Car rental

I had to ship my scooter yesterday, with the rest of the move, and today I had to deliver 5 huge boxes to a freight company in the suburbs (yeah, not the most glamorous thing tho do on the eve of your departure!). I had to go to Gare de l'est (East Station) to rent a car and for the first time I tried Hertz on Demand (you rent your car by the hour). Pretty good I must say... No advertising intended, just a quick share of my last days in Paris...  Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my American followers of course!

Paris landmark

Here is a place I've been willing to photograph for a long time! Yesterday evening I did. It's called Le Louxor, it's located at the famous Barbès Rochechouard corner (famous for its cigarette smuggling!) and it is one of the first  cinemas/movie theaters in Paris. It closed in 1983, then was turned into a  night club, then closed for good until recently when, under the pressure of a local association, the Paris town hall decided to renovate it. It reopened in April 2013.  More here.

The only Paris fire escape?

You could almost think this photo was taken in an old American city and though I took it yesterday in the 10th arrondissement in Paris. This is, as far as I know, the only fire escape that exists in Paris! I really don't know why they have it on this particular building, except that it's a theater (but no other theaters have such fire escapes in Paris, so that does not really explains it). I looked on the web and could not find anything about it. Anyway, I'm glad we don't have more of these in Paris, because they are not exactly beautiful...  

Parisian Staircase

Sometimes old building staircases are not exactly in mint condition, but they still have this unique flavor that only old Paris edifice have. This one belongs to one of the oldest buildings in the 10th arrondissement and it is typical of the 18th century buildings. Fortunately, the apartment of the friend I visited there is brand new (not the friend, the apartment!). Have a great Sunday.

Rotten summer (2014!)

Sometimes in July, the weather can be very bad in Paris (and in France in general, except on the Riviera). That is exactly what's happening at the moment... I took this photo last evening while I was walking through the crowd to get closer to the stage this rock concert that took place on the Place de la République. The blur is then totally natural, since I was walking when I pulled the trigger. They expect this rotten weather to continue for at least a week...

French Communist Party HQ

In France, we still have a Communist Party (Le Parti Communiste Français) which never changed its name, even after the fall of Soviet Union in the 90's. Its heaquarters are very famous, because of the architecture of the building, designed by Brasilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1965 (the white dome was built later in 79/80). Between 1994 and 2002 the French Communist Party had to face a real decline and money shortage. That is why this building was rented for several very capitalistic events, like fashion shows (Prada, Issey Miyake, Dries van Noten, Yves Saint Laurent, Vuitton...). I took this photo recently, taking advantage of a nearby meeting.

Paris upon Canal Saint Martin!

I really wish you were in Paris at the moment (well, maybe you are!) for it's one of the best moments to be here. The weather is fantastic, like I said yesterday daylight lasts until almost 11 pm and everybody is out picnicking, BBQing, celebrating (the soccer/football games)... I took this photo last evening on the Canal Saint Martin  around which there were a zillion people having a good time. A nice break from the usual Parisian attitude these days! 

Soccer mania

In case you don't know (that is if you live in the States or in the Far East!) the soccer world  cup has started a few days ago in Brazil, which means half of the world is revolving around a little round ball. France is a big soccer nation, so you can imagine what importance it has in our daily life at the moment; there is not a single TV program, a single magazine, a single website that does not deal with soccer! But it's probably advertising that makes the most extensive use of this cup! Hence these little Smart cars all dressed up for the occasion, that promote betting on sports. I found them on the Grands Boulevards and thought they were pretty cute.

Look at the sky!

This is a typical Paris zebra crossing - that is a recent one, for when I was young we had Passage Cloutés - literally "nailed pathways" that is pedestrian crossings bordered by big nails hammered into the cobblestones. Anyway... I thought this was funny because someone used one of the stripes to write a pretty poetic sentence:  "look at the sky!"

Saint Louis procession

No this is not a fancy dressed parade nor the Paris carnival, but a real procession that I photographed yesterday in the streets of Paris, not far from my home! This people celebrate King Saint Louis the 9th (aka Saint Louis) and monarchy in general, for yes, there are still monarchists in France. Passers by were a bit puzzled I must say, but everything went smoothly - at least for the part I saw. Have a great Sunday everyone, whether you have a king or not!

The breathing city...

I've found this stunning piece of street art in the rue des Recollets, near the Canal Saint Martin. It was made by Spanish artist  Dourone, who I did not know. The title of this work of art is "listen to the breathing city", which I thought, was appropriate to announce that, despite the weather, the 2014 PDP picnic will take place at the usual place, that is at the end of La rue de l'Amiral Coligny, on the Quais François Mitterrand. Metro station: Louvre Rivoli (See this little video if you're coming by metro, I made it in 2006, but the directions haven't changed). Don't forget to bring something to eat and drink! (More on Facebook).

PDP friends

I've often told you how PDP allowed me to meet people from all over the world that I would never have met otherwise. Last evening I had the pleasure to have a drink with three people that have long time been in the PDP galaxy: Guille, Jeff (left) and Michael (right). We met at Chez Prune, a cool bar/restaurant located along the Canal Saint Martin. It was fun... BTW the PDP picnic is still scheduled for Sunday, only the weather won't be very nice, so I'm looking for an indoor place. Stay tuned...

The Gare du nord is 150 years old!

The Gare du nord (North station) was open on April 19 1864, it had 8 tracks and people at that time complained because it was too "gigantic"! Little did they know that 150 years later it would be ranked as the 3rd largest station in the world (after Tokyo and Chicago) with no less than 180 million passengers per year. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, northern France cities and... London with the famous Eurostar. Last, but not least, it's a stunning building that we owe to its achitect Jacques Hittorff.

Paris Laundromat

Don't ask me why, but laundromats fascinate me! Not that I ever use any (like a lot of French people I have a washer in my kitchen - yes kitchen!), but probably because they look a bit depressing. When I saw this one a few weeks ago (I'm still sick so I did not go out yesterday), I immediately thought it would make a good photo (mainly because of the lonely guy in it of course, but not only). Have good Friday everyone, I'll finally go out again today so expect more fresh material soon!! 

And the new mayor of Paris is...

Anne Hidalgo! She was the deputy Mayor of Bertrand Delanoe, the previous mayor that managed Paris for 14 years. Needless to say that she probably knows the job! Her tag line is "Paris qui ose" (Paris that dares - doing things), we'll see! Welcome to the job Anne! More in English here.

Shadows

I took this photo on a bridge that runs over the Canal Saint Martin in the 10th arrondissement. Nothing much to add except that I like the shadow effect among the trees.

More sun

I was away in the North of France this weekend (for the wedding of a God daughter) and when I returned to Paris, the weather was absolutely stunning. I took this photo in the rue Lafayette on the bridge that allows the cars to go over the tracks of the Gare du nord.  Today to fight pollution, the authorities have decided that only cars with an odd number on their licence plate could run.

The second most expensive city in the world!

I just found out this morning that I live in the second most expensive city in the world, after Singapore. I'm a bit surprised (I would have thought London would be more expensive than Paris for instance), but apparently this result is based on true facts: the comparison of prices of 160 products and services in 140 cities. More on the website of The Economist. I thought this golden door knob that I shot today on my way to the doctor's office was perfect to illustrate this sad fact!

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!)

Movie set?

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of having lunch with Peter and his wife Jo who usually live in Australia... These names may not be familiar to you and though they are very important to the CityDailyPhoto blogging community... Peter in particular, for he is the one who rescued the CityDailyPhoto portal after the first one crashed! After lunch, I walked a few steps and discovered a street that I had never seen before: the rue Legouvé, which, to me, really looks like a movie set!  Of course, I stopped and took a photo...