Sunday morning in Paris

I love Sunday mornings in Paris... Traffic is very scarce, a lot of streets are turned into pedestrian areas until 1 pm and most people you can see are runners, bikers... and even roller skaters. I photographed this one last Sunday on the Pont Neuf, just at sunrise. Have a great Sunday everyone, whether you do sport or not!!

Rainy days

First of all, let me thank you all for your get well messages, they went straight to my heart even if for the time being I cannot answer everyone. In fact, I misjudged this operation (gallbladder removal); I thought I would get back on my feet the next day after the surgery, and, well, I simply can't! All I managed to do today was to go out around my pâté de maison (which literally means "apartment buildings pâté" - that's what we call  a "block" in France) and take this photo. As you can see the rain has returned!   Have a great Sunday everyone.

Paris street lamps (lampadaires)

Originally I had plan to stay in Nice until last Sunday, but I had to go back again for a week. And since I have very very little time at the moment I did not anticipate the theme day. Fortunately, among the zillion photos I took with me there is one that I never posted and in which you can see one of these gorgeous street lamps that we have in some areas in Paris (I took this photo at the beginning of rue Saint Antoine just before it turns into rue de Rivoli). Do check what other cities in the world have to offer when it comes to street lamps! 

A dry day!

Hurrah, we managed to see the sun for almost a whole day yesterday! It felt nice, so I went out near the Montorgueil area and too this photo at rue Réaumur, a typical street of the 2nd arrondissement. Nothing much to add, I just like the light in this photo ;-)

The return of... The young girls of Rochefort

Each country has its movies, books, tales... that remain forever in the culture. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The young girls of Rochefort) is one of them. It's a 1967 movie by Jacques Demy starring Catherine Deneuve, her sister (the late Françoise Dorléac) and Gene Kelly. It was also one of the first musical that was made in France. Anyway, the thing is that at the moment, at the Cinémathèque de Paris, there is a  Jacques Demy retrospective and to celebrate several people organized yesterday a flashmob in front of the Paris Town hall. It was fun, even though a little bit crowded as you can see! 

Pedestrian crossing

It's April 1st, I should be posting an April fools' day prank, but no... Remember on every 1st of the month it's a theme day within the CityDailyPhoto community and... well today's theme is: pedestrian crossings. We no longer have passage cloutés (nailed crossings) like this one in Paris; they have all been replaced by zebra crossings like the one in this photo. Not very typical Paris, I agree, but theme compliant! One important thing: unlike in most civilized countries in the world, pedestrians don't have the right of way in Paris (they legally do, but not in the mind of Parisian drivers!), so don't expect that cars will stop for you! Please, have a look at all  pedestrian crossings all over the world!

Eco-friendly courier

If you come to Paris, you'll probably see one of those many couriers on bike that move around town to take little parcels from one place to another. Most of them belong to company called coursier.fr (coursier means courier in France) that only uses bikers to avoid polluting when they deliver their customers' stuff . They even use little trailers - still pulled by biker - when the parcel is too large! I've always been intrigued by them; it takes a lot of "different thinking" to choose to use a mean of transportation that is slower and less profitable than what your competitors use!  

Window bars

I fell in love at first sight with these window bars when I saw them near Pigalles, where I had to get something for my camera. When you live on the ground floor (Le rez-de-chaussée in French) in a big city like Paris, you'd better install bars at your windows to avoid that burglars jump into your apartment, but to avoid feeling like you're in jail, you'd better invest in nice ones, like these ones... FYI, last year, there has been 1 117 burglaries in Paris, which is not that much considering there about 1,3 million apartments in Paris, but still... I lived once on the ground floor and did not have bars at my windows - I was broken into once!

A cleaner Paris (really?)

The cleanliness of Paris has always been a major concern for Parisians. It's also been a point of political contention and since the elections are coming up (we're going to vote for the new mayor next year), no wonder the current town hall team is keen on showing they pay attention to this topic. The truth is that Paris would be less dirty if Parisians were less careless... That is why as of yesterday a new and pretty clever advertising campaign has started. It points out the fact that even though there are garbage cans every 100 meters, things won't improve if people do use them! 

A very popular man!

Not a big Paris scene today, just something to make you smile ;-) A few facts an figures though: In France wearing a helmet on a motorbike (on any two-wheel vehicle with an engine actually) has been compulsory since 1973. Not wearing one costs 135 €...

Valet parking

Even though there are still many cars in Paris, our mayor has declared war against them. Fewer parking spots, speed limitations, extra one way streets and possibly tolls have probably helped reducing traffic within Paris (supposedly 25% less in 10 years, but it's difficult to check the information). To keep customers coming, stores and shopkeepers now hire valets (voituriers) that take care of your car while you're shopping. They cost 8 € on average.

Color festival!

On top of my blue mood, I now have big computer problems... Therefore I'm unable to access my photos ! Fortunately I have a couple spare ones on Blogger that I keep for "emergency cases". I guess tonight is the perfect moment to use one of them. I took this one (in the 11th if I remember well), because of the color mix:  the bike to start with and the Oxfam store in the background. Sorry, lot much more to say, but like I said it's a spare photo, I hope tomorrow I'll have fix my computer problem ;-(

Candy anyone?

I had a really exhausting day today, and barely found the time to take my daily photo. But on the way back home I passed by the Bastille area, where they currently have a tiny amusement park. I saw this stand where they sell waffles, cotton candy, ice cream and many other treats and I immediately fell in love with its looks. I then set my shutter to a slightly slower speed and waited for people to pass by. I'm quite happy with the result, even though it's not the photo of the century LOL!

Vacanze a Parigi!

Here is a little touch of Italy in Paris today... This cute little car is an Autobianchi cabrio (named after Edoardo Bianchi, the founder of the car company that started manufacturing this car in the late fifties), a pretty rare Italian car (apparently only 9 300 were produced!). I took the photo while I was driving my scooter which was not very easy, but I'm glad I managed - FYI, I took near the Hotel de ville (town hall).

Like in a movie...

What is a 64 Ford Mustang doing in the streets of Paris? I don't know, but I did find this one at rue Drouot, not far from the famous auction house. It may be belong to a movie set though (hence the little sepia treatment that I applied to this photo!), which would not be surprising for there are a lot of movie shootings taking place in Paris at the moment (look here, if you're interested!)

Fake tennis game at La Bourse

I already told you about the old stock market building (La Bourse) which is now only used for special events and exhibitions since all transactions are fully electronic. This week they used it for Fashion shows and it's no suprise that a clothes and perfume brand - namely Lacoste - took this opportunity to attract passers by's attention with this interesting fake tennis game involving two transparent "sculptures". The effect was pretty cool, especially towards the end of the day when I took this photo, while the sun was going down  (see two more photos here). It's been a pretty busy week for me on PDP, I deserve some rest!

On the bench

Look what I found at the Porte de Versailles today (Porte de Versailles is an area located in the South West of Paris where they have large exhibition halls, including the famous Salon de l'agriculture that I already mentioned several times and the Foire de Paris (Paris fair). It's just a bench, put a pretty colorful one. I thought it would make a cool photo and it does (the shadow helps, I must say ;-)) That's all, have a nice Sunday everyone.

Youth!

It's a shame I cannot show you faces (the French law is very strict about this), for I would have loved to show you this very touching young couple who was spending some time outside the Musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris. I don't regret it that much actually as I really like the composition in this photo. I hope you do too. Have a nice Sunday everyone, mine will be very quiet, like Paris at the moment!

Riding a bike in Paris

We're starting to feel like the Brits now: the rain won't stop us to do things outdoor LOL! Even riding a bike in the slippery streets of Paris (that is actually why they replaced the traditional cobblestones with tar...). I like these kinds of photos from time to time because they force you to be quick and to press the trigger at the right moment (needless to say the blurry effect is 100% natural, otherwise it would be cheating, something I never do... (ehem!)

Hep Garçon !

Hep garçon ! (hey waiter!) is supposedly the words you're supposed to say to attract a waiter's attention in a café... Nowadays, however, nobody would say that: first, because it's a bit rude and condescending and second because waiters are more and more waitresses! You just say "s'il vous plait" (please), or raise you hand in their direction and go "excusez-moi" (excuse me)... showing this way that you have respect for their job. I took this photo  at rue de Buci, right by a florist (obviously!). Have a great weekend everyone.