Come on, it's July!

Who said it's summer time in the Northern hemisphere? Well in that case, I'm afraid Paris is NOT in the Northern hemisphere. It's been pouring rain for the past 3 days and this week is not going to be any better. People who come to Paris and find PDP often ask me what to wear, what the weather is going to be... And I'm always unable to give them a proper answer. At least the rain makes the pavement shiny, which is nice for photos ;-)

Karl Who?

How about a little humour for today (to compensate the bad quality of the photo!) I passed by this gallery recently - it's located 1 rue de Furstenberg, in the 6th, a few meters away from the gorgeous, unforgettable Place de Furstenberg - and I could not help smiling when I saw this "Karl Who?" bag (by Naco Paris) ! I smiled even more when I saw on the gallery web site that Karl Lagerfeld was seen wearing it! Which proves that despite his unbearable attitude, he has humour.

A postcard from Paris

Dear all, that's it, this is the end of my first vacation week in Paris... I loved every single minute of it. You would not believe the wonderful architecture, the shops (it's the "Soldes" as they call it here), the restaurants (I had dinner in a secluded terrace yesterday evening just before a huge storm - yes, they have storms too here), the people (the French are not that rude, after all ;)) and the Eiffel Tower (too bad, I missed the gorgeous fireworks they had for Bastille day). Oh I wish so much you were here ;)

Dinner Faubourg Saint Honoré

Last evening for business purposes, I went to the HQ of Europacorp, the movie studio owned and managed by French film maker Luc Besson (the one who became famous after this). It's a superb building (what used to be a Hôtel particulier), located in the heart of the 8th arrondissement, in which I found this beautiful sculpture (I don't know who made it, nor if it has a name). But wait, that's not all! In the courtyard there is also an Italian restaurant called Ante Prima, where you can enjoy a nice dinner outside away from the street traffic (which is very difficult to find in Paris). On top of that, the manageress is outstandingly nice (even though she's French!)

Save Our Soul

I'm always fascinated by people who pass by a church, push the door and take some time to pray. What do they pray for, are they worried, sad, desperate? Do they just want to take a little break in their busy life? Anyway, I felt like taking this photo because of the chairs around this lady that look like an ocean. FYI, I took it in the same church, where I took this one in 2007, that is Eglise Saint Séverin.

Make war, then love!

I remember that when I was young, I would not even think of watching the July 14 Champs Elysées march because I thought it was really tacky (and also because going to the army for a year was compulsory at that time which was not something I was looking forward to!) Now I'm older, I've performed my military service and I have a better appreciation of what all these men and women can do for us. So I have no problem watching the march, on the contrary! Worse, I even took the excuse of having to take photos for PDP to go to Les Invalides where a big PR event - after the march - to show the French how well protected they are. At the end I saw this couple (he's wearing the famous Polytechnique uniforme - Le Grand U) and thought they were cute. If you want more photos, check this little Animoto.

Le 14 juillet 2009

I know you could accuse me of cheating as this is obviously not a photo taken during the 2009 Bastille day fireworks (I posted it on July 13 at midnight), but it's for a good cause! As some of you already mentioned it yesterday in the comments box, we're celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower and for the occasion it will be possible to watch the Bastille Day fireworks live on the Net (starting at 10:45 pm local time - 8:45 GMT) ! The audience will also be able to upload photos, live from the Eiffel Tower area. Don't miss it, if you're around a computer @ 8:45 pm GMT (10:45 PM, Paris time), providing the site will bear the load!

Les soldes à Paris

Good news: it's the summer soldes (sales) in Paris at the moment. I took this photo in Le Printemps which, despite the financial crisis was packed on Saturday. I have even better news: now the law has changed and instead of having only two strict periods of sales, there can now be either one more 2 week period or 2 one week periods throughout the year. BTW, are you ready to celebrate Bastille Day? It's tomorrow!

Le hasard fait bien les choses...

Today was my first day of vacation and as I was meandering in the streets of my favorite city I came across a used book bookshop. These two titles made me laugh: One says "Les vacances (vacation) [probably "of something or someone] and the other one "Le jeu de la tentation (the game of temptation). That's all. You know, just a simple scene for a simple mind ;-). BTW: before you ask, if you haven't seen it "advertised" on Facebook(!) FYI, I stay 2 weeks in Paris before going away to the Lubéron, in the South of France.

The big ferris wheel is back

Between the end of June and August, there is usually a small - very small - amusement park in the Jardin des Tuileries (on the Louvre side). Its main attraction is a huge Ferris Wheel, located on the Louvre side of the gardens. Last evening, on the way back from a house warming party of a friend I photographed it just at dusk. The sky was cloudy but still a little blue, it was really stunning. I'm not sure I managed to catch this scene exactly as I experienced it though.

L'Espérance

If you happen to be in Paris these days (until the end of August) you have to stop by La Madeleine church. They currently have on display (all around the church) a few sculptures by Louis Derbré which are absolutely stunning. This one is called L'Espérance (hope), it is pretty tall and it's really beautiful.I must confess I did not know who Louis Derbré was, but I found out he used to "hang out" with Maillol and Rodin in the 60s, so no wonder he's talented! Have a look at some other photos I took there.

An Iceberg on the Seine

You might have heard the story already... An iceberg was just found in Paris on the Seine, by the Eiffel tower! I went to check myself and here is the photo I came back with. This 16 meter (52 foot) high "thing" is not made of ice, but of plastic and is actually inflatable. It was installed yesterday morning by Greenpeace to draw the attention of President Sarkozy on climate change while the G8 summit is taking place (in Italy). I don't know if it will have much influence, but what I can tell you is that the media coverage was really remarkable. If you want to see other points of view, just click here.

Do I have Le Bac?

Le Baccalaureat (more often called "Le Bac") is a very important exam in the life of a French person; without it, you cannot go to university. The 2009 results were this morning and I happened to pass by a Lycée (high- school) at ten, right when they opened the doors. I could not help but stop and take a photo (which, of course, is forbidden - the principal made that clear to me!). It reminded me of my own Bac which put a smile on my face... Let me congratulate the 622 322 students that took the Bac this year, of which 487 900 succeeded (78,4%)!

Visit the Champs Elysées right now!

Last evening I went to the Champs Elysées especially for you to take this street plate. The reason why is that yesterday (Monday) I received a press release announcing the opening of a new 360° photo site that allows you to visit the most famous street of Paris "without having the burden" of taking the plane to come here! Click here and try it. It's fun.

Paris, such a green city!

Paris is said to be much less green than other big European cities like London or Berlin, but trees and grass do manage to make their way through concrete! And more precisely, according to Wikipedia, we have 450 "green spots" including: 2 woods (almost 20% of Paris surface), 16 parks, 137 gardens, 274 squares, plus a few walkways and other miscellaneous surfaces. I took this photo at La Pelouse de Reuilly, in the 12th arrondissement (and no, before you ask, I did not photoshop the green!)

Paris, really?

I could have taken this photo in a little village somewhere down in the South of France or in Italy, but no, I took it in the middle of Paris, in the 2nd arrondissement right after they cleaned the street. I'm not 100% happy with it - it would have looked better if the two ladies where more in the middle of the street - but I like it globally. That is also what I love with Paris: you can find yourself in a very modern area then walk down a few blocks and go back in time a few centuries!

Happy 4th of July

I know I have a lot of American visitors and since today is the 4th of July I thought I would celebrate with a very French American citizen: David Lebovitz. David left the Bay area in 2002 to settle down in Paris and live off his precious art: making des[s]ert (and teaching people how to make them). I see him very rarely but last weekend I caught him in the middle of a book signing (his latest: the sweet life in Paris) at La Cocotte, a bookshop specializing in food. Do pay a visit to David's blog if you're into food and are looking for tips about eating out in Paris. And once again: happy 4th of July to my American visitors ;-)

Resting in Les Tuileries

I went to Les Tuileries Gardens last night for a professional event that took place in what they call "L'orangerie éphémère" (The temporary orangerie). I did not find anything interesting to photograph there, but on the way out, I felt like taking [a photo of!] these two ladies, having some rest by the pond after a hot day (you can see the storm coming up in the sky). FYI, les Tuilerie gardens are said to be the first public gardens in Paris. Apparently it was Louis the XIVth, after he commissioned famous gardener André Le Notre to design them, who decided that Parisians would be granted to right to walk through them every year on June 24!

Photo exercise

It may come as a surprise to some of you but I know nothing about the basics of photography. I always use the automatic settings, I "cheat" when I need it (for instance to obtain a blurry effect in the background) and I use Photoshop from time to time to fix my mistakes... Yes, that is the naked truth! But wait... Don't give up on me. Today I took my first photo lesson with these people and this photographer in particular (who happens to have worked with the 6 billion others project with Yann Artus Bertrand - remember this photo?). We went to the Palais Royal gardens, I took a lot of shots, but I finally kept this one. Now I know everything about field depth (see the result in the making of)! Update: this photo has been featured on Sportedbylocals.

If the sky was empty ?

Today is the 1st of the month and, as usual, it's a theme day. Today's theme is: "Empty". I must say I had a lack of inspiration... And then I thought of a song by Alain Souchon - a French singer - who sang a few years ago a song called "Et si en plus y a personne!" in which the lyrics would go "If the sky was empty?". So let me offer you an - almost empty - Paris sky. That's all ;) Click here to view thumbnails for all participants