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.

Paris rooftops to enter the World Heritage List?

Interesting. I saw today that Delphine Bürkli, the mayor of the 9th arrondissement (which happens to be the one where I live!) suggested that the Paris rooftops should be part of the Unesco World Heritage. I don't know if it will ever happen and if yes, how long it will take, but I tend to think it's a real good idea (of course, I'm a bit biased!). Most Paris rooftops are made of zinc, a sort of metal that does not rust and it gives the skyline a typical looks that can mainly be seen in Paris. I took this photo from one of the rare private rooftop terraces in Paris, in the 9th arrondissement actually!

Gorgeous weekend!

We're having one of these late (in the season) gorgeous weekends and it feels good! Too bad I have to spend my Sunday clearing my cellar... Have a gorgeous Sunday everyone!

A Sunday in Paris...

I had a picnic in the Luxembourg gardens yesterday and it was really cool! When I left, passed by the pond where kids can sail little boats rented by their parents. The photo quality is debatable, but the scene is sooooooo French, that I thought you might like it ;-)

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!!

The canons of Les Invalides

In front of Les Invalides, there are several canons that are either French made or that the French took from their enemies during the many wars that we participated in throughout the years. These ones, for instance, are precisely Turkish. FYI, In France, whenever we have a new President, the Invalides canons are used for a 21 canon salute. 

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.

Poor Pont des arts !

I went to Le Pont des arts yesterday because it's a lot in the news at the moment. The thing is that because of the tourist season there are so many "love locks" on the bridge that the panels are collapsing more than usual. To prevent people from adding more locks, the Paris town hall hopes to get the lovers to take selfies and post them on the social networks (and the Paris site Love Without Locks). They also put stickers on the pavement at the entrance of the bridge. Will it work? I doubt it, especially since there are about 10 people selling locks on and around the bridge!

Art Nouveau Paris metro entrance

Here is one of the last "édicule" (that is an Aedicula - I'm sure you all know what it is ;-), but just in case, here is a link to Wikipedia!) from the famous metro stations designed by Hector Guimard, the famous French architect that was a big Art Nouveau player. I photographed it at Porte Dauphine (the other one is at Abbesses) last Saturday, while it was sunny. It's a real work of art and a definite must see.

Striking installation!

The Louvre Pyramid has sheltered the work of artists many times. At the moment, it's a piece by French artist Claude Lévêque who installed a huge red lighting from the top to the bottom. Very impressive and beautiful. I went last evening to photograph it, especially for you! If you want to see it for real, you still have some time... It'll be there until 2015!

Piscine Molitor

Every city has its landmarks and Paris has many. The most famous ones are world widely famous, but there are a few that are mostly known by Parisians... The piscine Molitor (Molitor Swimming pool) is one of them. It was inaugurated in 1929 by... Johnny Weissmuller (aka Tarzan!). It had two pools (one indoor and one outdoor that would turn into an ice ring in winter) and was a typical art deco building. It was closed in 1989 because it was too old and will reopen on May 19 this year! Only now, it will be a luxury complex with a fancy bar/restaurant, a hotel and a private gym club. I'm dying to see the new Molitor because it's one of my childhood memories: I used to go there quite often when I was a young boy!

Fontaine des Mers

I've caught a big cold on the way back from the US and I really did not feel like going out yesterday. So I took a sick day and dug out a stock photo - well, actually one I took just before my trip to San Jose. You've see it a zillion times on this blog, but I'm sure you'll be happy to see it once more; it's really beautiful, even when noone put green stuff in the water! Off to bed now!

Hold up at Colette's

I only posted once about colette (not the writer!), but the "concept store" located in the very chic rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré that was created in March 1997 by Colette Rousseaux. It's a place to visit, just for fun, even if you're not the kind that is after the latest trends in the world! The reason why I took this photo (which has a lot of reflexion, I know, but is still kinda cool!) is that on March 22 colette was robbed! They stole about 600 000 euros worth of jewelry! I'm sure colette will get over it...

Going to the market

Unlike a lot of people I'm not a big fan of traditional markets, like the many we have in Paris - and in France in general - but from time to time I like to visit one, just for the scenery. The Montorgueil one is particularly nice as, not only it's kept a certain traditional flavor, but on top of that it's a very bobo (Bourgeois Bohême) place with lots of interesting bars and cafés in which you can see and be seen. In the morning, you can actually find people who really do their daily shopping, like these ones I caught in the eye of my camera.

The new garbage cans of Paris!

I know it's not very glamorous to talk about garbage cans when running a blog about Paris, but... don't forget that we have one every 100 meters (328 ft) here, so it's an important matter! The thing is that early December the Paris town hall decided to replace the old ugly green ones (that had been installed very quickly after we've experienced a series of bombings in the 90's with this brand new "bagatelle" model. As always, it's a controversial topic as this migration costs money (1 million euros so far and 3 million eventually...).

Let's meet at Place de l'Opéra...

In many cities you have meeting points that everybody knows and where it's easy to meet up with someone before going places. The Opera metro station is one of them... There is a large area that allows a lot of people to wait and it's also a big hub for buses and the metro. So next time you're in Paris, if you plan to go to the Rive Droite (near the Grands Magasins) you can ask your friends "On se retrouve à la station Opéra ?"

Vivons heureux, vivons cachés

In France - a country of Catholic tradition - showing your wealth is very badly considered, if not a sin! Therefore, if you happen to be richer than your neighbour, you may want to hide it... We even have a saying that sums it up "Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés" (If you want to be happy, keep your head down) Therefore, it's not very surprising that in Paris, the chicest places to live are generally concealed from the view of everybody... Hence this Square du Croizic, a sort of "gated community" in the heart of Montparnasse where no cars are allowed and where all buildings were built  according to the Haussmann rules. There are many many places like this in Paris in all arrondissement, even in Montmartre. Needless to say they're pretty expensive!

Cool reflection...

Here is a view of La cour carrée du Louvre, a stunning square located on the Eastern part of Le Louvre. There is a little fountain basin which reflects one of the pavilions that run around the yard. Really beautiful.

Winter sun

I'm just back from Nice where it rained a lot! (a big storm crossed Europe during Christmas), so surprisingly there was today more sun In Paris than when I left the French Riviera! I took a photo of a very typical café : le Café de l'Île Saint-Louis, which is perfectly located - just across the Île de la Cité and where they have a very nice - and quiet!- terrace. Now is the time to prepare the new year!