographed at the Madeleine Church. And before you think this is crazy or even Blasphemy, think twice: it was created by artist Gaetan Duthu and scenographer Pierre Bourgois who imagined what it would be like if the Christ would be born today. Television networks would certainly play a large role, wouldn't they? I personally love it. More photos here.

Last minute shopping

Today in Paris, probably like in all Christian tradition countries, was a real nightmare. The streets were packed, the traffic was terrible and the stores were buzzing with extremely anxious people desperate to find a last minute gift for their family reunion of tomorrow and the 25th! I was one of them... But on top of that I had to take a few shots of Paris LOL! Here is one I took in a passage I visited near the  Madeleine called Cité Berryer. I wish you all a very good Christmas - a little in advance, I know, but for once that I'm early LOL!

Brunch by the Seine

This is a Peugeot 203, a car that was produced by French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1948 and 1960 and which sold like hot cakes (well for that time). I found it on the part of the right Seine banks that the  Paris town hall totally renewed last summer (not far from where I took this photo), offering new spots to pass by and... to park péniches. The one you can see in the background is called  Le Marcounet and it is a restaurant. They have a "musical" brunch on Sunday mornings apparently, which looks pretty tempting ! Enjoy your Sunday, everyone...

Face to face

I found this portrait at Boulevard Richard Lenoir and not only do I like the image itself, but also the whole scene (the white bars belong to Apub, a store - I found out later! - specialized in streamers, banners and all kind of placards). Not the kind of places where I'll find my last Christmas gifts LOL!  Have a great weekend everyone, I know you'll probably be busy...

Living in a fantasy...

I knew it, this whole end of the world thing was just a tale... To celebrate, here is precisely something that comes straight away from a fairy tale: Cinderella's horse carriage! Don't look for the horses though, they did not have enough room... "They" are the Galeries Lafayette people, where there have this on display right at the entrance! Huge success.  Are you all set with your Christmas shopping BTW? Cause I'm not! 

A view on the Arch...

In December you generally have lots of company parties or so called "end of the year" celebrations. I went to one of those parties yesterday evening, the one of the Internet Manager club, the only French club I belong to! It took place avenue Mac-Mahon, one of the large avenues that go around the Arc de Triomphe. I could not help but taking a photo of course... Notice the ray of light, I think it belongs to the Eiffel Tower even though it's pretty far.

Avenue Gabriel

Could that look more Parisian to you?!The Avenue Gabriel is one of the most prestigious streets in Paris (it's a parallel street to the Champs Elysées and it takes you to, precisely, l'Elysée, the house of the President of the French Republic!) and it was named after Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the architect that created the Place de la Concorde. The street plaque is also very typical of Paris; all of them are provided by the Paris town hall and they are made of enamel on a metal sheet. The street numbers are also made of the same material but they are only provided once by the Paris town hall (when a new building is erected). After they have to be provided by the building manager, which explains why some of them are different.

Watching the world go by...

You're not going to learn a lot about Paris through this photo, but let's say it's a little change from the usual Eiffel tower LOL! I took it Sunday, at rue de Rivoli during a demonstration. This guy was watching the crowd go by from a traffic light control cabinet on which he had managed to climb. To be frank this photo was not that easy to take because of the light coming from the sky. I probably should have used my flash but I did not have enough time to set it. I like the result though and I hope you do too.

Artist squat

Here is a place I've been willing to tell you about for a very long time. It's an artist squat called Le 59 rue de Rivoli (for it's precisely located at rue de Rivoli), where you can find about 30 artists on 6 floors. The history of the building is interesting, as prior to becoming this very artsy place, it used to belong to a bank. In 1999 three artists decided to invade the place and managed to fight long enough to turn it into a legal workshop for artists. Anyone can visit it everyday, except Mondays, and, of course, buy art from them. As you can see the whole place is totally decorated - even the facade is... My photo shows the staircase from the top floor, but I recommend you pay a visit to their site, to see more of it.

Music at the opera...

I'm sure you understand why the title of this post is "Music at the opera" and not "opera music"!  For yes, the monument in the background is for sure the famous Opéra Garnier, that is the opera house that was built by Charles Garnier between 1861 and 1875, but the band in front is Les Plaies Mobiles, a horn band that plays in front of several Paris monuments from time to time. I love them!

Santa Lucia concert (Swedish church)

There are about 10 million Swedes in the world. Some of them are in France and in Paris in particular where you can find many things Swedish, like the wonderful Swedish Institute in Le Marais or... the Swedish church at rue Médéric, (Svenska kyrkan) where I happen to have attended a Christmas concert 2 days ago. It was really stunning, even though I did not understand a word of what they were singing! Of course I could not help but shooting like crazy. See for yourself (and enjoy the soundtrack!)

Santa's motorized helpers ;-)

Thanks for you kind support messages. FYI,  my computer is still a mess, but at least I managed to make it start! Woohoo! I also took a break from it for a couple of hours to attend a concert that I will tell you about later... On the way back I came across a weird motorcycle parade called the "Carabalade" (I eventually found out the name after I discussed with one of the participants). Purpose? Drive through Paris from Bercy to the Eiffel tower on a motorbike, dressed up like Santa Claus, and bring as many toys as possible to go to  the orphans of firemen lost in the course of their duties. Very giving and very impressive too, as there were hundreds of  them!

Color festival!

On top of my blue mood, I now have big computer problems... Therefore I'm unable to access my photos ! Fortunately I have a couple spare ones on Blogger that I keep for "emergency cases". I guess tonight is the perfect moment to use one of them. I took this one (in the 11th if I remember well), because of the color mix:  the bike to start with and the Oxfam store in the background. Sorry, lot much more to say, but like I said it's a spare photo, I hope tomorrow I'll have fix my computer problem ;-(

Red nose not to feel blue!

Sometimes even the most cheerful people feel a little down. I going through that phase at the moment and when I saw this statue in front of La Maison des métallos, it made me think of me! The red nose "they" put on this statue probably comes from Hors-piste, an event that involves comedians from Le Rire Médecin, an association that sends clowns to hospitals to entertain sick kids. Maybe I should do this!

Morning game of shadows

There is very little light in Paris at the moment, due to the season ;-(( But when there is, it can be beautiful. Like the one I grabbed this morning on this very interesting bridge at rue Lafayette (the part that is located in the 10th, not near the famous Galeries). I was on my way to a meeting, running late, but could not help but stopping 30 seconds to shoot! I have shots with and without people, but I finally chose one with. Tomorrow will be even colder than today, but I have to go to another meeting, so... maybe I'll get lucky twice with the light ;-)

Scandal at Place du Tertre!

You remember my Montmartre sunset photo 2 days ago? Well the real reason why I was initially there, was to see for myself what is becoming a true scandal around Montmartre: Starbucks is going to open a coffee place at Place du Tertre! Yes, people, you heard it right, Star-bucks! Needless to say that an online petition has been created, that an association (Paris Fierté - Paris Pride?!) has already organized several anti Starbucks demonstrations, and that several articles have already been written to warn us from the American coffee invasion ;-) It is very unlikely that all this will prevent Starbucks to land on Place du Tertre though...  Besides, technically it's not right on the Place du Tertre, but just around the corner, at the very opposite angle from where I took this photo). 

Classy entrance

Not all architecture is made of traditional Haussmannian buildings in Paris! A couple of days ago, I went to a company party at rue Marbeuf, off Les Champs Elysées and on the way out I saw this building entrance which I thought was going to make a good photo ;-) I checked afterwards and it turns out this building shelters the offices of Ogilvy & Mather France, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. So no wonder, it looks good!

Steel sunset!

Sometimes you're just plain lucky! Yesterday (Friday), I had to pick up some video files in the 18th arrondissement. I started copying them, then realized it was going to take much more time than expected. So I went out for a while to see if there was a photo opp' in the neighborhood. I ended up on the top of Montmartre, just when the sun was going down on the Eiffel Tower and I took advantage of it to make a little time laps. You will see it one day (hopefully!), but in the meantime here is one of the shots... Have a good weekend everyone!

Life on Mars...

I called this photo "Life on Mars", because it made me think of a constellation, but of course, as you can imagine, this is part of the Christmas lights that there are in Paris at the moment. At the Rond point des Champs Elysées, more precisely. I don't like it too much, except for the little shadows of the the passers by... Anyway, breaking news: there is a snow warning for tomorrow, so who knows, there might be some interesting shots to take!

Backstage

I already told you about my friend Silvia who gave up a secure career in the corporate world to become what she really felt like: being a comedian. Well, last evening I went to the premiere of her first one woman show at the Théâtre Bô Saint Martin, which was a real success. I was lucky enough to share the very last moments before she got on stage and since I had my camera, I took a few shots! Here is one of them, that I particularly like. Sorry if it's a bit of a personal post, but I really admire her for pursuing her dreams. Besides it IS a Paris photo!

Christmas animations...

Christmas is everywhere in Paris already... Including on the Champs Elysées (I'm sure you recognized the Arc de Triumph on the right ;-), where I found this animation by perfume maker Guerlain (the oldest French parfumeur which belongs since 1994 to LVMH).  Cute, even though it's very inspired by their latest commercial for "La Petite Robe noir", one of their latest perfumes. Precisely, there is a big controversy (one more!) about Christmas decorations in stores; a lot of people don't like it that a lot of animations no longer are made for kids with no other intentions than to please them, but giant 3D commercials for various brands.

Palais du Louvre

I spent the whole day at "Nikon's school France" to learn how to finally master my D7000(!) and I discovered a whole new world. Unfortunately it was too dark when I went out to put everything I learned in practice! So in the meantime, here is a shot I took last weekend, after I noticed the beautiful light on the Palais du Louvre. You probably all heard about the Palais du Louvre, which was once a royal  residence, until Louis the XVIth decided to move to Versailles in 1682. Part of it was detroyed, what was in it was stolen, but some of it is still standing and shelters now what you all know as the Musée du Louvre. Read more about it if you have the time, it's fascinating... 

Classic Paris view

The weather is pretty cold at the moment, but very clear and dry so I took advantage of it to take this very classic view of the river banks of Paris. I also used a long pause so that the car lights on the right would show like a light ribbon. Nothing to add, it's an easy photo, but still really nice ;-)

Ready for a book signing!

Who says you have to be French to make a good pâtissier (pastry chef)? But you may have to come to France at some stage! That's what David Lebovitz did in 2004 after he worked and learned his art in the US (California in particular). Yesterday (Saturday) he had a book signing for the release of his latest opus (Ready for Dessert) and I can tell you this guy is a rock star! People where lining up to get their precious signed copy and I have no doubt it's well deserved. The event took place at La cuisine Paris, a cooking school where all classes take place in English. I did not know about it, but I'm sure I'll be back ;-) Bon appétit everyone!

My street!

1st of the month, it must be a theme day within the CityDailyPhoto bloggers' community! Well, yes, it is... And the theme of the month is "My street". Well, I live in a covered passage (le passage Verdeau), which is not not exactly a street, but almost! Since they put Christmas decoration in it since the end of November I'm happy to show it... As you can see there are several stores on both side, most of them being either art galleries or antiques shops and restaurants (including the brand new Stube, a German restaurant that opened a month ago and of which you can see the red tables on the right. That's it... you know everything about my street, now is the time to check out the other ones!