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... 

Monday, November 11, 2013

2013 Veterans' day

Today is November 11, the date we celebrate the end of WWI even though there are no more alive veterans from that war. The previous years, I posted several times about Maréchal Foch, the one who signed the armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918, but this year I chose to show you the Pathéon  in front of which they hung French flags. As you can see, it was a beautiful day in Paris...

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Baby anyone?


I saw this at a brocante (a secondhand market) yesterday and it really made me smile. Visiting brocantes and vide-greniers (garage sales) is an occupation that a lot Parisians enjoy doing during the weekend and that is why you can find several of them in each arrondissement. I'm not a big fan, 1) because I never know what is good to buy or not and 2) you need to bargain and I really hate that. But I enjoy looking, at least to take photos (which is not really appreciated actually...)

Saturday, November 09, 2013

The "Parizienne" dog!


Look at this beautiful doggy! I photographed him at Place du Marché Saint Honoré, in front of a restaurant called La Parizienne (with a "z" and not an "s"). Having a - real - dog in Paris is not easy, even though about 200 000 people have one: you need to pick up after him and you can get a ticket (up to 450 €!)  if you don't keep him on a leash in the street on in public gardens. 

Friday, November 08, 2013

A bust not to bust out of the river banks!


Nice bust isn't it? I found it on the quai - the left river bank - not far from the Eiffel Tower. To be honest I did not know who this man was until I read the plaque underneath the bust; he's Habib Bourguiba, the founder and the first President of the Republic of Tunisia until November 1987 (before him Tunisia was a former French colony. The bust was made by Turkish sculptor Macunluoglu

Thursday, November 07, 2013

A view of Le Louvre

I'm currently attending the Webdeuxconnect conference, a French event for geeks like me! and since I'm locked in for two days I cannot take my daily photos. So here is one from my stock. I took it last month when I took this photo and I thought the sky was really stunning. On the right, you can see the Louvre.

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Red address!


I'm sure you all played Monopoly at least once in your life. Like you probably know, the game is published in many languages and countries and of course, the city and street names are different according to each version. Not surprisingly, in France, the chosen city is... Paris (even though there are also regional editions). A couple of days ago I had a meeting at Avenue Henri Martin, which is one of the most expensive streets on the French Monopoly (a red zone!) and I could not help but remember my youth! And since the city sign is pretty cool too, I thought it would make a cool photo.

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

The Luxor Obelisk


It's a very very classic view of Paris, but what's less classic is to be able to photograph this square without a single car (I had to wait for quite a long time!) and with this very dramatic sky (I did not have to wait for that LOL). For those of you who would not know it, the big pole in this photo is The Luxor Obelisk (Obélisque de Louxor) that was originally located at the entrance to Luxor Temple, in Egypt. It was offered to France as a gift in 1829 and installed on the Place de la Concorde on October 25, 1836.

Monday, November 04, 2013

More sunny reflexions


When I show you the Paris Modern Art museum, I generally tale the photo from the other side. But this time, I was fascinated by the way way the sun would make its way through this magnificent building. This "Palace" that is what it's called, was built around 1937 for the International Art and Technical Exhibition. It then was turned into a museum in 1961 and is a definite must see if you come to Paris!

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Sunday morning in Paris


I love Sunday mornings in Paris... Traffic is very scarce, a lot of streets are turned into pedestrian areas until 1 pm and most people you can see are runners, bikers... and even roller skaters. I photographed this one last Sunday on the Pont Neuf, just at sunrise. Have a great Sunday everyone, whether you do sport or not!!

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Eiffel Towers traffic!


If you ever visited Paris, I'm sure someone offered to buy a small Eiffel Tower in the street. This someone was probably from Africa or Pakistan and he was near a tourist attraction - like at Trocadéro where I took this photo two days ago. It may sound silly, but this is actually a huge business and all these sellers are illegal immigrants working for a sort of "miniature Eiffel Tower mafia" that exploits them and  makes huge profits. Last summer no less than 60 tons of such Eiffel Towers have been confiscated and several people arrested. Of course, this does not mean the traffic has stopped, it's obviously still very much alive...

Friday, November 01, 2013

Celebrating the dead


Today is the first of the month and for once I will not take part in the CDP theme day! Why? Because today in France is La Toussaint (all saints' day), the day Western Christianity celebrates the dead people. And, well, even though I'm more eager to celebrate the living than the dead, I thought this photo of this tomb (a famous French writer), was just perfect for today. Enjoy life everyone, it's precious. I took this photo at Le Cimetière de Passy, by the way.