Vive la France !

Tonight (Monday) at 6 pm France is going to play a very important soccer/football game against Nigeria. If we fail, we'll be out of the competition. I'm not a big football fan, I already said it, but I like it when France wins! Not too mention that winning at football is also a very good mood enhancer! I photographed this young lady during a previous game, cute, isn't it?

It looks like rain...

After I photographed the Eiffel Tower two days ago, I went down the Trocadero stairs, turned my camera the other way around and... took this shot! As you can see, the weather is not very picnic friendly at the moment in Paris and though I'l going to have another barbecue at friend's today (it's definitely the season!). FYI, this is Le Trocadero - or rather the Trocadero gardens that were made by Jean-Charles Alphand for the "Art and Technology in Modern Life International Exhibition" that took place in Paris between May 25 May and November 25 1937.

Still there!

I had dinner at Café Kléber near the Trocadero with a group of student from Miami University and on the way out, I could not help but taking a walk on the esplanade. Of course, I took a photo ;-)

Painted ad

I love it that in Paris, in some places, you can still see old painted ads like this one for "Bouillon Kub", a dehydrated broth formed into a small cube (hence the name Kub!). I took this photo in the 11th arrondissement, but you find these ads everywhere (I already showed you one, once). 

Watching the game...

There was an important football/soccer game yesterday evening (France against Ecuador) and about 2/3 of the French population must have been watching it! Since the weather is really nice at the moment a lot of restaurants and cafés have installed big screens and chairs on their terrace, like in this photo that I took on the Grands Boulevards around 10:30 PM. I love the old guy on the right, taking advantage of the screen while leaning on a garbage can! Only football can bring so many people that much together. 

Demonstrations season

I had a lunch in the 15th arrondissement yesterday and on my way I passed by Les Invalides and saw lot of smoke. I first thought of a giant BBQ(!), but in fact it was a demonstration. France is going through a tough economical phase at the moment and people are afraid to lose their benefits so they try to draw the government's attention! It's complicated... If you want to understand better, have a look at this excellent article (in English).

Swimming pool time!

There are no less than... 38 public swimming pools in Paris, of which 4 open air ones where you can swim and get a tan for only 3 € a day (even for less if you buy 10 tickets at once!). Of course, if you go during weekends they are pretty packed, but during the week (except Wednesdays when kids don't go to school) it's OK. You can also go to private swimming pools, if you can afford them, like this one, the piscine Molitor, I already told you about about a month ago. BTW, last month I had the great honor of being interviewed by Ibarionex Perello, for a famous photo podcast called The Candid Frame, if you want to know more about the "PDP story", well listen to it ;-)

Paris upon Canal Saint Martin!

I really wish you were in Paris at the moment (well, maybe you are!) for it's one of the best moments to be here. The weather is fantastic, like I said yesterday daylight lasts until almost 11 pm and everybody is out picnicking, BBQing, celebrating (the soccer/football games)... I took this photo last evening on the Canal Saint Martin  around which there were a zillion people having a good time. A nice break from the usual Parisian attitude these days! 

Good night Paris

Last evening was the longest day of the year (I took this photo around 10:30 pm!) and it was also a beautiful day (the sun shone all day and the temperature was ideal!). I went to Les Buttes Chaumont to see what the sunset was like and I did not regret it. I know this photo almost looks unreal (even from another galaxy!) and though I promise, I did take it last night in Paris. Today should also be a nice day and I'll be attending a barbecue with a few friends. 

Kissing by Saint-Etienne du Mont

I took advantage of my being at the Pantheon, to visit teh Saint Etienne du Mont church, a church that is located right behind Le Pantheon and that I had never visited before. On the way out, there was this couple kissing like crazy and I thought it would make a great photo if I was quick enough. I did not grab the exact moment that I wanted to grab, but it's not that bad ;-) Have a love-ly Saturday everyone.

Watching the sun go down on the Seine...

How romantic? Do I really need a larger caption? I did not think so! Just one precision though, in the photo the sun is just right of Le Grand Palais.

The largest renovation work in Europe!

This is Le Panthéon, a building I showed you many times, only usually without this "little white hat" nor the black and white frieze composed of faces (don't forget that a pantheon is a building where famous people are buried). The thing is... that it needs to be totally renovated and it will take no less than... 10 years and cost about 100 million euros! Right now they're working on the upper section which should be finished by 2015. And if you still want to visit the inside, no problem,  it's still open! Have a look at the "trailer", if you're interested.

Soccer mania

In case you don't know (that is if you live in the States or in the Far East!) the soccer world  cup has started a few days ago in Brazil, which means half of the world is revolving around a little round ball. France is a big soccer nation, so you can imagine what importance it has in our daily life at the moment; there is not a single TV program, a single magazine, a single website that does not deal with soccer! But it's probably advertising that makes the most extensive use of this cup! Hence these little Smart cars all dressed up for the occasion, that promote betting on sports. I found them on the Grands Boulevards and thought they were pretty cute.

Eiffel lace

I think I already posted a similar photo of the Eiffel Tower a long time ago with the exact same title, but what can I say, I find this ridiculously beautiful even though it's just a bunch of iron beams and a few rays of sun!

Strategic forest!

I passed by the Hotel de Ville (Paris town hall) yesterday and saw that they had planted a huge forest in front of it. I thought it was meant to promote the "greeness" of Paris or raise awareness on the need for more trees and less concrete in Paris, but no... It's to help Parisians remember the role played by the forest during WWI! Far fetched?! Totally, but still nice to see, especially since this square is generally used for much less greeny business than this!

No Darth Vader!

Very near the Invalides church, I came across the statue of Hubert Lyautey, a famous "Marshal of France" who played a large role when France was a colonial power (he played a large role in the invasion of Madagascar, he managed Morocco from 1912 to 1925, etc. - read more here, if you're interested!).

Super heros!

Look what I found at the Eiffel Tower! From what I understood theses guys are rugby players and they won the Brennus Shield, a trophy awarded to the winners of the French rugby union domestic league. So I take it they were so proud of it they had to celebrate and show off in front of ET! I had a good laugh anyway. Have a great Saturday everyone, I'll be making a little Animoto with my white dinner party photos.

White dinner party 2014

This was probably my last Paris dîner en blanc (white dinner party) and it was a really good one! The weather was fantastic, the scenery was too (the pont Alexandre III) and the atmosphere extremely festive. I've taken a ton of photos, but I'm too tired to publish them tonight. I'll do that tomorrow... In the meantime, enjoy this one...

Sweet melody...

I had dinner at Maison Blanche last evening, a delightful restaurant on top of the Théâtre des Champs Elysée where you can enjoy one of the most breathtaking views of Paris (yes I'm lucky!). On top of the delicious food and stunning view, there was also a small trio playing music for the audience. A magical moment... I ended up talking to them and it turns out they are really nice. Let me introduce you to Jacques Bonvallet (violin), Eric Lancelot (bass) Cécile De Hann (cello).

Big head!

I don't know if you remember this post, but if you do, you may recognize this head! It belongs to a monument to the glory of Pierre Waldeck Rousseau, a French Politician who was appointed Président du Conseil (the equivalent of a Prime Minister) of France in 1899 and introduced the right of association, giving way to trade unions. Talking about unions, there is massive train strike today in France, but I don't think it will last very long...