From Paris with love

Yesterday took place the last PDP picnic and despite the threatening weather (it poured in the morning!) we managed pretty well. The thing is that I started the PDP picnic series in 2006 because of Jeff (with the blue jacket on the left) - I did not know him at that time - and ever since I always organized them around his Paris visits (I'm working on a PDP book at the moment and I'll have the occasion to disclose more info about these picnics). This year again we had a wonderful time, I met great new people (people who follow PDP, but never comment) and reconnected with older ones. It almost did not rain...  ;-) BTW, what do you think about the true Frenchman with the beret?! ;-)

Express yourself!

Where does this irrepressible need to write, draw or paint on walls come from? It's hard to tell, but it started a long time ago with the cavemen, who did marvelous things (remember the Grottes de Lascaux that  I already mentioned some time ago). And it starts early too judging from this photo that I took on the left bank where they installed a huge blackboard (the one I shot for my Joyeux Noël post) where everybody can "tag" with a chalk. Children have a blast!  

Sunday, lovely Sunday

Have a peaceful Sunday everyone, just like in Paris at the moment, where everyone is out celebrating this extraordinary mild weather. I took this photo just outside the Musée d'Orsay where the line to get in was so long that the people who were at the end of it probably waited two hours before reaching the ticket booth! Why? Because there are a lot of Italian and Spanish tourists in Paris, because apparently the 6th is a holiday there...

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 ;-)

There's not place like home...

I know, I've posted this point of view a dozen times already, but that is all I have handy right now! And since I'm not in good enough shape to go out yet, you'll have to live with that ;-)

Liberty (part II)!

I know, I told you the story a 100 times already... In Paris you can see several mini replicas of the statue of liberty, including this one that was inaugurated by French President Carnot on July 4th 1889 and which is located in the middle of l'île aux cygnes (swans island) . Of course you all know that the statue of Liberty that you can see in New York was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and has been given to the Americans by the French in 1885. Anyway, this is the first time I showed it from this side ,as, to do so, you must walk along a mini highway that runs along the embankment and it's really not easy!

Le bon goût...

Now that the weather is pretty good, that the temperatures are much higher, people have started uncovering... Hence this charming lady that I photographed on the embankment, near the area where the PDP picnic usually takes place. To an average French person this outfit is a little over the top (to say the least!) and certainly not de bon goût but, of course, all this is cultural. What seems vulgar in one part of the world may look very refined in some other parts. 

Station entrance!

Believe it or not this is a train station entrance! The one of La Gare des Invalides, which goes to the suburbs - that's the line that takes you to Versailles for example. I never knew there was an entrance there - and to be honest I'm not even sure they really use it even though ther is a stair case and track signs. Another question is... what happens in case of floods? For this entrance is right by the Seine.  

Never seen before...

After 8 years of posting a daily photo on PDP I feel like I've shown almost everything in Paris (as if that were possible!). For once, however, I'm sure I never took a photo from this angle, simply because it was nearly impossible... Why? Well because this is the Pont Alexandre III from the Seine level, a piece of embankment that was almost unreachable a few weeks ago because of the many cars that would run alongside. Like I told you about a month ago, this part of the left bank is now closed to traffic and is being turned into a giant pedestrian walk, which is why I could now take this photo. Needless to say, car drivers are not too happy about this!

Not the last tango in Paris!

Along one part of the embankment in the 5th arrondissement, there are several amphitheaters that are used for several purposes (exhibitions, picnic areas...) including, in summer - and providing it does not rain ! -  dancing sessions. All sorts of dance are represented including the Tango, like in this photo that I took just before my departure to Nice. All this is entirely free, of course. More info (in French) here.

Paris in a nutshell!

To me this photo sums up Paris very well: the typical Parisienne, the river banks, the beautiful architecture and  a certain mystery (what is she looking at?! - and don't say the PDP picnic for it did not take place yet it's this Sunday (May 5th) at one o'clock at the "usual place" that is on the Quai at the end of rue de l'Amiral de Coligny). Am I being a bit repetitive?! Nah... I'm like lounge music, never exactly the same also it sounds the same ;-) 

From the Alexander III bridge

Yesterday I watched an excellent documentary about the guys who created two of the most famous car brands in France: Louis Renault and André Citroën (watch it in catch up TV if you can in your country). Not only was the story interesting (especially for us French), but on top of that you could see some footage from the beginning of the century (the last one!). They even showed the inauguration of the Alexander III bridge at the time of the 1900 world exhibition, when the economy of France - and of the Western world in general - was really booming. One of the most fascinating aspects of this bridge, was that it was fully lit by stunning art deco art nouveau street lamps. One of which you can see in this photo that I took early in the morning....

Street Fishing!

Add "ing" to any English word (dancing (a night-club), lifting (a facelift), teasing (a marketing operation to get attention)...) and put it in the middle of a French sentence and you'll start a trend! I just found a new one; it's called Street Fishing and, according to an article I just read, it's a new trend... Frankly there have been fishermen along the Seine fror quite some time, but if "they" say it's a new trend, well why not?! FYI, street fishing is what the participants in the picnic may do this Saturday as I finally decided it would take place at the usual location. See more, here.

Feels like summer...

About 23° Celsius (73.4 F), that is +6°C  compared to a normal year, that's what the temperature was like today in Paris! You see scenes that normally take place in summer, like these people on the Ile de la Cité gathering after work! This abnormal weather is nice of course, but is also starting to cause drought problems; not so much in Paris, but in the provinces. I really hope the weather is going to remain like this until the PDP picnic though ;-)

A tribute to the land down under

The Seine is overflowing at the moment (there are benches near the trees normally), like I already told you before Christmas, but compared to the terrible images I saw today about Australia and the region of Brisbane in particular (see this video) it's really nothing. I exchanged emails with people who have family over there today and they really seemed devastated, so since I have a fair amount of visitors from "the land down under" I thought I pay my tribute to them by posting this photo.

And now the floods!

I don't know if we offended the gods or anything, but this year's weather really sucks. No only have we broken a cold record (the coldest December since 1969!), not only did we have snow like - almost - never, but on top of that, now the Seine is overflowing! I took this photo yesterday near Notre Dame, where the water even dragged a garbage can out of its normal location. Quite impressive. Even the Bateaux Mouches are currently stopped because there is not enough space under the bridges! The funny part is that I'm leaving today for Chamonix, a ski resort in the Alps. More snow for me!

Jogging along the Seine

Summertime, sun, outdoor, feeling more relax... isn't that the perfect moment to go back to "doing some exercise, I feel so good afterwards!" Well yes, that is surely what this lady is thinking - besides running along the Seine is probably much more appealing than among cars... Mind you the embankment of the Hudson river is not that bad either, remember? As for me, I just renewed my membership to the gym yesterday! (You did not think I was going to run anywhere else than on a machine, did you?!).

Another Souvenir from the Picnic

The place we had the picnic on Sunday is very very popular. So popular that a lot of people go there to take a walk or lay in the sun by the river between the Pont Neuf (in the background) and the Pont des arts. And before they go, they often want to leave a little souvenir on one of the many trees that are planted there! That is what I grabbed in this photo ;-) How romantic is that?! BTW, I worked all evening for you. The video is now ready. Don't expect too much though... It's just a little souvenir.

Sunset

I know it's a classic, but I never get tired of it. I took it last night while the sun was going to bed... and the sky was still cloudy. For those of you who would not know: on the left La Conciergerie, on the right Les voies sur Berge (a sort of express way that the mayor of Paris wants to close and turn into a pedestrian area) and in the background Le Pont Neuf. Comme to the 5th PDP picnic this Sunday (June 6) at 1 PM you will see more or less the same scenery except that the sky will be deep blue! More details on this Facebook Page. 

By the Seine

Last night I "had to" go to a professional networking party held on a boat on the Seine. Not only was the party worth it, but on top of that the weather is so wonderfully warm in Paris at the moment that it was really the perfect place to be. When I left, I walked for a while along the Seine, right at the bottom of the Eiffel tower, where they have a sort of mini landing zone for small boats (where I took this photo once). I sat down on the steps, waited for a boat to pass by and started shooting very close to the level of the river. A delightful moment... BTW: did you notice that today is 09/09/09 ?