Eau de Paris

Funny how the things you now take for granted like water and electricity in a big western country are not that granted everywhere! To be honest, I never paid that much attention to the price of utilities when I was in Paris, because from the very first times I moved into my own place I knew it was something you had to pay and that it was not very expensive. Now that I am in Malta, I had to look into all this with much more attention for they have a different system here: the more you use electricity and water, the more you pay - that is the more each kwh and cubic meter is expensive. This to encourage households to be "reasonable". These bottles are part of the Eau de Paris collection, that you can find at the Pavillon de l'eau in the 16th arrondissement.

Au revoir Paris

I had to use an Eiffel Tower photo for my last day in Paris! When you read this post I'll be on a plane to Malta, where I'm going to relocate for "a certain amount of time". I'll tell you more when I have more time, for, as you probably noted I haven't been very responsive lately due to the amount of stuff I had to cope with for my move. I passed ET it today, as I was heading towards my father's home to kiss him goodbye. Not an easy moment. Anyway, Malta is just 2:40 hours away from Paris, so I'll be back sooner than later! Now you may wonder what I'm going to do with PDP... Well for now I have decided to continue until the end of the year. I'll use some old unpublished photos. Stay tuned.

Studio 104 de la Maison de la Radio

This won't probably tell you much if you're not French, but if you are it will! This, ladies and gentlemen, is the entrance to the Studio 104 de la Maison de la radio, a mythical studio from where a lot of radio shows (including live concerts) are broadcasted (see the inside here). I was lucky enough to visit it yesterday, thanks to a good friend of mine who works there (in a news channel). It was pretty moving - almost as the visit of the Abbey road studios in London ;-)

Like finding a needle in a haystack!

I know this is a pretty surprising photo! It's just that I wanted to draw your attention on an interesting, odd artist performance that took place in Paris on November 13. Sven Sachsalber, an Italian artist, spent 29 hours and 30 minutes in the Palais de Tokyo (the home of the Paris modern art museum) actually looking for a real needle in a haystack! I'm not kidding, check out the video!

Place d'Iena

Yesterday I had to go and see a dentist for a special intervention (nothing really serious, but something that required a special equipment). The office was in the 16th arrondissement (one of the richest arrondissements in Paris, which explains why a lot of doctors' office are located there ;-)) Anyway, on the way back, I passed by the Place d'Iena, a beautiful roundabout in the middle of which you can see the statue of George Washington (by US sculptor Daniel Chester French). In the background you can also see the Guimet museum (in the "tower").

From rooftop of the Peninsula hotel...

France is going through a big economic crisis, but in Paris, there is still room for luxury and glamour! Hence the Peninsula Hotel, the brand new luxury hotel that opened on August 1st after 4 years of work! Large swimming pool, SPA, 45 suites, art pieces everywhere, outstanding service and, of course, excellent restaurants. One in particular called L'oiseau blanc (after the name of a plane that disappeared in 1927), located at the top of the hotel, facing the Eiffel tower (bien sûr...). Thanks to AALynn (that you know if you've been following this blog for a long time) I had the please of having lunch there, in excellent company! It was unforgettable... (and before you ask, no, I walk discuss price here!).

Pharmacy strike

If you are in Paris today (Tuesday), don't be sick, for it'll be very difficult to get medicines! Why? Because most pharmacies will be on strike! Explanation: the medicine market is a monopoly in France (only appointed pharmacists can sell medicines), therefore  margins are pretty high. Pharmacists are afraid that if non prescription drugs are sold in supermarkets prices will go down and they will lose a lot of money (which is probably true!). I understand their point of view, but as a consumer, I could do with a little drop in prices!  

Weird monument!

In the very chic Avenue Foch - once the most expensive street in Paris - I found this weird monument. A sculpture made by Aime Jules Dalou, dedicated to Jean-Charles Alphand, a French Engineer who took part in the renovation of Paris under the direction of Baron Haussmann between 1852 and 1870. It was inaugurated in 1899 (December) and shows Alphand (in the middle on the pedestal) and his coworkers Edmond Huet, Joseph Bouvard et le peintre Alfred Roll. Pretty odd!

Fête à Neu Neu

In almost 10 years I don't think I ever told you about La Fête à Neu Neu (Neu Neu is short for Neuilly, a close suburban city close to the 16th arrondissement of Paris.) a small seasonal amusement park that has been taking place in Le Bois de Boulogne since 2008. In fact it's a sequel of a previous Fête à Neu Neu that used to be extremely popular between 1815 and 1935! This year, the Cirque Franco Belge is performing and you can enjoy an beautiful view of the West of Paris from the Ferris wheel.

Water mirror Lake

In the Bois de Boulogne, there are several lakes on which you can row in little flat boats. At dusk, it's super quiet and beautiful. The perfect location for a picnic!

Paris bench

There are exactly 8,481 benches in Paris (who counted them?!), that is roughly 1 for 260 people, which is not too bad considering the average Parisian does not really have the time to sit in them, during a normal day. I photographed this one in the avenue Foch, once called l'avenue du bois (woods avenue) for it leads to the Bois de Boulogne. Not much to say; I just like the looks of Paris benches!

Back home!

After a few days in the mediterranean sea (in the island of Malta), I'm back to the big city of light! All French cities have signs like this at their entrance, but in Paris, it's actually pretty rare to see them. When I see one, it reminds  me of an old uncle who used to tell me about the Paris Octroi, a toll that was collected at each gate of Paris (the main entrances are called gate in Paris) until 1943 on certain goods.,. Now it does not exist anymore, but they found other ways of taxing people!!

A day at the races

I don't think I ever posted any photo about the Longchamps Hippodrome, that is the horse track located in the Bois de Boulogne, near Paris. It was built in 1857 and is still in use for mostly horse races (the next big one - the Prix de l'Arc de Triumph - will take place on October 5 and 6) and also for other events like concerts (that is where the Rolling Stones performed in 1995 for instance) or even a mass given by the Pope in 1997!

A Remnant of Paris from... 1312

There are several Moulins (windmills) in Paris (Moulin Rouge, Moulin de la galette...) but they're all "fake" or rather old windmills that have been turned into restaurants or cabarets. This one remains in its original state, and it's called Le Moulin de Rouvray. It's located in the Bois de Boulogne (the woods around the Western part of Paris). It was built in 1312 within an Abbey founded in 1255 by Isabelle de France, the daughter of Louis the 8th. The Abbey was destroyed in 1795, but the windmill survived until now (it has not been used as a real windmill since 1809 though! It cannot be visited unfortunately, but you can see it from the street where I was yesterday.

Place du Trocadero

I did not go out yesterday to get some rest - even though I'm perfectly alright - so I did not take any photo! Here is one I took about a month ago and never used, even though this scene will probably look familiar to you as I have showed you this statue (the one of Maréchal Foch, a WWI French hero) several times. Traffic on this roundabout is generally very dense, so I must have been lucky!

Eiffel Aerodynamics Labs

Sorry I'm late posting, but I had to have my finger operated on yesterday and I was too tired when I returned home. I went to a hospital that specializes in hand surgery and this allowed me to discover the Eiffel Aerodynamics labs in the street nearby (rue de Musset). I did not know that Eiffel pioneered the study of the effects of aerodynamics on objects and that he first used his tower for that (dropping objects  from it!). Later he built a wind turbine, which is in this building and is still in operation. Amazing, isn't it? (Much) more in this publication - in English.

Bal des pompiers (2014)

Like every year on the eve of Le 14 juillet (Bastille Day), the pompiers (firemen) of France organize big balls (bal des pompiers) in their fire station and let everyone one in for a very festive moment. It's also a way for them to raise a little charity money. Last evening I was too tired (well, lazy...) to go out so I did not get any bal des pompiers photo like I usually do every year. Instead here is a photo I took in 2012, while I caught a battalion of pompiers (in Paris, firemen are part of the army) marching on the Trocadero Esplanade. Needless to say that the music they play during the balls is nothing like military music, but real dance music!

It looks like rain...

After I photographed the Eiffel Tower two days ago, I went down the Trocadero stairs, turned my camera the other way around and... took this shot! As you can see, the weather is not very picnic friendly at the moment in Paris and though I'l going to have another barbecue at friend's today (it's definitely the season!). FYI, this is Le Trocadero - or rather the Trocadero gardens that were made by Jean-Charles Alphand for the "Art and Technology in Modern Life International Exhibition" that took place in Paris between May 25 May and November 25 1937.

Still there!

I had dinner at Café Kléber near the Trocadero with a group of student from Miami University and on the way out, I could not help but taking a walk on the esplanade. Of course, I took a photo ;-)

Swimming pool time!

There are no less than... 38 public swimming pools in Paris, of which 4 open air ones where you can swim and get a tan for only 3 € a day (even for less if you buy 10 tickets at once!). Of course, if you go during weekends they are pretty packed, but during the week (except Wednesdays when kids don't go to school) it's OK. You can also go to private swimming pools, if you can afford them, like this one, the piscine Molitor, I already told you about about a month ago. BTW, last month I had the great honor of being interviewed by Ibarionex Perello, for a famous photo podcast called The Candid Frame, if you want to know more about the "PDP story", well listen to it ;-)