Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Ready to party?!


Yes, it's D Day... Unless you live in Saudi Arabia where the "Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" will make sure you don't celebrate New Year's Eve! it's very likely that you will stuff yourself with more food and Champagne/Wine tonight ;-) I know it's silly, but I will do the same... I wish you a happy celebration wherever you are in the world, hoping that you'll be surrounded by people you love.  I took this photo at Mademoiselle M, a food place/lab where you can learn extraordinary things...

Monday, December 30, 2013

Season decor


Here is another view of the Winter Ferris Wheel that they install in the Concorde gardens every year. I took it from the Hotel Meurice on rue de Rivoli, where they covered all the pillars in front of the hotel with pine branches. The owner of  this wheel has been in the news lately; he's accused of hiding the income he gets from the wheel from the government...  

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Boat trip


There is nothing more romantic than crossing Paris on a boat on the Seine. Like these Japonese tourists that waved at me just after I took this photo!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

An evening in Paris


I had a drink not far from Place Vendôme yesterday evening and on the way back home I came across the Westin hotel, which is currently beautifully decorated. On each side of the entrance there are two stunning chandeliers that I could not help but take a photo of! Paris is surprisingly busy at the moment, but everyone is in a very festive mood, which is very pleasant!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Winter sun


I'm just back from Nice where it rained a lot! (a big storm crossed Europe during Christmas), so surprisingly there was today more sun In Paris than when I left the French Riviera! I took a photo of a very typical café : le Café de l'Île Saint-Louis, which is perfectly located - just across the Île de la Cité and where they have a very nice - and quiet!- terrace. Now is the time to prepare the new year!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

No more food please!


I'm glad the Christmas celebrations are over for, as much as I love family reunions, I hate to have to stuff myself in such a small timeframe! Food plays a large role in the French culture as you know it and it plays an even larger one on big occasions like Christmas... Most of the time you get to eat foie gras, turkey and buche (a typical Christmas dessert with the shape of a log). But more and more people tend to break away from tradition and serve "lighter" food like fish. I won't tell you what I had on Christmas eve AND on Christmas day, but one thing is sure, I can go without eating for the next month LOL. Hope you all have a wonderful time if you celebrated it. Time to go home now!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Even the walls say it!


"Walls have ears" was a common message during WWII, now they have messages for you! Hence this merry christmas wishes that I found on a big scrap chalkboard that they recently installed on the left bank they turned into a pedestrian area. How appropriate for today's post ;-) I wish you a Joyeux Noël everyone, even if you don't celebrate it!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas eve...

Yes, it's a ferris wheel, yes it was installed there especially for Christmas, and no, I did not take this photo in Paris, but in Nice, where I'll be spending Christmas with my family... It's so beautiful that I don't resist posting this photo on PDP, even though it's 930 kilometers (578 miles) from Paris! I wish you a very good Christmas eve, if you celebrate it

Monday, December 23, 2013

Giant Metro Map


I came across this building in the 13th arrondissement by sheer coincidence, after a business meeting. I was intrigued by the metro signs (the big M, the Maison Blanche board...) and the various white lines on the facade. Then I understood... This is no less than giant local metro map! What a clever idea. 

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Grand Palais, the really great palace!


Le Grand Palais, a magnificent building located off the Champs Elysées that was built for the Universal Exposition of 1900 (and renovated between 1993 and 2007) is currently sheltering a huge amusement park for the Christmas period (until January 5th). I love this building, especially its inside staircases that I photographed here from above. Have a great pre Christmas Sunday last minute shopping if you celebrate it! 

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Straight line


Another view of Le Pont de Bercy that I showed here several times. But I still think it's a cool bridge! It was widened in 1904 so that they could build a second bridge on it, the one above the metal ceiling that you can see in this photo and that allows the line  6 metro to run... 

Friday, December 20, 2013

The ice rink opens today!


After almost 9 years of daily posting in Paris, I realize how the same events come back every year and how we take for granted things that once were very innovative... Take the ice rink in front of the Paris town hall that I showed you many times. When they installed it for the first time in 1997 it was a real big deal, but now we're so used to it, it's part of the winter scenery! Anyway it opens today (Friday) and it's still very nice to skate (for free!) in front of the Hotel de ville with Notre Dame in the background (yes you can see it in this photo!)   

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Crèpes by the Seine


Here is a very Parisian winter scene... I've taken it two days ago by the Quai along the Musée d'Orsay. I stopped because of the Crèpes bike that I thought was cool (I did not buy one though!). That's all! 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Worse than the metro at 6 o'clock!


In French, when we want to say that a place is really crowded, we say "c'est pire que le métro à 6 heures du soir"! (Worse than the metro at 6 pm!) and that is exactly what I felt like yesterday when trying to buy presents on one of the many Christmas markets that we have in Paris at the moment. Totally incredible... I stayed no longer than 10 minutes;-) And today I'm off to Nice for a little break at Le Douzy, hoping it will be more quiet and that I can continue my Christmas shopping more peacefully;-)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Playing around Christmas...


I know it's a bit childish, but since there are Christmas tress all over Paris at this time of the year, I felt like playing a little bit! I don't know if you managed to recognize the large building in the background on the left, but you could "easily". It's simple Le Louvre (well one side of the Louvre), that I took by reflection from the Saint Germain de l'Auxerois church side. Look at the sun too, we've had this weather for so many days now, it's fantastic!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Playing with Metro station names...

You may have already seen Metropolisson if you're interested in what's going on in Paris, but if not you may have a look at some of the content (I'm fortunate enough to have been given it ;-)) Anyway the purpose of this book is to show scenes photographed in the Paris metro that are related visually to the name of the stations. For example, at Rome you can see an Emperor, at Invalides a one legged person, at Champs de Mars (Mars field), an astronaut, etc. Some are easier to figure out than others... I think the idea is great and here is my modest contribution to this fantastic project ;-) "Muette" means "mute", so I guess, this is pretty self explanatory!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Cartier building


I don't know if you remember my post from last year (Cartier without Bresson), well they did it again this year! Only this time you get to see a broader view (but do visit the previous post to as you might want to see the little film they made for their 165th anniversary again). BTW there seems to be a special 50% off promotion on Zazzle today with code 50OFFPRODUCT, if you're interested in purchasing a ParisDailyPhoto calendar (either this one, or this one or even the brand new black and white one), it may be the day!

Friday, December 13, 2013

From the Roof top of Le Printemps


Do you remember the photo I took two days ago, when I told you I would let you know later where I was when I took it? Well, I was on the roof top of le Printemps, the large department store located on boulevard Haussmann. It's a wonderful location where everybody can go - it's free - and even have a drink while looking at the stunning view - they also have a little café up there. It only takes 5 minutes to go up the 8th floors (with the elevator) and it's worth it day and night (providing there is no fog of course!!).

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Roasted Chestnuts

There something I love about the coming back of winter every year, it's the so called "winter food". In other words dishes that are considered too heavy (like sauerkraut for instance!) or too hot to be eaten in summer. One of them is Marrons Chauds (roasted Chestnuts) that are sold everywhere in Paris during winter, especially outside the large department stores or on the Christmas markets, where I took this photo. I love them!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Winter sunset


All sunsets are different, at least in Paris. More than that, they vary a lot from one season to another. For instance, I don't know exactly why, but this one is typical of winter (probably because of the colors). I took it from a high point in Paris  (I'll tell you where exactly later...) two days ago and the view was really spectacular. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Turning old into new...


Yesterday, I passed by a former HQ of a bank (Le Crédit Lyonnais) which is currently being totally renovated and turned into a brand new and connected building. To do so, they kept the beautiful facade and emptied the inside of the building totally so that you have the best of the two worlds: the look of the old outside, the comfort of modernity inside. Isn't that clever? I did not know what photo to take and I finally chose to shoot behind the grids. To have a better and broader view, check they website (you'll see drawings of  course since the building is not completed yet).

Monday, December 09, 2013

Christmas windows


You know I try to avoid showing faces on PDP and especially the ones of children. But in this photo I don't think any of the kids are recognizable, and the one leaning on the windows looks so fascinated that I don't resist posting it! I took it at Le Printemps, where, like every year, they have beautiful Christmas windows that children love (I remember how much I used to love this when I was a kid!) . I thought this was a cool way of starting the week.

Sunday, December 08, 2013

2014 PDP calendars


Time to reconnect with an old - and lost... - tradition: the PDP calendars! Well, thanks to the hard work of Michael two PDP calendars are just hot off the press as of yesterday evening. You can have a preview directly on the Zazzle site of course: One is dedicated to the Eiffel Tower only and the other one features a wider range of Paris photos. Up to you to choose if you wish to. Enough self promotion  for now ;-)

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Releasing balloons by the Eiffel Tower...


More Eiffel tower today! But this time it's for a purpose... Yesterday (Friday), there was a gathering on the Trocadéro esplanade to raise awareness on two French journalists (Didier François et Edouard Elias) who have been abducted in Syria 6 months ago. I heard on the radio that they planned to release balloons in front of the Eiffel Tower on this occasion, so of course I was tempted to go. And I did... And did not regret it, for what I saw was really beautiful. Have a great weekend and enjoy your freedom. 

Friday, December 06, 2013

Chiaroscuro


One of the many photos that I took from the Pont de la Concorde! I'm just never tired of this view, even if I've seen it a zillion times... And we're having such a nice weather in Paris at the moment... (It won't last, I'm sure!). It made me think of a Claire-obscure (Chiaroscuro).

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Starbucks made it to Montmartre

Do you remember this post about the future  installation of Starbucks near the Place du Tertre at Montmartre ? Well, I went back recently and... that's it, they're open. Despite what some people said, the area has not been defaced and obviously accordion players can still perform! I'm not a big Starbucks fan because I think they're expensive and that most of their drinks have far too many calories, but I see no reasons why they should be banned from Montmartre.     

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

The wonderful world of Dorothée's


I'm sooooooooo glad I discovered the photo work of Dorothée Shoes (who, despite her name is French!), for it's really fantastic. Her shots are currently exhibited on the grids of the Parc de Choisy in the 13th arrondissement and they are all stunning. Fortunately you don't have to come to Paris to see them, you can have a sneak preview here. I'm sure you'll agree with me.

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Thesis viva!


Let me invite you to one of the oldest schools of Paris, Le Collège Sainte Barbe. Located on the Montagne Sainte Geneviève, near the Panthéon, it was built in... 1460 and is now closed. Well, not totally... The whole building was renovated between 1999 and 2009 and has been turned into an administrative building, a library and a place where students can defend their thesis. That is precisely what I witnessed yesterday, when one of my nieces (in this photo) - who's also my God daughter - had her thesis viva. A great and moving moment. Needless to say she did extremely well ;-))

Monday, December 02, 2013

Taxi police


You probably don't know it, but in Paris, there is a special Police department dedicated to taxis ! It's called Les Boers (a slang word which origin is not really known) and they make sure taxis don't cheat (for example choose the night rate instead of the day one) nor even pretend to be taxis whereas they're not (more common than you would think...). Most of them are honest, but it's comforting to know that the police is watching! I took this photo of an old taxi at an exhibition that the Préfecture de Police de Paris (The Paris police) curated to celebrate the 75 anniversary of the Boers.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Looking out!

First of December, it's a theme day!! And the theme day is... Looking out! Which can mean many things. I saw that some people were demonstrating today in front of the Eiffel Tower (on the Trocadero esplanade more accurately) and well I suppose they qualify as "looking out for our future". A bit far fetch?! Yes you're right, but I lack inspiration these days LOL! Have a great Sunday everyone (especially Americans who have to rest after having had too much food AND too much shopping!). As usual, visit the other CDP bloggers around the world... 

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Hitting the road!


A typical Tenin's perspective to start the weekend! I had my own private Thanksgiving party yesterday evening (Friday!) and it was delicious and fun (my stomach is NOT thankful for all that food though, good thing I don't have my gallbladder anymore LOL!). And in Paris we have no such things as Black Friday, so no shopping for me ;-) BTW this is the Beaubourg center in case you did not recognized. 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!


According to my stats, about 50% (48 more accurately!) of the people who visit PDP on a regular basis are American... That is why I generally allow myself to wish them a happy Thanksgiving, even though we have no such celebration here! We do have a store called Thanksgiving though and it's known for selling Thanksgiving food or course, but also all kinds of typical American food, like blue cheese dressing, NY bagels and Velveeta cheese ;-) I personally never get tired of reading the famous Merci Donnant column by Art Buchwald  that used to be posted in the International Herald Tribune (an English language paper published in Paris) every last Thursday of November. 

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Le Bataclan


Here is a very famous theater in Paris that I've been willing to show you for a long time, but I never managed to. As you can see it's really beautiful, but there are 3 trees in front of it and from spring to autumn/fall, there are too many leaves on these trees. I'm still not too happy with this photo, but at least you get to see something! Le Bataclan was built in 1864, it originally had a Chinese architecture (which you can see here) and it was originally a "Caf-Conc" (café-concert) where people could dance. Now Le Bataclan offers a wide range of  shows from rock concerts to stand-up comedy and still offers a dance floor from time to time. 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

French Bulldog


Let me introduce you to... Igor that has obviously been intrigued by my camera while I was taking a photo of... a beautiful door. I rarely post photos of dogs, because it's not very Paris centric, but this one was really cute and... he's a French Bulldog - and the door can still be seen in the background!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Remains of the past


Did I take this photo in the 30's? No I was not born, thank you very much... I took it right before my departure. But it does look like it's from the old Paris times doesn't it? Well it's what's left of La Samaritaine (the back of it), probably a delivery zone or something and they haven't touched it yet (the Samaritaine is currently being turned into a hotel and a few other things and should reopen in 2015).  

Monday, November 25, 2013

There's no place like home...


After a week in Denver, which I enjoyed very much, it's time to go back home! When you read this I'll be on the plane to Paris, but I doubt I'll be able to take my morning coffee on the terrace of a Montmartre café, as the weather forecasts show that it's going to be very cold! I took this one right before my departure and I saved it for my return as I think it's a very Parisian scene ;-)  

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Crossed lines


In Paris, a lot of bikes are stolen every year (between 4,000 and 6,000 per year apparently!) and it's not improving... Most of the time the stolen bikes end up in Africa or East Europe. There is not much to do about it, except lock your bike to whatever you can find that is firmly attached to the ground, like this grid!  

Saturday, November 23, 2013

The big one?


When I say "the big one" I don't mean an earthquake, of course, but... a big flood! For look on the right side of  photo; the Seine goes all the way to the wall, whereas there is normally a walking area down there... This year the overflowing of the Seine has started much earlier than usual and I was reading before my departure that they ("the flooding authorities") worry about the "floods of the century" (the last one took place in 1910). The damages would be terrible...

Friday, November 22, 2013

Romantic walk


How cool is that? Now that they arrested the crazy killer, it's safe to walk down the streets of Paris again! (I'm kidding, because I took this photo right before my departure to Denver - where it's currently snowing! - and there was no crazy killer at that time). Anyway, I took it on the left bank, where they recently closed the traffic for good. The black and white effect is just me ;-)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Fontaine des innocents


"This" is, la Fontaine des Innocents, a very famous fountain located in Les Halles that I have never showed you before because I never found an angle that I liked! This time I used a piece of urban furniture (a temporary "house" that shelters the mockups of the "new" Les Halles). This fountain was built in 1548, was moved twice (it was part of an old church that has been distroyed in 1785) and completed by famous architects and sculptors. A real masterpiece (but not very useful now that everybody has running water!) 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Photo quais


Every two years, in front of the musée du quai Branly, a large open air photo exhibition takes place. It's called "Photoquais", it's free and it's really worth the look. I went there before my departure to Denver and I did not regret it. More than 40 photographers from everywhere but Europe were featured around one and single theme "Look at me"! Tempted? Too late, the exhibition closed on the 17th of November, but you can still see some of the photos on their website.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Steack tartare


Like in a lot of countries the non meat movement is progressing in France too, but there is still a loooong way to go, as meat is part of most of the French's diet. And meat can make cool photos too ;-) Here is one of a steak tartare from le Kong, a trendy restaurant located on the top of the former Samaritaine (which is still closed by the way...)

Monday, November 18, 2013

Beaugrenelle

I finally made it to Beaugrenelle the new shopping mall everyone is talking about  in paid. Well... It's a mall with the usual mall stuff... Probably not the best place for tourists... They have a cool architecture though, like this glass link between the two buildings.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Going upstream...

Yesterday I went to a new shopping mall in the 15th arrondissement and on the way back I walked along the quai (embankment)  for a while. I was absolutely amazed to see how strong the current is on the Seine at the moment and how hard it is for a péniche (flat boat that runs on the Seine) to go upstream. Of course it's hard to realize on a photo, but you can see how deep the tip of the boat is in the water. Have a great Sunday everyone, I'm about to leave for Denver. I will still comment from there of course!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Soon the collapse?!

It's been a while since I've been to the Pont des Arts... Well, I passed by it two days ago and was totally amazed at the amount of locks that people have hung to the bridge! To the point that I felt like this was becoming a real safety threat! Now I understand why the city authorities are worried... Not to forget that now even the bouquinistes sell locks in case you forgot to bring one with you! Anyway the view is still beautiful!  

Friday, November 15, 2013

Lost in Montmartre!

Two days ago I went to Montmartre to take a few photos (I'll be in Denver next week, so I'm stocking up on  my Paris shots!), but I don't resist posting this one today! I tend to think these two people are from France, but obviously not from Paris, as one of them is looking up on a map for his directions! The church in the back is not le Sacré Coeur, but Saint Pierre de Montmartre, another must see church (and much less crowded than the Sacré Coeur!).   

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Place Vendôme, the beautiful!


The Place Vendôme is currently not so nice because of all the work they're doing (look at the big white "thing" on the right, where the Ritz facade is normally located), but with the little help of a beautiful sky and a perfectly located sun (just behind the column so that there is not too much light in the lens ;-)), well it makes a pretty decent shot! FYI, I'm sure you know already, but the "Colonne Vendome" was erected by Napoleon in 1810 to celebrate his army and it is made of 1,200 melted canons that were taken from his enemies during his wars.i

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Paris Little India

I already told you about the "Indian quarter of Paris", located near the Gare du Nord area on the occasion of the Ganesha Celebration, but that's about it. To be honest, I very rarely go there, because what you can find in the stores is "very Indian" and I cannot really picture myself buying a Sherwani (even though some of them are really beautiful). When it comes to food however, it's a different story. That is how I ended up at Saravanaa Bhavan, a vegetarian restaurant located at 170 rue du Faubourg Saint Denis, where I had this delicious meal! (Sorry for posting late, something went wrong with the post scheduling - maybe it was me who went wrong!)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Every occasion to monitor your weight is a good occasion!


This is a scale that I photographed in the Luxembourg gardens yesterday. I did it, not so much because of the object in itself, but because the light was really fantastic. And then, I investigated a little more: why on earth was there a scale in the middle of the Luxembourg gardens?! Well... Now I know! It's because at the end of the 19th century people started monitoring their weight, while manufacturers invented automatic scales... One of them the Société anonyme française des bascules automatiques, rented 3 spots in the Luxembourg gardens to install paying (5 cents) scales. This one is one of them (well, maybe not the original!) and even though it does not work anymore, it's still there...