Shabby, not chic Café

There are enough "chic" cafés in Paris, but I liked the idea of showing a typical low-end café through one of their ceiling mirrors (probably used to watch the back of the place, in case somebody wants to order something). This place was so charmless it made it attractive in a certain way: ugly tiles, boring bar, "turkish" toilets (where you cannot sit!) and a perfectly inattentive waitress. No I won't give you the address, even if you insist, but let's just say it wasn't far from where you can find the fish with 3 eyes!

Flying Frenchman!

Who said men cannot fly? Some can and some do especially when they play with their skate board! It's not a typical Paris scene of course, but I thought it was a good way to start a very very quiet week: all Parisians are gone, the streets are clear, the weather is just fine and there are tourists all over the place. My favorite time of the year in Paris...

Catch of of the day

I took this photo yesterday (Saturday) on the bank of the Port de Plaisance de l'Arsenal (Yacht Club), near Bastille. There, not only can you enjoy a nice walk, have lunch in the local restaurant or have a look at the boats; but apparently, also fish for your dinner according to Nicolas and Fabien. Quite honestly, I did not think this was possible and, frankly, considering the water pollution, I would not eat those fish!

Mannequins delivery

I came across this truck delivering mannequins on the boulevard des Capucines (2nd arrondissement). I jumped off my motorbike, grabbed my camera and started shooting! The delivery guy was really amazed but I ended up talking to him and he was very friendly. The funny part is that I already photographed this exact same scene two days ago but due to a bad setting of my camera (remember it's not my usual one) I couldn't use the photos. Have a nice week-end everyone.

Crossed lines

Weird effect isn't? I took this photo last evening in the Tuileries Gardens (1st arrondissement) where, every summer, they install a small amusement park. They have a Ferris Wheel of course, but also this flying trapeze. I love the contrast between the straight Haussmann style buildings in the background and the cables holding the free hanging baskets in the foreground. As you can see the heat wave is history: now the sky is grey and it's a little chilly!

No bill posters!

Using the public buildings to post bills and placards throughout the city (remember this photo?)is not a new phenomenon. Back in 1881, the French government had to pass a law against bill posters (actually to keep the official billboards from private posting) and had it painted on many walls throughout Paris. You can still see many of these "Défense d'afficher" (bill posters prohibited) signs on the walls and, the weirdest thing, is that they are still pretty well respected!

If it looks good, it tastes good!

I pass by the boulevard Raspail every day on my way home but I discovered this colourful eat in/take away place only recently. I had to stop and make a photo for PDP. If you're in the neighbourhood you might try it (the exact address is 79 Blvd Raspail, in the 6th arrondissement) but I have not tested the food. The risk is limited though; somebody who design her restaurant so nicely cannot be a bad cook! BTW, did you know that colour had an influence on your appetite? Read this.

Smile, you're on PDP!

Today is August 1st and it's a DP theme day... All those who participate in it (see list below) had to take a self portrait in their favorite location. To be quite honest I could not decide on what my favorite location in Paris was so I thought to cheat a little bit. Here is the deal, today is your turn! If you have a web cam on your computer, click on the "Take a new snap" bar on the left, right below the "about me section" and follow the instructions. By magic, your photo will appear on PDP right away... [now closed]

List of participants: Porto, Alexandria, Manila, Twincities, Newcastle, Trier, Greenville, London, Saarbruecken, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Copenhagen, Sydney, Chattanooga, Rotterdam, Albuquerque, Washington DC [Jenni], Washington DC [Passante], Sharon, Singapour, Oulou, Seattle, Bastia, Berlin, Szentes, Honolulu, Guadalajara, Trondheim, Hyde, Willemette.

The wine machine

One of the big advantages of living in a city like Paris is that there is always something going on, even in the middle of the summer. Precisely, today I went to this incredible exhibition in Le Grand Palais in which you can see in action about 100 of the weirdest machines I have ever seen: a piano catapult (with real pianos!), a motorized bathroom, an automatic chocolate spray spreader, a pouring wine automated arm (this photo) and so on and so forth. Needless to say that all these machines have no point except bringing to life what François Delarozière and his team (Association La Machine) have on their mind...

Sacre Coeur, again!

Last week PG Sittenfeld interviewed me for The Blog reader and wrote a really nice article about PDP. During the interview I told him I was trying to avoid taking photos of monuments that can be found in usual Paris guidebooks... And though, that is exactly what I am doing today (and what I did here, here and there!) Oh well, I said I was trying to, I didn't say I managed to! Have a super Sunday everybody (and PG, once again, thank you very much).

Bohemian scarecrow

Who would expect to come across a bohemian scarecrow in the middle of a big European city?. And though I did take this photo in Paris, near the greenhouse in Le jardin des Plantes. Whoever thought this one up was very clever. CD’s for earrings, the crows wouldn’t know what to do. Anyway, who said a scarecrow couldn’t also be a work of art (besides, we may want to scare the crows but not the tourists!).

Marilyn Monroe 's last sitting

You remember the Mickey Mouse exhibit a couple of days ago? Well today, thanks to my colleague Coralie Donas who took this picture, I'd like to show you the exhibit of another monument in the American (world?) culture: Marilyn Monroe. If your happen to be in Paris until the end of October - and if you have not seen it already in the Brooklyn Museum - don't miss this "Last Sitting" that Bern Bert Stern shot in 1962. She is more beautiful and sensual than ever on all pictures. Find out more on the musée Maillol site.

Hotel Bristol in Paris

What do you think of this typical Parisian facade? Cool eh? Too bad it's totally fake! In fact it's a huge painting especially made to protect the actual facade while they are doing some work. It belongs to the Bristol Hotel, a very prestigious hotel not far from l'Elysée (the French President's residence). I think it's cool that they do that instead of a plain, dull plastic cover that would ruin the scenery.

Mickey Mouse comes to Paris

In Paris this summer, you can go to the beach like on yesterday's post, but you can also see some interesting art exhibits. Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you a really cool one: Mickey dans tous ses états (Mickey in all his states). It's a collection of Mickey Mouse modern art at the Artcurial in the Hôtel Dassault until the 17 th of September. There you can see the painting entitled "Mickey Mao", or the others exhibited by InterDuck, a group of German artists which formed in 1982. They've translated characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck into the classics of Miro, Dali, and Delacroix. Amazing what you can do with a mouse - even when it's not plugged to a computer!

Paris plage 2006

You think I took this photo on the French Riviera last week end? All wrong, I took it in the middle of Paris on the embankment where, for the 5th time now, they have turned the expressway into a giant beach, with real sand! If you want to have a more global idea go back to my last year's posts, between July 21 and July 24. With the current heat wave, Paris Plage is fully packed, but still it's really fun. If you want to see a little video (in French) click here and select "A la Une" (the yellow tab on the upper left corner of the little screen.)

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An (other) American wins the Tour de France!

Gee, what is it with you Americans and the Tour de France?! Did you decide to take it over for good or what?! (LOL). Last year Lance Armstrong won - for the 7th time - and this year he handed it over to another American: Floyd Landis. Anyway, Sunday I went to the Champs Elysées especially to take a photo of the Tour arrival, just for you. And guess what? I was not the only one... Have a nice week.

Au planteur

No, ParisDailyPhoto did not go to the Deep South to take this one ! It’s the decoration on an old building on the shopping street, rue de Montorgueil. I wasn’t able to find out more about its origins, but I imagine by the painting depicted, it once housed a coffee or sugar distributor. The writing at the bottom means “no subsidiary”, meaning you have to buy it here or nowhere else!
Of course you notice how derogatory this "advertisement" was towards the African population. Fortunately, this would not be possible today.

Dragon is out of me!

One thing you don’t expect to find near the Austerlitz train station (Gare d’Austerlitz) is a dragon! And though, I came upon this one just inviting me to take his (or her?) photo. It is a teaser for an exhibit being held at the Grande galerie de l’évolution, part of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, until the 6th of November 2006. Created by artist Gilles Pennaneac'h, it is made completely of cardboard and aluminium as part of another theme on recyclable materials. It stands about 7 meters high.

Heat wave

You probably know it if you visit several European daily photo blogs (like yesterday's photo in London or Dijon), we are currently experiencing a terrible heat wave in Europe. Paris makes no exception... Today, for the first time, I saw a café terrace on which they installed two massive spray water fans. Really cool! If you are in Paris and want to experience this, go to Le Concorde, at the corner of Bd Saint Germain and rue de Courty.

PS: Last time I checked there were 28 messages on the last post of Beirut Daily Photo blog. They don't all come from my yesterday's post but a lot do. Thank you very much for Abdallah.

From Bercy to Beirut...

Sometimes the Metro (underground) has to cross the Seine. Some lines run underneath the river but some others have to use a bridge, like here on the Pont de Bercy between the 12th and the 13th arrondissement. What you can see in the background is the Ministry of finance, a controversial building completed in 1989 . When I see such a quiet scene I can't help thinking of Abdallah who runs the Beirut Daily Photo blog and who had to leave his country. Drop him a line, if you have the chance, I am sure he can do with a little extra comfort...

The city of light

I just had to give you another look at the 14th of July. When you see how close the fireworks are to the middle of the city, and look at the reflections made from them, it’s really wonderful to see. I am unable to tell you what the tower in the background is (anyone here knows?) but I can tell you that the lit dome on the right hand side belongs to the Grand Palais.

Japonese designer

I took this shot on the occasion of a giant picnic in rue de la chaise (7th arrondissement) that was being held by the local boutique and shop keepers. One of the boutiques is that of Ken Okada, a Japanese designer who had the idea of hanging a piece of sheers in the middle of the street with her name on it. Her fashion designs seem quite original and so is her shop, but I'm not a fashion expert! For more, you can see her website and have a look at her latest fashion show.

Gorillas not to miss

Let me introduce you to Kingga a 10 month old Orang Outang who was born at Le Jardin des Plantes' menagerie (Zoo) where I went this week-end. Her mother would not take care of her so the humans had to take over... The Jardin des plantes (5th arrondissement) was created in 1739 and is an absolute must see if you come here. Not only will you see plenty of animals (they say it's the oldest zoo in the world!) but also a large variety of plants and trees. I just love it!

Steve Jobs' muse?

This sculpture, “La femme aux pommes” (Woman with apples), can be found in front of the Palais du Sénat in the Luxembourg gardens. Sculpture Jean Terzieff (1894 – 1978), came to France from Russia in 1919 and studied at l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The best part of seeing this sculpture live is to see all of the women who pose in imitation of it for photos…albeit with their clothes on!

Bastille day fireworks

Traditionally, on the evening of Bastille day, most of French cities have a fireworks show. I have been lucky enough to watch the one of Paris from the rooftop of a building close to Sacre Coeur, so not only did I see the Paris fireworks, but also the ones of the cities around Paris and, much more than that, enjoy the magnificent view of Paris at night (I will show you more of it in the days to come).

Bastille day

Today is July 14, our most important national holiday. It's also known as Bastille day, because it commemorates the day the Bastille prison was attacked by the revolutionaries. This prison was destroyed shortly after it was attacked then replaced under Napoleon by a huge statue of an elephant. Then in 1833, the elephant was replaced by the July Column (La colonne de juillet) on top of which sits the Liberty Genius (le génie de la liberté), a sculpture by Auguste Dumont, that you can see in this photo.

PS: if you're looking for cheap accomodations in Paris between July 20 and 23 click here.

Au Moulin Vert

After the famous Moulin rouge, here is the Moulin Vert (green windmill), a restaurant located rue des Plantes, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. At the end of the 18th century, there were still around 30 windmills in this area of Paris. This one takes its name from one of these such windmills that was turned into a "guinguette” (an open-air café often situated near a river). You may be familiar with this painting by Renoir that illustrates better the concept of a guinguette than I possibly could.

PS: if you're looking for cheap accomodations in Paris between July 20 and 23 click here.

National Archives

So, apparently you like the Paris scenery at night... I took advantage of a dinner I had with friends in Le Marais to take this photo. The two towers are the only remains of the house that Olivier de Clisson built in 1371. It was then sold to the Guise family in 1556 then to the Soubise family in 1700 and became the home of the national archives at the end of the 19th century. Believe me, when you walk down the rue des Archives at night, it's really magnificent and takes on a whole different look.

PS: if you're looking for cheap accomodations in Paris between July 20 and 23 click here.

The Conciergerie - a "head" of its time

Ok, let's move away from soccer now (thanks a million again for all of your nice contributions) and go back to Paris cliches for a while... One of the most beautiful buildings in Paris is La Conciergerie. It was the first palace of the kings of France before they moved to the Louvre and then became the first prison in Paris in 1391. As you may know it became famous during the Revolution where men and women were sentenced to death and held here until they left for the place de La Concorde where they were subsequently beheaded. And everybody knows that Marie-Antoinette, queen of France at the time, was among the unlucky occupants of this, now, astonishing building. More about its history here.

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It's only a game...

...But it's also the world cup and it takes place only every 4 years. And we just lost it. I can understand that players can cry, like on this image that I just grabbed off the television. The good news is that I am through with football posts! Thanks a million for all your nice messages of support from all over the world, I am sure that helped a lot. And, of course, congratulations to Milan, Roma, Turin and Venice (although the Venice daily photo blog is actually run by a Frenchman...).

Football fever at the National Assemblee

Today is the big day: the world cup final (France vs Italy, in case you missed that!). Now everything revolves around football in France and even the politicians have to show their support. On the parliament (Assemblée Nationale) they installed this huge banner. The Paris mayor did the same on the town hall and has also devoted the 170 electronic billboards to the support of the French team. Thus, until Sunday 6 PM GMT, anybody can go to this address and write a 7 line x 18 character long message to support Les Bleus. This message will then appear for 10 seconds on the 170 billboards of Paris! Try it...

Must been talking to an angel...

This photo is of one of the many sculptures lining the (bridge) Pont Alexandre III. It was built between 1896 and 1900 and is known for its Art Nouveau lamps. Tsar Alexander III of Russia laid the foundation stone in October 1896, and had to be built so that it would not block the view of the Champs-Elysees or the Invalides when finished. It was inaugurated, like many other structures nearby, in 1900 for the World’s Fair. Have a nice week-end.

Notre Dame de Paris

Here is a real Paris cliché... and one of the major tourist highlights: Notre Dame de Paris. It's been sitting on the île de la Cité for, well, almost 1000 years (they started building it in 1163, ended most of it in 1220 and really completed it in 1345!) and I realized I never showed it to you on this blog. Of course this cathedral has been photographed so many times, it's hard to come up with something original. I chose to concentrate on the bottom of the western facade, at night. And before you ask, no, I did not see any hunchback!

One more step...

I can hear you from here: "What, I come here for a daily pic of Paris and all I get these days is a lousy world cup photo a day!" Well, what can I say, we won again tonight so I could not help going down my street. And guess what, this time the crowd was twice the size of what it was Saturday evening... I am so thrilled I cannot help sharing my enthusiasm with you!

PS: Today, the wonderful world of the Daily Photo brings you the first international quiz. Your mission is to discover the two Daily Photo sites that have a linked post today. More details on London Daily Photo.

Anything to support the French team!

Amazing what you find in the streets of Paris. I took this photo in a little shop called Circus at 38 Boulevard Montparnasse (15th arrondissement). I bet that due to the "so far so good" results of the French team, business must be good! Tuesday Italy beat Germany (sorry Berlin, Saarbrücken, Trier, Wiesbaden and Stuttgart) in the last two minutes 2-0. And today is France's big day (9 pm CET/7 pm GMT) when Les Bleus will play Portugal in the semi-final... All my fingers are crossed (not easy to type!).

Happy 4th of July!

I know I have a lot of American visitors, so I thought I'd make a special post for their independence day which is... today, the 4th of July. I took a photo of our two flags just to fight the belief that the French don't like the Americans. We are always happy to greet visitors from all over the world and that includes Americans, needless to say. And, remember, we also gave you this, a long time ago; we cannot be that bad! ;) - See also a 4th of July photo in London.

I saw the light...

Enough football for a while (well until wednesday!)... On my way home from work, I came across this cool lighting store at 31 boulevard Raspail. FontanaArte, founded in 1932 by Gio Ponti, is apparently known for its lighting fixtures, glass objects, and furnishings created for many famous designers and architects. All I know is that I like this photo!

France: 1 - Brazil: 0!

Thank you very much for your nice congratulations messages for Saturday evening. Yes, we did win over Brazil! Needless to say that the closer we get to the final the more excited the people are. I just went down my street and it was absolutely crazy (I took this photo and a little video that I will post tomorrow morning French time). It's been a long long time since I have seen so many people happy at once. Amazing what football can do... [Update: the video is here]

Good luck Les Bleus

I am not a big soccer fan but when it comes to the world cup I kind of get more involved... Friday night Germany won over Argentina and today (Saturday) France is playing Brazil at 7 pm GMT. Needless to say that everybody will be glued to their TV screen... And if Les Bleus (our national team) win, masses of Parisians will head to the Champs Elysées like last Tuesday, after France won over Spain. I was not there, but my friend and very good photographer, Yannick Duvergé was, and he took this photo and some others. (Photo : Yannick Duvergé © 2006)

King Kong in Paris!

Remember yesterday? I told you I went to the Palais de la Découverte for the launch of a new service. Well in this Museum, they are also running an exhibit about Gorillas and to attract visitors (well, I suppose so...) they had the idea of putting a "real" one outside the Palace. It is very impressive and it's so well made that, at first, you think it's alive!

Cocktail in Le Palais de la découverte

Yesterday evening I attended the launch of a new search engine called Accoona. This launch took place in Le Palais de la Découverte, a huge palace off the Champs Elysées dedicated to science and technology (it's a great place for kids to learn about physics, nature, space...). I caught on "film" these two guests who were discussing by the main entrance door. I love the light.

A ball of red, s'il vous plaît!

Although the French drink less and less wine (70 liters per person per year in 2005 vs 160 liters in 1965!) it is still pretty common to order a "ballon de rouge" ("ball balloon of red", after the shape of the glass) in a bar or a restaurant. Some even drink that in the morning... As for this photo, I took it at lunch time in a restaurant in Le Marais (4th arrondissement) from the first floor.

The real Moulin Rouge

You may have seen the film and thought "oh this cannot be true" and though yes, The Moulin Rouge does exist and dancers still dance the Cancan there! Of course, between the real thing and the romantic old fashioned story that was depicted in the movie, there is a huge difference. But still, the Moulin Rouge is a pretty effective attraction in Paris and I would surely recommend it.

New Paris Museum

I's not everyday that a new 97 000 sq feet (9 000 m2, exluding the gardens) museum opens in a city. And though that is exactly what happened last week in Paris. This new museum, called Le musée du Quai Branly, is dedicated to non Western arts and has, in total, no less than 300 000 objects on display. The building itself is worth a visit for it was made by famous architect Jean Nouvel and has, on one end (the one on the photo) a quite impressive vertical 8 600 sq. feet (800 m2) garden facade composed by Patrick Blanc.

Paris Gay Pride 2006

Like every year now on the last Saturday of June, it's Gay pride day and this year made exception (especially in view of new elections next year the gays are clearly demanding a legal wedding law like in Benelux, Spain, England, Sweden...) I thought this was an excellent opportunity to take good photos... And, you know what? I took no less than 551, and I like almost none of them! This one, is the only one that has something in my opinion. 'Update: 20 additionnal ones here.)

Supermen for Superman

I always wondered how they managed to hang these huge posters on movie theaters. Now I know, they use cliff hangers! Isn't that ironic when it comes to a Superman poster?

La Samaritaine department store

Located on the right bank end of Le Pont Neuf, La Samaritaine used to be a famous department store in Paris. It was created in 1869 by Ernest Cognacq and his wife, Marie-Louise Jay and was only, at that time, "a little shop around the corner". It owes its name to a hydraulic pump installed near the Pont Neuf, which operated from 1609 to 1813. Last June (2005) it was shut because of serious securitysafety problems and it will not reopen before... 2011. In the meantime, you can still have dinner at the Kong, located on the last floor of the building- in a safe environment! Very trendy and very good.

Fete de la musique

Yesterday was the Fête de la musique (music celebration) day. It's been taking place on the 21st of June for 25 years now. The principle is that anybody - just anybody - can play music anywhere without a permit. I loved last year's picture but I thought this one was cute. You can imagine that it was a big occasion for these two "rock stars to be" to show their talent and that half of the audience was their friends!

The hidden bridge

I thought that after all these years in Paris I would know all the bridges... Wrong! Yesterday evening, as I was walking by a new monument that I will show you on Thursday, I came across the Passerelle Debilly, a pedestrian bridge located a block away from the Eiffel Tower. Can you think of a more Parisian place to jog?

PS : Last night I also met Rodney from Aliso Viejo, CA, who is currently in Paris for a week. We had a real techie talk over a drink on rue Cler c and he kindly gave me a framed picture of his. really touching.

Protesters with guts!

This happened last week and I was really mad to have missed it. Fortunately Tomate Farcie, who was in Paris that very day, took this photo and sent it to me as soon as she returned to SF. The two guys you can see are Iranian anti nuclear protesters and, to show, their "disagreement" with their government then spent last Tuesday night on top of the Arch of Triumph. Needless to say that this is strictly forbidden, although apparently nothing serious happened to them once they "landed" and got stopped by the Police.