Empty!

Here we go... I stayed in this apartment for 10 years and as of today it's totally empty! I'm so exhausted that I don't even know if I'm sad, excited or just acting like a robot... Moving is not a piece of cake, I knew it, but I had forgotten...

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...

Thesis viva!

Let me invite you to one of the oldest schools of Paris, Le Collège Sainte Barbe. Located on the Montagne Sainte Geneviève, near the Panthéon, it was built in... 1460 and is now closed. Well, not totally... The whole building was renovated between 1999 and 2009 and has been turned into an administrative building, a library and a place where students can defend their thesis. That is precisely what I witnessed yesterday, when one of my nieces (in this photo) - who's also my God daughter - had her thesis viva. A great and moving moment. Needless to say she did extremely well ;-))

Nice apartement in... Nice

For once, let me show you a photo not taken in Paris, but on the French Riviera! As a matter of fact you may have wondered why I was spending so much time in Nice lately... Well, it's simple, I was busy fitting an apartment in the old town (le Vieux Nice) to prepare it for renting to tourists. It was a lot of work, but I like to think the results are quite good. See for yourself here. It's called Le Douzy (a play on the French 12 "douze" and the definition of doo·zy (noun /ˈdo͞ozē/ 1. Something outstanding or unique of its kind)  And who knows, if you feel like visiting the French Riviera instead of (or in addition to!) Paris, why not?!  Sorry for the blatent advertising, but you have to admit I have rarely taken advantage of  PDP to promote my business!

Hospital time...

Well, well, well... There was no way I could get away with my abdomen ache that easily! Turns out that I have gall bladder stones (yes stoneS!) and that they have to remove them. Am I happy to have surgery? No... But it's really nothing compared to what I imagined! The funny thing is that I managed to take a photo of where I'm staying for the next I don't know how many days. Don't worry though this is a very old sign that they kept for the scenery, my hospital is much more modern than this!

Skål!

It was "la fête de la musique" (music party) yesterday and I spent most of my evening at the Swedish Institute (Institut suédois) in Le Marais. They had a band (not exactly the Abba type LOL!) and... a lot of beer and wine of course. I was with a group of friends, including a very good Swedish friend of mine (not in this photo) who announced she was expecting a baby! So for once here is a not very Paris centric photo, but a rather personal congratulations message, which of course also includes the father who happens to be Taiwanese! I'm really eager to see what their baby is going to look like, and especially its hair color!

Backstage

I already told you about my friend Silvia who gave up a secure career in the corporate world to become what she really felt like: being a comedian. Well, last evening I went to the premiere of her first one woman show at the Théâtre Bô Saint Martin, which was a real success. I was lucky enough to share the very last moments before she got on stage and since I had my camera, I took a few shots! Here is one of them, that I particularly like. Sorry if it's a bit of a personal post, but I really admire her for pursuing her dreams. Besides it IS a Paris photo!

Theater killed the video store!

It's not everyday that you can witness the opening of a new theater, and though, last evening I did! It's called le Théâtre Bô Saint Martin (Bo is a play on words with "beau" which means beautiful). It's not the largest one in Paris, but it's a real cute one, all nicely decorated (It used to be a video store before, hence my title!) Most artists who will perform there are stand up comedians, all aiming for fame, like my dear friend Silvia (second from the left, also on Facebook) who did not hesitate giving up everything to pursue her dream: being on stage (I so look up to people who are able to do that!). Now, let the show begin...

Becoming French!

Today, someone you all know if you're a true visitor to ParisDailyPhoto, has officially become French! Yes, he's on the left in this photo, yes his name is Michael and yes he is of American origin (Florida to be exact). But he's lived in France long enough and apparently intends to stay here, so he went through the hassle of applying for French nationality - without giving up his US one though. I attended the ceremony which was pretty moving actually - everybody (about 40 applicants) had to sing the Marseillaise!, watch a movie about "the values of France", listen to a welcome speech by the nice lady in blue in this photo and wait for one's name to be called. I'm glad France is fortunate enough to welcome a new member like him, even though to me, he'll always remain "mon Américain favori !"

Friendly brunch, New York style

One thing I love about PDP is that it allowed me to meet a lot of people from all over the world. Some I feel close to, even though I've only met them through my comments box (!), some I've met during my trips to New York, San Francisco, Australia or New Zealand, some I've met during casual drinks in Paris (here too) and of course some I've met during my annual PDP picnics. Last, but not least, some I've met on "special occasions"!). Throughout all these years I even made several true good friends. The two who invited me yesterday's morning (Saturday) to a typical New York brunch at their apartment in Paris (for they live in Paris at the moment) are among them: Lynn (aka PHX2CDG on PDP) and Eric (Aka Mr PHX2CDG!). A very happy moment (with not enough food as you can see in this photo!). Those who are familiar with PDP will also have recognized 3 other PDP regulars: Guille, Michael and... Monica (from Brazil), who "happened" to be in Paris too. I consider myself as very lucky.

Birthday dinner

One good thing about winter is that the seasonal food changes. Last night I was able to share a typical meal from the Franche-Comté region called La Boîte Chaude with some very good  friends (including PDP ones): Lynn aka PHX-CDG, Eric (aka Mr PHX!), Roniece, Heather, Jane, Patricia and Michael.
Made by scooping out the middle of Mont d'Or cheese, inserting a few cloves of garlic and some Jura wine from the region, you cook this cheese in it’s “box” for 20 minutes in the oven until it’s nice and gooey! Then you eat it with potatoes and charcuterie, not forgetting the saucisse de Morteau. Of course, the meal would not be complete without a desert, which turned out to be... a surprise birthday cake! Now I let you guess who the  "chéri" on the cake may be  ;-))

Life is not a bed of roses

Sorry, after dealing with loneliness yesterday, I just learned about 15 minutes ago, that a friend of mine just lost his 21 year old son in a car accident, and I'm really devastated. Of course such accidents happen daily everywhere in the world, but it seems so unfair (as if death was fair, of course...) that tears can easily come to your eyes when it happens to someone you know. I remembered taking this photo a few weeks ago (at the Pont de l'Alma, just above the tunnel where Diana had a car accident) and, well, as ridiculous as it sounds, it's my way of thinking of my friend right now.

Book Signing (not singing!)

It's not everyday that a friend of yours publishes a novel and invites you to the book signing... That's what happened to me last evening at the Librairie de l'Inconnu, where Bruno Vinay Garenne was singning his first novel called Sens Interdit (no way out?) - don't ask me what the plot is, i haven't read it yet! I know it's a bit personal and not really interesting for you, and even though I climbed on a chair I did not really manage to make a good photo(!), but, hey once, in a while, you want to share the happy moments of your friends don't you?!

A tribute to Great Britain!

I know, I know, you're probably fed up with this Royal Wedding, but I thought I owed my visitors from England Great Britain (2,552 visits via 271 cities last month according to Google!) a tribute, on this very unique day ;-) So I gathered all things English British I had at reach and made this photo (the cup - and the apron too - were given to me by Rose, during the last PDP picnic ;-) ) The French and the English are known to have been enemies throughout Europe history (remember Joan of Arc!), but deep inside, we love each other.

Guille got married!

Those of you who have been following PDP for some time surely know who Guillemette (aka Guille) is. She’s one of the many nice people that I have had the chance to meet through PDP. And since she lives in Paris, I see her more often than the many others who come to visit from time to time. Anyway, the thing is that yesterday (Saturday) she got married. How could I witness such a wonderful moment and not post a photo on PDP? So here you go: here is Guillemette and Michael (who happens to be American BTW), the newlyweds. Tous mes voeux de bonheur. (And do check what they had on top of their wedding cake!)

Rest in peace

Some of you have been following my regular trips to Trouville, where my Aunt Francoise was living (see two photos I posted in 2006 here).  Well, she came to the end of her journey on Earth at a very respectable age of 97(!) and is probably with her fellow angels now. I'm not sad, I think she had a wonderful - long! - life and took hold of all the things that the world had to offer. I'll be in Trouville for the last time today for her funeral, as she won't be buried in Le Père Lachaise cemetery where I took this photo, but in the local churchyard.

Bar Mitzvah

You know I often take you to Paris churches when I find them of interest, but I also go to other religious places! Hence this morning to a Neuilly (a city just outside Paris) Synagogue to attend the Bar Mitzvah (a Jewish ceremony that 13 old boys take to acknowledge that "they are now responsible for their actions") of the son of very very dear friends. It was very touching - and very interesting too. For a couple of minutes, a ray of sun came shining in through the window and that is when I pulled the trigger. I feel fortunate twice: to have spent the day among loving people and to have taken the photo at the right moment!

Dinner with friends

How many times did you tell yourself "I'd love so much to settle down in Paris and live the life of Parisians". You're not the only one, a lot of people feel the same! But much fewer dare to do it. Yesterday (Saturday) I had dinner at two people's who did: Stuart and Elizabeth, two Americans who got rid of their house in the US to move into an apartment near the Eiffel Tower. Little tip: Elizabeth made a very detailed "Paris survival guide", I'm sure she'll be happy to provide us with a link to it ;) Have a nice Sunday everyone.

An old Parisian!

You know I generally avoid photographing the face of people and I try to keep this blog Paris centric as much as I can. But for once I'll make an exception, as I'm just back from the 80th birthday party of my father - where I took this photo - and that I can't help making him the "star of the day" on PDP! My father is the kindest man on earth, very giving, I never heard him complain about anything (and though, I swear he's French!) and he's always been extremely committed to his family. Last but not least, he is in a real good shape for his age. Happy birthday dad ;)

Cellar break in

Sorry, not a very fancy Paris shot today, but still a very Parisian one. You're looking at... my cellar (well a part of my cellar!). And the reason why I'm showing you this today is... that I just found out this morning that someone had broken into it! Not much harm, though, from what I could see; they went through my old LPs (maybe took a few of them, I don't remember them all) left a few bottles of wine on the floor (hard to understand why because that is generally what cellar burglars are after) and left a... bag of garlic (I swear I don't keep bags of garlic in my cellar!!). Could have been much worse, but still not very pleasant.