Breizh Parade

Remember two days ago when I told you about the Celts - and the Bretons in particular - and the big "rave party" they are going to have tonight (Saturday) in Bercy? Well last night they had a sort of rehearsal in front of the Eiffel Tower on the Trocadero esplanade. They gathered at 7pm and started dancing a gavotte, a typical Breton dance, facing the iron lady. Funny and rather unusual... Have a great weekend everyone, I'll be working on the PDP layout again, to improve the ease of use...

Cabinet of Wonders

Last night, like every night, I passed by Le Cabinet des Curieux, a Cabinet of curiosities (or Cabinet of wonders) located at 12 Passage Verdeaux. These cabinets started in the sixteenth century and were used to display collections of objects according to a theme (natural history, scientific instruments, exotic plants and animals...). Nowadays the same spirit remains, only the object have changed  and the collections can be a little more dary! Hence, this current exhibition called fantasy for which they put two live models in the window! Huge success...

Proud to be a celt!

We don't have many Irish people in Paris (about 15 000 according to a few sources that I found on the web), but we have Bretons! Bretons (remember this post?) are the people who live in the northwest west of France and who originate from the same Celts "tribes" and share more or less the same language (even though, it's not much spoken anymore, at least in France). This year, to celebrate Saint Patrick, they organized a huge Celt gathering where Irish, Bretons, and Asturians (Celts from Northern Spain) will gather, dance and play the bagpipes (check this if you want to hear what it sounds like- go directly to minute 4:30!). If you want to join them, it's next Saturday in Bercy.

Hurrah, Spring is back...

I've been waiting a while for it and now here: spring! To celebrate I took a photo of my favorite square in Paris: La Place des Victoires (Victories Square). It's a wide square in the 2nd arrondissement, dedicated to the victories of Louis the XIVth (who's the the guy on the horse by the way!). This Square was inaugurated in... 1686, and if you wanted to erect a building around it you had to comply to the strict rules set by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1st architect to the king), that is only erect symmetrical buildings. There are lots of urbanism rules like this in Paris (have a look here, if you can read French, it's interesting); it's a constraint, but it is also the reason why it is such a beautiful city.

The Naked Man

I know some of you may be surprised by this, but this is art, so there is nothing to be alarmed of! I found this sculpture in a gallery at the corner of rue Mazarine and rue Guénégaud and I could not help but laughing when I passed by it. Sadly, I'm unable to tell you what the place is called for the Gallery seems to be closing (it used to be Galerie Guislain apparently according to Google Maps). I'm also unsable to tell you anything about the artist, for there was no sign anywhere in the window. If anyone knows more, please let me know.

The place to brunch at

I'm rarely super enthusiastic about a restaurant or a café, but this time I am. Yesterday (Sunday) I went to Coco & Co to brunch with some friends. I loved the place. Not only is it located in a very nice area (Saint Germain des prés), but on top of that it's beautifully decorated (even though pretty tiny) and affordable. They even have a little "hen house" (well, with no hens!) on the first floor (Look on the Making of). "Coco" is child language for eggs in French, so quite logically the place has a specialty of... eggs (have a look at the board also on the Making of)! Just one thing; if you come to Paris and want to go there (look up on Google Maps), make sure you book at least 3 days in advance... They seem to have a web site, but apparently down...

Election Day

Today is an election day in France (we always vote on a Sunday). We vote for our local representatives. There are 26 regions in France (but only 22 for Metropolitan France - that is without the West Indies, the Reunion and French Guyana). Paris is included is what is called "l'île de France", a sort of "Greater Paris". Regions are in charge of Public transports, Schools' maintenance, roads... and other local equipments and services.The left - that is the opponents to the present Government - are predicted to win most regions (if not all of them) according to polls. More (if you're interested!) here.

Snow again?

I told you how cold it is still in Paris at the moment... So cold it could snow again! But no, this white stuff is not snow, it's simply Styrofoam that was dumped into the sewer at rue de Richelieu. It's fun, and quite good for a photo, but in fact it's pretty polluting as Styrofoam is extremely resistant. Precisely the town hall just released the latest survey about Paris cleanliness. The 4 000 Parisians sample seems to be happy with the way Paris "shines" (63%), but for the first time 15% said that polluters (such as the one responsible for this!) should be fined. Just one slight detail though: how do you find them?!

Thank you so much

Well, what can I say if not these two words that I used so many times here: thank you. I've not been able to read all your comments yet - nor to visit all these blogs that celebrated the anniversary with what is now worldwide(!) known as the "Tenin perspective", but I will this weekend. Tonight I took a photo of this billboard- which is currently used for our coming elections - and took the liberty of removing the original posters to replace them with this simple word: merci! Lots of love from Paris dear visitors...

5 years!

So this is it... Today is the 5th anniversary of ParisDailyPhoto! I've posted 1834 photos since March 11 2005, every single day, without missing one. How's that for a commitment?! LOL. I've also met - or got to know online - an incredible amount of nice people from all over the world, and that is priceless. After 5 years I also thought it was time for a little "bloglift"... I wanted to wait a little more (I'm the perfectionist type!), but I decided to launch it today even though it's not exactly like I want this new layout to be ;-) As you will notice there are more opportunities to view the photos; you can browse by label, by category (Museum, Must see, Exhibition...), you can also click on one of the links suggested by LinkWithin under each post (it's not fully working yet as the service has to crawl all my photos...). There will also be other features in the weeks to come. I hope you'll like this new layout (even though I know that people generally don't like too much change!) and I welcome any comment you may have. Thank you very much to all of you, I enjoy your support, your nice words and your loyalty. BTW, I took this photo 2 days ago outside La Géode at the La Vilette park. If you look closely, you can see me in the reflection ;-)

The archives of the planet !

Yesterday, I went to the opening of the new website of the Albert Khan museum. Albert Khan (1860-1940) was a banker (I guess we could even call him a "trader"!), but also a philanthropist. Once he became rich, he decided to build the "archives of the planet". How? By photographing and filming everything he could (well, not him personally but with the help of photographers, like in this photo that I took in the museum) on the planet. Thanks to this crazy idea, the museum has now 72 000 shots (in fact autochromes) and hundreds of hours of movies. They started digitizing all this and bring it to the public on the new website. Truly amazing! (FYI: a pretty similar thing also existed in Great Britain (The Mitchell & Kenyon Collection).

Paris market

Like I already mentioned it several times on this blog there are 63 food markets  in Paris (100 in total if you include other types of market - flowers, animal...). See the complete list here or locate them on a map here). Some of them are open everyday, some only on specific days and some only in the morning or the afternoon.. These markets haven't changed much since the 1850's: each shopkeeper rents a spot on a daily basis to an "agent" that is granted a right of collecting money by the Paris town hall for a period of 6 years. I took this photo at the Bastille market last Sunday. As you can see it is very successful!

1910 Paris

We are currently "celebrating" the centennial of the famous 1910 flood (I already mentioned it a long time ago - in 2005!). It was not the worst one (look on the left in the photo, it says that the record was held in 1658 with 8,80 meters, against "only" 8,60 meters in 1910) but it was bad enough to cause a lot of damage. I went to one of the many exhibits that are currently being held about this flood in Paris at the moment - this one is free and held until April at Le Louvre des Antiquaires, near Le Louvre. It's both fascinating and frightening to see what water can do to all these areas that are familiar to you. Again, you don't have to be in Paris to see all this... There is an enormous amount of photo material available on the Internet. Check this for instance or even this little... video!

The other side of Paris

What struck me the most during my recent trip to Africa is to see the kind of dwellings in which a lot people live. Even though I have seen it several times on TV, it's still hard to see it for real. Having said that, last Friday on my way home from work, I came across this collection of buildings. Technically it's not really Paris (it's located in Châtillon Malakoff, just a few meters away from the Paris "border") but still. And don't go thinking it's about to be taken down (well eventually it will!), as you can see people live there. So, if you think Paris is all about beautiful buildings, Haussmann architecture and arts around every corner, well, you might consider visiting other parts than the center...

Paris Safari...

Today, almost like every year, I went to the "largest farm in the world", that is the "Salon International de l'agriculture", a trade show dedicated to farming and farmers... It's a very popular show as the French love their farmers - even though they only count for 3.5% of the GDP (vs 7% 30 years ago...). It was really fun to see the numerous kids playing with the cows, the sheep, the tractors... This year I chose to show you this cute little goat that became the star of the podium for a while ;-) No need to go to Africa to see animals!

Why do the French hate Parisians?!

It's probably like that everywhere in the world: people from the provinces don't like the people from the "big city". In France - a very centralized country - it's particularly true. Up to a point that Mariane, a French news magazine made a cover story entitled "Why do the French hate Parisians?" A survey even shows that the people from the provinces think the Parisians are less welcoming, less tolerant, less generous, less nice, more stressed, more snob... than themselves. Have a look at the results if you can read French. And go back to this post (and click on the "Watch this" link in the caption). You will understand better what people think of the Parisians !

Paris Izis Photo Exhibit

Inside the Paris town hall, there is currently an amazing photo exhibit by Izis. Izis (real name: Izraëlis Bidermanas) was a Lithuanian artist who emigrated to Paris in 1930 when he was 19 and worked there as a photographer - especially for Paris Match. He should be as famous as Doisneau, Ronis or Cartier-Bresson (he was even one of the "Five French Photographers" that took part in the New York MoMA exhibition in 1951), but he is not! That is why I think it's really good that Paris offers us the occasion to see his work. You wish you could see it too? Well, no worries, you can "visit" the exhibit without coming to Paris (I know you probably would prefer to!). Just click here.

Late Shopping

Coming back home after 2 weeks vacation is always difficult! Not only do you have to go back to work - and deal with the zillion emails that have been nicely piling up in your mailbox while you were away! - but on top of that you have to start life "as usual" again. Including filling the fridge! Fortunately, now, we have the "Daily Monop'", a rather new food store chain that stays open until midnight 6/7. Not only do they have "the basics", but they also have high-end organic ready made dishes that these "young urban professionals" love to reheat in the microwave when coming home at 9pm after a hard day's work ;-)

Paris from the sky

Here is a photo I have been willing to take for a long time, but planes rarely fly over Paris when they land at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Mine did today! The photo quality is not very good, but good enough for you to see (click on it to enlarge it) the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadero and even the Tour Montparnasse! I'm glad to come home, even though I found out that a storm hit France two days ago and killed about 60 people. Of course, compared to the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, it's nothing, but still, it is not really nice to hear when you return from vacation. Anyway, I'm glad to reconnect with you all.

Back to Paris

When I return from vacation I usually post a photo of La Tour Eiffel, but this time I decided to go East! This is La Seine, of course, and the bridge (the one you see a pedestrian on) is - as far as I remember because I'm not 100% sure... - la Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir, the latest one that was built over the Seine. Anyway, whatever bridge this is, this view is what makes you want to come back to Paris, no matter where you've been before!

Climate change?

According to the data, this winter has been colder than the average (have a look at this excellent site to have a better picture) and people - including me! - are really  longing for some warmer weather (mind you at this very moment, I'm not, but that is just because I'm on vacation in the Southern hemisphere!). Usually towards the end of February we have nice rays of sun, and birds start feeling spring coming up... These don't because they're fake! I photographed them on the Quai (the river banks) where they have a flower and animal  market).

Graffiti

Here is a nice Graffiti I found on rue Clavel. I know nothing about it, I haven't been able to find anything about it on the web... But I like it. In this street there is also a theater called le Theâtre Clavel, of course!

Meulière House

Here is a type of house that is pretty common in the Paris area (more in the suburbs than inside Paris in general, for there are mostly apartment buildings in Paris and few houses). It's called a Maison Meulière (Meulière house) after the type of rock that was used to build them. I photographed this one in the 15th arrondissement, avenue Félix Faure. It is actually a foundation, created by Maria Chauvière (the mother of Claude Chauvière who became the personal secretary of Colette) and who dedicated it to children. It is now a child day care center.

Saint Jean-Baptiste de Belleville

Few tourists go off the beaten track, that is outside the very center of Paris (within the first 9th arrondissements let's say). And though there are treasures to see further away from the center. Hence this superb church located on rue de Belleville (number 139) - precisely called Saint Jean-Baptiste de Belleville - which is one of the first neo-Gothic churches in Paris. It was built between 1854 and 1859 and was conceived by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus. If you want to see and visit it you just need to go to Metro station Jourdain.

Ice rink closing soon

Hurry, hurry! There are only 10 more days before you can enjoy a nice ice skating in front of the Hotel de Ville. The ice rink will close on March 6 and, as usual it's been a big success. I love the way this lady keeps her handbag no matter what... Like, she did not know she was going to ice skate on that day - Well, maybe she got dragged into it, like some people recently!

Léon Blum

Léon Blum was a French Politician who was born in 1872 and died in 1950. He is famous for taking part in a government called Le Front Populaire (Popular Front, that is a coalition of left parties) in 1936 and 37. That is when - among other measures - payed vacations (2 weeks per year), a work week of 40 hours (instead of 48) and the right to strike were enacted. Léon Blum was also Jewish, and for a Catholic country like France, having a Jewish Prime Minister (well Président du Conseil, was the exact term) was really a small revolution! I photographed this statue at Place Léon Blum, in front of the 11th arrondissement Town hall.

Anti Graffiti Humor

I love that kind of humor! This poster says "I would rather have a blank wall than this crappy poster!" which is totally absurd, of course. I found it, at the very end of Le Marais, in a small passage called  le Passage du Pont au biches (deer bridge passage) where, believe me, it's been a very long time since the last deer went through it!

Monumenta 2010

I took this photo at the Monumenta 2010 exhibit at Le Grand Palais. Each year Monumenta hosts the work of an artist. This year it is - well was, as the exhibit closes tonight - Christian Boltanski who covered the floor of Le Grand Palais with old garments and clothes... That's not all, he also built a mountain with them (that is what you can see in this photo) and added moaning loudspeakers at every corner. I'll be honest, even though I generally love modern art work, I really haven't been touched by this one. But a lot of people have - well so some bloggers say. Anyway, like I said, today is the last day, so if you want to find out for yourself and if you're in Paris, well... pay it a visit.

Ecole Estienne

There are several prestigious schools in Paris, especially in the art industry. You may know the Beaux Arts, for instance, that I already mentioned in this post, but I never told you about another one, also prestigious called l'Ecole Estienne (aka L’École supérieure des arts et industries graphiques). It was founded in 1889 and is dedicated to the "written arts" (fonts, binding, engraving...) and now to more "modern" techniques such as animation, movies, communication techniques and digital arts. It belongs to the city of Paris and it is located in the 13th arrondissement.

Chinese New Year

This year in Paris the Chinese New Year celebrations have been taking place since February 14 and they will end on the 21st in the 13th arrondissement, which is where you will find the largest Chinese (but not only Chinese - people from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) communities. There are fours parades in total (in the 3rd, the 20th, the 13th and, for the first time this year the 17th arrondissement). May crackers and dragons scare away the bad economy and happy new year to my Chinese visitors (actually Blogger is blocked by the "Great Firewall" in mainland China, so, I don't have many visitors from that part of the world...).