Sunday, December 17, 2006

Little green shop


I doubt that this shop is still in business (and if yes, what on earth do they sell?!) but, well, I thought the color(s) was interesting and that it's a nice change from the wealthiest shops of Paris. I took this photo rue de la Forge Royale in the 11th arrondissement, near Bastille, a street that, according to what I could find on the web, was built in 1770.

47 comments:

  1. How did you get that lady to coordinate the color of her coat with the store front? :-)

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  2. What Eric asks for, i imagine he gets! lol well you're right Eric, this is a great photo for seeing the other side of Paris and the colours are almost as if planned, rather than aged and faded! I love them. You say you don't know what they sell; probably if you were to venture inside, it would be so interesting! Treasures, history, wonderful! I love that you gave us some background to this 18th century street too.

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  3. I love this part of Paris. There are many studios and specialty shops of people who just do glass work, or taxidermy or iron work, framing, etc. These are some of the best "potential" apartments in town with their lofts. Let's just hope they don't go away due to greedy developers and mass produced goods.

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  4. ooh i'd love one of those lofts Michael! How much are they, out of interest, roughly?

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  5. I haven't gone all shy by the way, my avatar just won't show on this site. It's ok on mine, so it's not the fact that i changed the picture today... ?

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  6. oh, the light blue looks cool~~~
    :))
    only could see this kind of walls inside of the rooms.
    have a nice weekend,eric

    jing
    shanghai daily photo

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  7. Haxo Station: I am surprised to learn that you find the closing line of Voltaire's 'Candide' depressing. I think it's quite upbeat (although I do agree that the author's thesis, especially in today's world, is unlikely to be a crowd-pleaser).

    To begin with, the metaphor of the garden (based on the real garden Candide and his cohorts have planted, and from which they are already harvesting food for their meals) is twofold. It references both the mythical Garden of Eden and the "gardens" which are our individual lives (and in which we are all destined to toil from birth to death). In saying what he says, Candide is countering Pangloss' absurd optimism (i.e. that we live in "the best of all possible worlds" and therefore need not trouble ourselves about how its ills might be avoided or its pleasures enhanced) with his own, more practical, philosophy of life (i.e. that we must know how to cultivate the “garden of existence” in order to minimise suffering and maximise happiness).

    In other words, Candide is acknowledging that there is much in life that we can simply accept and enjoy as gifts (of God, the universe, or whatever) but that there are many things that can only be acquired and preserved through our labours; making work both a necessary and a noble activity, and not a curse inflicted on humanity at the moment of being expelled from paradise by an irate deity.

    Now, I realise that Voltaire’s valorisation of reason has been somewhat discredited over the past two and a half centuries, and that we no longer implicitly believe that knowing better necessarily leads to doing better, but I do think he was on the right track. The secret, I think, lies in planting the right seeds, in the right patch of ground, at the right time.

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  8. This has a feel of "old" Paris to it...great colors. Still shooting great shots, Eric.

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  9. This lovely photo has a nostalgic feel of yesteryear...a time passed, never to return...
    Makes you wonder who worked there, what they sold, what made them close their doors?
    Blimey, I think I need another one of Olivier's cocktails;-)

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  10. This lovely photo has a nostalgic feel of yesteryear...a time passed, never to return...
    Makes you wonder who worked there, what they sold, what made them close their doors?
    Blimey, I think I need another one of Olivier's cocktails;-)

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  11. Blogger beta needs to die long and painful death!

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  12. You're having same prob as me, with photo not showing then Isabella. How did you get it to work in the end?

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  13. I love the holes in the walls of that shop. The pattern sure looks really familiar but we don't see these in the States.

    By the way, Louis, I hate to tell you this after you took the trouble of explaining Candide in such great detail (thank you for that!), but in my opinion, much of the French litterature is incredibly depressing. Or is it just me? (shrug)

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  14. Tomato Farcie: No, you are absolutely right, much of it is depressing, especially that of the twentieth century (Camus and Duras), although it is dangerous, I think, to generalise about such things as there are always notable exceptions to the rule.

    I would argue, however, that nineteenth century French literature favours tragedy (Zola and Balzac) and melancholy (Flaubert and Proust), while that of the previous century coats its seriousness in satire and whimsy (Voltaire and Marivaux).

    PS I realise that Proust's magnum opus - À la recherche du temps perdu' - was published early last century, but for me it exudes a distinctly nineteenth century sensibility.

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  15. It looks more like a warehouse than a shop! The colors are nice anyway.
    Today is a very special day for me, because I'm celebrating my 100th post in Santiagodechiledailyphoto!
    I'm quite happy. I feel like a grown up now in the Daily Photo community...

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  16. WOW Eric...those are my fave blues & greens...looks just like a beach in Oahu if ya look close enough! Blur your eyes...like us artists...you'll SEE it...I promise! When oh when will Summer return? Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! The memories still taunt me! ;-)

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  17. Olho para esta Loja e tenho vontade de a comprar.

    Recuperar em mão própria.

    E de passar o meu dia a pintar piões e a fazer fisgas para alguém comprar como prenda de Natal que se oferece a alguém com potencial.

    Sei que ainda vou viver em Paris.
    Porque adivinha todo e qualquer sentido.

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  18. lynn said...ooh i'd love one of those lofts Michael! How much are they, out of interest, roughly?

    That's a tough question Lynn. In fact, this area of Paris was in the old days where all the craftsmen used to have their stores. I imagine there are other parts of Paris that had the same, but this is where you'd go to have something particular done. A crafted wrought iron fence for example.

    As for prices, they haven't destroyed all of these shops or converted them, but when they do one day, sadly, they will be very expensive. Big windows, high ceilings, large spaces. Today, I don't think you can get something bigger than a studio for less than 200k euros. Similar to NY and London, although London prices are now through the roof.

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  19. Such lovely old paint. The place looks like a going concern to me. . .stacked rattan footstools/tables? There seems to be an office area with books/paperwork. I can't read the sign, but it seems contemporary. Maybe an import/export business? Perhaps there is another entrance since this one is blocked off by a large plant. Anyway, wonderful image and colors, and the woman's profile looks very much like my daughter's great aunt (who came from a village near Lourdes).
    -Kim

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  20. Those old paints - what did they use to wear so well?

    Michael/Eric, question? Somewhere in my reading I understand that it takes a lot more than mere money to buy a home or apartment in Paris - they are all kinds of rules. Along those lines I heard it was illegal to take a photo of a park in Paris. Are these things true? Are there short explanations or are they just life's mysteries in France?

    By the way, as an adolescent I found Camus reaffirming and therefore rather uplifting. In my thirties I thought Proust wise. When I was 14 I thought Voltaire was right up there with Jefferson Airplane. LOL - I think first readings definitely depend on age - now I want to revisit all of them!

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  21. Couldn't agree more, Blondetown.

    In fact, I recently re-read 'The Myth of Sisyphus', which I think is beautifully conceived and written. In fact, there were parts where I wasn't sure whether I was getting emotional about what Camus was saying or the rigorous, laconic elegance of his prose.

    For example:

    "In a man's attachment to life there is something stronger than all the ills in the world. The body's judgement is as good as the mind's, and the body shrinks from annihilation. We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking. In the race which daily hastens us toward death, the body maintains an irreparable lead."

    So much said, so powerfully, and with so few words. Great stuff!

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  22. ooh thanks Michael, yes London is ridiculous, pricewise now. As is the rest of the UK really.
    Those links are great. I've been virtual shopping now and bought two loft apartments and am about 800k euros down! That was fun. When should i move in?

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  23. And Ame.. i totally did the same, blurred my eyes mmm you even get the waves at the shore coming in... is it just us? lol

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  24. hey its number 23!

    http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/h/ad?type=s;ville=75199056;nomvoie=rue+de+la+Forge+Royale+;numero=;templ=pjphoto_frame;templ_photo=pjphoto_photo;fwdto=/1/f/;interactif=1

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  25. The shading on this is really beautiful, Eric....and the passerby...I think she lives in every city in the Western world.

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  26. Just lovely — a photo that allows the imagination to run wild. I love that part of Paris! Eric, you are so talented and your readers are smart — love the comments, too.

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  27. > Ming. LOL, damned you blew it! Now everybody knows she's a model that I hired !

    > Lynn. Well, it was closed. You're right I should show more of "the other side of

    Paris".

    > Michael. You're right. This area used to be an industrial area - it's hard to

    imagine now ;). That is why you can find many lofts over there. As Lynn spotted it

    they are pretty expensive... My Monday post will be about real estate in Paris.

    > Jing. Something like that is impossible to find in big Chinese cities now right? I

    hear everything is brand new in your country now, isn't?

    > Louis. I LOVE these reflexions about Candide. I too was surprised by Haxo's

    consideration about the last sentence of the book.

    > Thanks Terri. You can see for yourself when you come ;)

    > Isabella. LOL on the cocktails! You should see the whole street, it's really the

    old Paris there. And I agree with what you think about Blogger LOL.

    > Tomate why do you say that much of French literature is depressing? Zola might be

    a bit but Maupassant is not ?

    > Louis, you know the French authors better than most of the French! I am a big fan

    of the 19th century - author wise - and I must say that I prefer calling Romanticism

    what you call Melancholy! My favorite 19th century novel: La dame aux Camelias (And

    I must say that the movie adaptation with Greta Garbo by George Cukor is also a

    masterpiece.)

    > Edulabbe. Congratulations. You contribute to the image of your country as much as

    your President does at the moment! Happy 100th post.

    > Ame. OK, but you've got to admit that you need a lot of imagination to see a Oahu

    beach in there LOL!!

    > SCS. Ooops sorry I don't speak Portuguese. I have tried Google but nothing I could

    understand...

    > Michael. I see you've been looking for a loft haven't you. Don't you go giving

    those web site adresses to the Brits they will buy everything and prices will start skyrocketing!

    > Kim. What, your daughter's great Aunt was from Lourdes - well nearby. How come??

    > J. ANdrew. Thanks ;)

    > Blondetown. I really don't think it's illegal to take a photo in a park, I don't see why it would be. I get a lot of questions about this topic "is it forbidden to takes pictures in Paris and frankly I don't think it's any harder than anywhere else (of course the locals might think you try to steal their soul, but... LOL).

    > Le mythe de Sisyphe. Uhh. Last time I read that I was in high-school!

    > Thanks Haxo, like always, you contribute beautifully to this blog. Thank you for the rue Trousseau building too. That is why I love Paris so much.

    > Chrislate. LOL on the "the passerby...I think she lives in every city in the Western world."

    > Mimi. I am not going to comment on your "Eric, you are so talented" (just blush!) but I will surely agree with you on your " your readers are smart".

    > Haxo. "Every Parisian knows the "rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine" is the place where he will find good quality made-to-measure furniture of any style." You're right I call it "furniture street! but some of the shops have really poor taste furniture now - in my opinion of course.

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  28. hmm i couldn't do the Portuguese either.. Lovely long comment there, Eric, i'm sure we all appreciate it, knowing what a busy man you are (where's the scooter)
    Us Brits? Chance to buy would be a fine thing, i tell you! Really would like one of those lofts though. One day perhaps.

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  29. It's a crap shoot Lynn - I have posted here twice today, not doing anything different, but with different results. In my present state of mind I blame everything on blogger beta (until they prove me wrong). Now let's see how this post will appear, and how many times...

    Hope Eric does not mind being used in that way;-)

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  30. J'aime bien ta vieille, Eric. Elle me fait penser à la mamie de "Chacun cherche son chat" !
    Bonne journée

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  31. Ou chacun qui est perdu? Ou peut-etre elle cherche le clef, pour ouvrir ton magasin? - je m'excuse mon francais!

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  32. Superbe photo. J'aurais aimé l'avoir faite :-)
    Bravo !

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  33. Louis London: Tomato Farcie: No, you are absolutely right, much of it is depressing, especially that of the twentieth century (Camus and Duras), although it is dangerous, I think, to generalise about such things as there are always notable exceptions to the rule...

    That's true, there are notable exceptions. But you must have read my mind when you mentioned Balzac and Zola!!! :)

    I actually didn't mean to include the 20st century in my comment, but come to think of it, I think I will include some of it, too :-)

    Eric, just my opinion, no offense :) Of course, it could simply be that I haven't read anything uplifting in the French classics in a long time...

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  34. Eric, to answer your question, that part of the family all come from the Midi Peranise region (surnames include Marestin, Broucaret, Faur, Cazassus-Cazamayou, Peyran, Lacabanne) Your model looks very much like this older aunt. -Kim

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  35. ooops, correct spelling: Midi Pyrenees
    -K.

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  36. Cool Kim ;) Nice region actually. I suppose you have been there.

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  37. The Wellspring said...
    I love this photo, especially for the little old lady walking through it. :)

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