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!

Trick or treats?!

It's not really a French celebration (here we celebrate the dead on the November 1st), but... since it's a good business booster (for restaurants and shops that sell scary costumes like the one where I took this photo), you can see a lot of calls to attend Halloween parties everywhere in Paris right now (no trick or treats though...). So I thought I would play the game... On a different note - and believe me, with absolutely no relationship with scary witches! - I had the pleasure to have breakfast with Kim from Seattle Daily Photo this morning (see for yourself ;-).

Giant artichokes at Invalides

A-ma-zing. As I was coming back from the 15th arrondissement yesterday, I passed by Les Invalides and saw this giant artichokes sculpture (by Patrick Laroche who claims to be fascinated by nature) in the middle of the pavement! Really cool ;-) Turns out it's part of a contemporary art trail organized by the art gallerie 208 and a local association. So it's not the only piece of art you can come across in the 7th arrondissement at the moment ;-) Here is the only online information I could find about this (in French).

Alone in the city

I'm always embarrassed when I take such photos, because even though they have that kind of dramatic atmosphere that helps making good photos, they also contain a lot of suffering. There is not much to add, I'm afraid.

The 1st good-for-the-planet merry-go-round!

Low consumption bulbs, hybrid cars, windmills... everybody claims to have sustainable development solutions for the planet nowadays. In Paris, we've gone a step further! Now we have an ecologic merry-go-round, one that is powered by solar cells, a small windmills and... human power (that is the power of people - kids? - that pedal while going around!) Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Marcel Campion, invented it - OK, maybe it's a little far fetched, but still ;-) If you want to see it, it's easy, it's right at the bottom of La Tour Eiffel where I took this photo this morning.

Biking on the Champs Elysées

Another nice dawn view on the Champs Elysées. Nothing to add, I'm sure you'll like it too ;-)

Through the Cité de la Mode

You may remember La Cité de la mode et du Design, a pretty new building (it was inaugurated in 2007) that looks over the Seine. Very creative, it was a bit controversial (isn't everything?!) because the architects Dominique Jakob and Brendan Mac Farlane added a sort of green glass skin on the facade that faces the water (see some photos here). Last week I went there and here is the photo I took from the inside. I love the effect!

Champs Elysées at dawn...

OK, it was not exactly dawn, but 9 o'clock... But at this time of year (we're about to change time this weekend) it's almost like dawn! The light was really beautiful and since it was Sunday morning Les Champs Elysées were almost empty.

Vive la France!

So we did not win (the World Rugby Cup final) yesterday, but I had great fun. I woke up early to make it to "The Freedom" a pub located off Les Champs Elysées that I already mentioned here where the owner of fashion store Koko (a true Kiwi!) had organized a giant NZ meetup (French could join too ;-). Needless to say that the atmosphere was, well, very festive and that we heard a lot of "La Marseillaise" (listen) and "God Defend New Zealand" (listen) singing. Great moment.

Reading by the Canal

I just spent two days hanging out at the Webdeux Connect event (a cool French networking event for geeks like me!) and I did not have a single minute to take my photo du jour... So here is a very peaceful Sunday shot that I took by the Canal Saint Martin a few days ago, when it was still a little warm. There is nothing extraordinary in this photo, but I like it. Off to bed now, tomorrow morning (Sunday), France plays New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup and I want to see this ;-)