Who stole the paintings?

I took this photo in an art gallery next to my home. I can't help thinking they had a hidden message to the artists in mind... Kinda: "sorry guys, but the paintings you ask us to sell are not worth any more than what they are framed in... As a matter of fact, even empty frames are sometimes better than your art!" And they proved it. PS: my thanksgiving party was really great, but now I have to digest all the food I had!

The Ferris Wheel is back

Like every year the Ferris wheel is back. It's located at the bottom of the Champs Elysées (actually in the Tuileries gardens on the Place de la Concorde side) and you can see it from miles away... This year, due to the Color feast I was telling you about a few days ago, it also changes color regularly. Have a nice Saturday everyone. I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with American friends tonight (I love Turkey!)

Another dawn photo

Yes, I know, it's another of these dawn photos, but I can't help it, when it's sunny in the morning and that I pass by the river banks: I have to stop and take a photo;). I'm not 100% sure what this bridge is - yes you can boo me! -but I'm pretty sure it's Le Pont Neuf. I also realized today I forgot to wish my American visitors a happy Thanksgiving, so let me do it tonight... Have a nice sunny Friday (ours won't be that sunny...)

Hunting Museum

Once again I discovered a museum I had never heard of before: the nature and hunting museum (Le musée de la chasse et de la nature), located in Le Marais, where I went this morning for a press conference. I first was attracted to this very original sculpture (I have been unable to find out who made it!) then to the beautiful building that shelters this museum: l'hôtel de Guenegaud, a "palace" that was built between 1651 and 1655. I did not visit the museum though, because I did not have the time, but I surely plan to go back.

PDP dinner at General Lafayette's

OK, I'm late... But it's for a good cause! I'm just back from a Paris PDP dinner, where, as usual, I had a wonderful time. I finally got to meet Carrie (who was at the South California PDP gathering, if you remember), and I had the pleasure to greet newcomers: Michelle, Elisabeth and Stuart. Of course the loyal attendees were there too: Guille, Thib, Michael and... Jeff via email and telephone! All this took place at General Lafayette, a restaurant near my place were I took this shot. But of course, there is the usual "family photo" - plus a little extra! - to discover here...

Babies at La Samaritaine

La Samaritaine - a former Paris department store - is the site of an unusual exhibit of photographs by Thierry Bouët: Newborns. This is a photo of one of the 50 on display - a baby boy just 55 minutes old. Why? Well, as Christmas is coming, it's the way LVMH (the owner of La Samaritaine) and the Paris 1st Town Hall have found to celebrate the nativity. The exhibit will run until January 20, 2009 (see a wider angle here).
Don't forget if you are in town: a little PDP gathering will take place tonight (Tuesday 25) at General Lafayette (a restaurant located 52 rue Lafayette). If you want to joint just email me (eric at parisdailyphoto.com) so that I know approximately how many people will show up. Thank you.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé

You must know it since their marketing is now worldwide, the 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived! Beaujolais is a region above Lyon (the second third largest city in France) which former capital was Beaujeu and which is known for its wine. Every third Thursday of November since the 1950's they produce a special Nouveau wine that is supposed to be drunk a few weeks after the grapes have been harvested (you'll find the whole story, and much more in here). Every year it's a big event and cafés and restaurants take advantage of it to boost their business. I took this photo yesterday at the Zephyr Café, on Les Grands Boulevards. As for the quality of this Beaujolais Nouveau, I let you fight over it in the comments box!!

En trevlig dag at Ikea!

You knew it was coming, didn't you?! I'm surprised how many reactions I had (here, on Facebook, etc.) after I mentioned I was going to Ikea yesterday! Apparently, everyone has his own experience of this Swedish institution! There are no less than 7 Ikea outlets around Paris (and 19 in the rest of France) and they are extremely successful. I went there to buy a new bed and ended up buying all sorts of junk I don't need instead! But isn't that what makes the fun at Ikea?! FYI. A little PDP gathering will take place Tuesday 25 at General Lafayette (a restaurant located 52 rue Lafayette). If you want to joint just email me (eric at parisdailyphoto.com) so that I know approximately how many people will show up. Thank you.

Green Green

I came across this row of trees this morning on my way to work and I could not help but stop and take a photo ;-) They were being delivered to a florist in Rue de Richelieue and formed an unexpected scene in this very urban area where absolutely nothing grows! Like I already told you there are 484,000 trees in Paris, 96,500 of which are to be found in the streets. These ones are not included! Have a nice weekend everyone, I will be visiting Ikea tomorrow, how is that for a treat?!

Fête de la couleur

It's the color feast in Paris at the moment! This means that every now and then throughout the city you can come across spots of orange or pink, like in this photo where you can see a few stripes up top this Morris Column (these columns are normally used to promote shows and plays). The color feast has actually been adapted from the Holî in India and it is currently used to raise awareness of children in need on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of children's rights.

Last sunny days?

Who said it's not sunny in Paris in November?! Well, this morning it was... It did not last very long, but long enough for me to take this funny photo of a colleague. This weekend will be very cold, we may even experience some snowfalls. I read all this on the Paris Meteo Website, that I already mentioned here, and which is the best source you can find if you're planning a trip to Paris. BTW, there is a new PDP gathering in the pipe... It will take place on the 25th and I will keep you posted.

The aesthetics of politics...

"Capitalism allows the rich to decide for you. Act now!" is basically what this message says. You won't be surprised if I tell you I photographed this on the window of one of the local offices of the French Communist Party, which, even if it is in bad condition, is still alive (unlike the other communist parties in Europe, the French one never changed its name). I know the political message behind all this is probably the most important(!), but I was mostly attracted to the aesthetics of the scene... [Sorry for the late posting, my fault!]

Karma Kameleon

Keep cool! I came across this cameleon (I'm not actually certain he's a cameleon to be honest...) on the Quai de la Megisserie, a place by the river where they sell plants, flowers and... pets. You find more puppies and pussies kittens than giant green cameleons there ;) but they do sell small crocodiles, reptilians and all these creatures that we call NAC (for Nouveaux animaux de compagnie - new types of pets). I'm sure hey would be better off in their homeland than in a cage in Paris, but that is another story. Anyway, do visit this place if you happen to be in Paris, the set is gorgeous.

Controversy over Terrace heaters

"Would it make sense to heat your house and leave the windows open?" recently claimed 3 Green members of parliament (well "Députés" in French) who are currently trying to pass a law that would prohibit the use of terrace heaters in France. Needless to say that restaurants and cafés do not really share the same opinion; they argue that since the smoking ban it's the only way for them to keep smokers within their reach! Both parties use figures (CO2, watts, gas...) that do not match, of course. A very French debate... BTW, I took this photo rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, at the restaurant chez Julien, very nicely decorated.

Pont Marie at night

Is there anything more beautiful than the bridges over the Seine? This one is Le Pont Marie and I took this photo yesterday evening from Le Pont Louis-Philippe right when a Bateau Mouche was passing underneath it (you can see the additional light coming from the boat). Le Pont Marie (named after its architect, Christophe Marie) is very old ; it was built between 1614 and 1635 and at that time several houses could be found on it. A huge flood destroyed 2 arches in 1658 and several houses - and inhabitants! - were taken away by the river... They decided not to rebuild the houses when they fixed the bridge...

More after our commercial break!

If you like commercials - I'm talking good commercials - the place to be tonight and tomorrow is... Paris! Why, Because you could attend the 28th Nuit des Publivores (The night of the Ad eaters!), a 5,5 hour long "commercial break" that takes place in one of the most famous movie Theaters in Paris: Le Grand Rex. This show, created by Jean-Marie Boursicot in 1981, is now so famous that it even takes place in many cities around the world (not in the US yet...). I attended one, in the 80's, and I must say, it was a lot of fun : partly because I love creative commercials and partly because the fun was also in the audience ;)

Dolly goes to Paris...

I'm home sick at the moment (nothing serious, don't worry) so it's difficult for me to take photos any further than around the corner of my house! And today I really regretted it as I could have taken this extraordinary scene: a sheep roundup on the Champ de Mars, by the Eiffel Tower! Explanation: about 700 several sheep breeders thought it was the best way to attract the medias attention on their low incomes. It worked! It was in the news everywhere... I had to cheat a little bit (this is a photo I took at the Salon de l'Agriculture some time ago) to report the event, but I'm sure you'll forgive me ;) And if you want to see the real thing, have a look at this photo by François Lafite.

A museum for fun

A lot of big cities have their wax museum and Paris makes no exception, of course. Ours is called Le Musée Grévin (after the name of the artist who made the first wax sculptures around 1880 - the museum was inaugurated in 1882) and it's located 10 Boulevard Montmartre, in the former "in" area of Paris. There are about 300 wax characters in there; most of them are French centric (Brigitte Bardot, Charles Aznavour, Michel Drucker (a TV guy) and... of course, Nicolas Sarkozy - since July 2006) but a lot are internationnaly famous (Céline Dion, Jimmy Hendrix, Zinédine Zidane, Tony Blair, Ray Charles...). Kids love this museum and there are big lines on rainy days!

Le Sentier

Here is a very typical and historical area of Paris I never told you about. It's called Le Sentier (after the name of one of the major streets that runs through it) and it's the heart of the French clothing wholesale. It's a place where a lot of immigrants started their company - and sometimes made their wealth: originally mostly Jews (from North Africa), but now more and more Chinese and Pakistani. It's also a place known for its illegal workshops (constantly chased by the Police though) and illegal day workers hired to carry loads of garments and fabric from one place to another on these little red and blue trolleys that you can see in the photo. And, last but not least, in my opinion, it's the next up and coming area of Paris...

WWI Truce Celebration

Today is a holiday in France. We celebrate the end of World War I which ended precisely November 11, 1918 at eleven o'clock. This truce (armistice) was signed by Marechal Foch in a train carriage specially fitted for this occasion (this same carriage was also used in 1940 by Hitler to sign the rendition of France). For the first time there will not be any Poilus (that is what we call the soldiers who fought this war) at the ceremony as, like reported previously on PDP, the last French witness of this war died last Mars at the age of 110.