Sex in the city

Sex in the city is not the title of a television series, but... the name of an exhibition that just opened yesterday (Saturday) in Paris. Like you can see, it's already very successful (sex is always a good sales boost - even though this exhibition is actually free). What can be seen inside? Well I don't really know as I did not visit it, but a little bird told me you can see all sorts of sex toys, games, lingerie... you name it! All this to raise Aids awareness (yeah, right!). More in these videos.

Without a shadow of a doubt

I took this photo at the bottom of Tour Saint-Jacques, the tower they renovated recently and that I showed you several times (here, here, here and here!). You'd think this would be a statue of Saint Jacques, but... it is not. It's the one of Blaise Pascal, a famous French mathematician and philosopher who, among other things, invented in 1642, the first calculator (mechanical at that time, obviously...). Why is here there? Because he is said to have prevented the destruction of a church that was previously on these premises. BTW, around this tower, there is a little square, which apparently was the first square in Paris (1856).

Giant dog

Here is a dog that won't leave any nasty droppings on the pavement... I found it in the 17th arrondissemen, inside a little courtyard. from what I could see, he belongs to Aastroem Munier BBN, a communications agency ;-) FYI since 2002 dog owners must pick up after their "Medor" (Medor is kinda like "Rocky", a generic name for dogs), ,so the streets of Paris are not that polluted anymore (well at least in some neighborhoods!)

Golden Blog Awards night

I'm just back from the... French Golden Blog Awards night that was taking place at the Hotel de Ville (city town hall). Huge event, very successful, so successful I had to wait 3 quarters of an hour outside before entering (see the little red square at the end of the line? The entrance was way beyond that point!). It was worth it though, the event was nice, the scenery was too (remember the ceiling?) and the company even more. Did I win an award? Nah, I did not, but the competition was really tough, so it's fair. Sorry I cannot show you the winners yet, because they haven't been posted on the Golden blog awards site yet, but I will (yeah, cause that's the kind of guy I am ;-))

Music!

No Paris scenery, no historical facts... today, just a lifestyle photo. I see more and more people with huge - well I consider to be huge! - headsets like this in the streets of Paris and I can't helping thinking of the "old times", when headsets used to be more like ear plugs ;-) Am I showing my age? Er... yes probably LOL! I like the photo though.

The Messenger

Ossip Zadkine is a French sculptor of Russian origins who died in 1967. There is a museum dedicated to his work at rue d'Assas (in his former home), but there are also several of his sculptures throughout Paris. One of them is called Le Messager (the messenger) and it's located at Quai d'Orsay ; from what I read, it was made after a wooden sculpture that was made for the World exhibition of 1937. As you can see, the weather is still lovely in Paris at the moment...

Sunday at rue Montorgueil

Lovely day in Paris again this Sunday... I went to rue Montorgueil, a famous street near les Halles, that used to be a working class area in the old times and is now a "Bobo" hangout (bobo stands for BOurgeois BOhème, that is people with money who want to live the Bohème lifestyle). It's a very nice street, no cars - or almost none! - lots of little cafés and shops, historical restaurants like L'Escargot-Montorgueil that was founded in 1875, or the famous Stohrer patisserie founded in 1730 that Queen Elisabeth visited in 2004 (they are pretty proud of it!). It's also the street where this video clip was shot!

Mélodie & Nicolas!

I took this photo in front of La Comédie Française, a theater which facade they are currently redoing. On this facade someone wrote Mélodie & Nicolas (probably the names of two lovers who wanted claim their love to the world ;-)), but when I took the photo, I caught these two kids on my "film". It's very unlikely that they are called Mélodie & Nicolas, but I think it makes a real cool photo.

Sacré Coeur in the mist

Those of you who have been following PDP for some time now will probably remember the Eiffel Tower in the mist photo (big hit!), well, now look at what I saw yesterday evening on my way to dinner at Montmartre... It was really stunning. Let's us not forget that the Sacré Coeur is located on a hill  (130 meters - 426 feet). Not very high, but it does play a role when it comes to "'touching the clouds...". Have a nice weekend everyone.

11/11/11!

Today is November 11, the day we celebrate the end of WWI (this year it's also a palindrome date, but that's another story). We have no more alive veterans from that war, so in theory no more reasons to continue celebrating its end, but I think it's good we still do so. 1) because it's a holiday ;-), 2) because it reminds us that about 100 years ago (and 60 if you consider WWII) there were still wars between European countries. Something that is now totally unthinkable. This, by the way, is a statue of Maréchal Foch, the very one who signed the armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918. You can see it at Champs de Mars, near Ecole Militaire.

The PDP calendars are out!

Here is another photo I took at the Petit Palais while I was visiting in the inside garden. unfortunately I forgot to make a note of the sculptor's name, so there is not much I can tell you about them. Instead I'll seize the opportunity to let you know that the 2012 PDP calendars are just off press (well, off Zazzle!) and that  there is even a 30% off offer until midnight Pacific time. Like last year, there is a  B&W version and a color one. I hope you'll like them.

Paris Silhouettes

To be honest, I did not know of photographer Alexandre Vitkine, but when I saw this poster promoting his work at rue Drouot, I took a closer look... Apparently he was born in Berlin in 1910, and became a photographer then a sculptor after he pursued a career in industry as an electromechanical engineer. He played a lot with "silhouettes" in his photo work. I'll probably have a look at them at La Galerie at rue Bonaparte.  

Fall/Autumn

Here is my fall/autumn photo of the year! I took it this weekend, when the weather was still nice. The red rectangle belongs to a little "museum" shop that they installed in front of the Museum des arts premiers" (the quai Branly museum) in the 7th arrondissement. I love the game of shadows.

A world premiere?

This may not be the most beautiful photo you've ever seen on PDP, but it's one that is worth remembering... Why? Because it shows an Autolib station being installed. Autolib? It's the car equivalent to Velib. Now I can hear you from here: "What? he dares calling this a world premiere, whereas in my city we have had Car sharing for years now..." All wrong. What you have is "hourly car rental": you take a car down the street, but you have to bring it back where you took it, within a pretty precise time frame. With Autolib, you take the car at the nearest station and you drop it at the closest station near your destination. And when you return, you do the same. This way you only pay for a small journey. The service will open in December, I'll come back to it, of course...

Another good address...

Here is a place you have to make a note of, if you come to Paris. You'll find it right in the heart of Paris, off the Champs Elysées, but you'll be surprised how quiet it is! Why? Because it's located right in the middle of Le Petit Palais... Tip: when you walk in ask for a free ticket to the "permanent collections", you can then walk in to this little secluded garden and enjoy a two course meal (including a glass of wine and coffee) for 24 € ! BTW, I took this photo Friday morning, as you can see we're having a sort of Indian summer at the moment.

Building Europe...

President Sarkozy and Obama were interviewed on television last evening and it was a first. This shows how tough the times are. We're trying to build a unified Europe, but it's not easy (like it was probably not easy to build the United States over 200 years ago). They talked about friendship, confidence and trust. Of course these are politician words, but still, it felt good to have some support (even if the US economy is not exactly in better shape than the one of Europe actually. But who's counting?!) Have good weekend everyone, how about a little Ouzo with your Pasta?

A drink by the Palais Royal

If you came to Paris, you probably went to the Palais Royal (Royal Palace), and you probably had a drink at this café called Le Nemours, right by the entrance of the Palace (facing the Place Colette, from where I took this photo) . It's a very nice location to sit and watch the people go by, as I did this morning while I was having breakfast (actually it looks empty in this photo because I took it very early, but it's generally very busy!).

Escargots

I may be French, I don't remember having ever eaten escargots... And I still haven't, even if I had dinner last night with someone who had some! It was near the Invalides, in a restaurant called Café de l'Esplanade, where they serve them in a very nice way I must say (notice the "mouillettes", these little slices of bread, that you normally dunk into soft boiled eggs, but that can also be useful to absorb the garlic sauce that comes with escargots - and that make them tasty, I'm told...). Bon appétit (pronounced the Julia Childs' way...).

Eglise Saint Roch

It's been a while since I've shown you a Paris Church... So here is Saint Roch, a beautiful church located at rue Saint Honoré. It was built between 1653 and 1722, it's one of the largest ones in Paris (even though it is hard to tell as it is surrounded with buildings) and it is known for being "the home of the artists" as many of them are buried there. It's also the place where Marquis de Sade got married, I just saw in Wikipedia!).

Theme day : fences (and walls!)

In France - and in most European countries - November 1st is a holiday, as it's the day where living people go and visit the dead, in cemeteries. It's also a theme day (check it here) within the City Daily Photo blog community. And today's theme is Fences! I thought of showing you a fence within a cemetery, but I did not find any... So instead here is a wall, that I shot in Le Marais, at rue des Archives. A little less theme day compliant, but a little merrier ;-) I really wonder what's behind this wall!