Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Fontaine des mers


This is such a classic, it's not even funny! The "guy" in the foreground is part of the Fontaine des mers, a very famous fountain built between 1835 and 1840 together with this one, that I already showed on this blog. Both fountains can be found at the bottom of the Champs Elysées on the Place de la Concorde. In the background I don't think you need to be told what it is! BTW, in 2 days, a new theme day is coming up (theme is: when people think of your city, they think of...), I could have saved this photo for the occasion!!

58 comments:

  1. That is definetely my favourite pic of all...
    Gorgeous

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  2. sorry Anne...I meant definitely
    sorry Lynn...I was first ;)

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  3. "Classic" and "not funny" but so pleasant to see.

    No exegesis for this one, unless there are questions about statuary?? ;)

    Good night to the inhabitants of the European continent. Good evening to the others (heu...Am I right or is it "good morning" for the US?..).

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  4. When people think of your city, they think of: "Beu deu geu deu, pfft!"

    Or maybe something else...

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  5. And speaking of La fontaine des fleuves, its photo was on my desktop for the past month. I just changed it to a Renoir painting that has a Degas painting in the background. I just saw that original Degas in Pasadena.

    So, the Lady? (Yes, phx cdg, we know.) The Louvre? Un baguette et cafe? That absolutely beautiful cut of the denim that makes her look...

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  6. It's not even funny??!! Easy for you to say that, you pass by these and other classic elements of Paris everyday.

    Trust me, for someone that is on the other side of the Atlantic and has developed a sick case of thinking about Paris everyday, this is great!!!!!

    BTW, it's 8:57 pm here, 2:57 pm in Los Angeles and 5:57 pm in New York. I guess only Eric is aleep by now.

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  7. "When people think of your city, they think of: "Beu deu geu deu, pfft!"

    LOL Jeff!

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  9. When I think about Paris I think about.... MACARONS!!!!!!

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  10. Jeff please, if you know where I can find the video with this French lesson (Beu deu geu deu, pfft), tell me! I don't remember the title so I'm not able to find it by myself. What a shame.


    Thanks Monica, I didn't remember if I had to add or to subtract.
    Macarons Ladurée?..

    00:30 (12:30 am), time to go to bed in Paris.

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  11. Nice!!! Gorgeous! Almost as beaut as the Pt. Alexandre III nearby!

    But I'm surprised at the close up look; I photographed the one located near Madeleine and it looks much better, freshly repainted green and gold. Did they not repaint all of them? Not that I'm complaining or anything... ;)

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  12. i do think of the eiffel tower when i think of your city, because we stayed very near to it and it was right outside our window.

    but i also think of tall windows with little balconies, and open air markets, and flowers everywhere, and wonderful metro signs, and crepe stands, and extremely leisurely, possibly overly leisurely, meals.

    i look forward to the next batch of photos!

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  13. Ladurée bien sûre et aussi Maison du Chocolat naturellement!!!!!

    Good night then Guille

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  14. Rose you beat us all! Eric this is a great, new angle. Like it very much. Always good to see the tower. Thanks for the theme tip Eric, my answer to your question today is... YOU! Oh and the tower of course. And fashion. And cafes. And escargots. Oh i could go on...

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  15. Parfait Eric!!! Merci!!

    A photo to perfectly represent Paris??? Oh...this is going to be difficult!! Would you like to borrow the Golden Gate Bridge??? LOL!! You could really confuse a lot of people!!!

    I have a feeling tomate and many others will be hoping for a certain tower?? ;-)

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  16. Eric -
    You always post such interesting photos - great to see another way to capturing what this American thinks of..and can't wait to see for the first time this April! I visit your blog everyday and dream of the things to come..I can't wait until I see it all in person.
    Cheers! Nik

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  17. Actually for me, when I think of Paris, I think of the "streets of Paris" more than anything else.

    The experience of walking through the many neighborhoods of Paris for hours until your legs practically fall off is what I miss the most, more than anything else, more than any single monument, or museum or anything.

    Y'a des trésors a tous les coins de rue, pour qui sait bien regarder ;)

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  18. lol Jeffy,but I thought, at first, that the lady you were referring to was the Statue of Liberty on the Seine!

    If Paris is the people, than I have to vote for a picture of someone at an outdoor cafe.BTW, did anyone read the article in the New York Times today about how the city of Lyon will be replicated in Dubai? To be called Lyon-Dubai City.

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  19. Jeff--you were at the Norton Simon?

    When I think of Paris I think of a longing I had when I was there--a compulsion to touch the past. I felt as though I walked among the dead, and was glad of it.

    My house, built in 1924, is considered an antique here on the west coast. I think I need to move to Europe.

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  20. Ok, Ok, I'll bite. What on earth is "Beu deu geu deu, pfft!"? I'm completely lost.

    Tomate, yes, the fountains have all been redone, but time and patina have creeped in I'm afraid.

    Did anyone notice that the statue seems to be turning to Eric and getting ready to say something to him? Maybe, "Am I in the way?" Of course, I'm not quite sure what he's doing with that fish.

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  21. You bit for me, Michael, good morning everyone. I'll wait for your reply.

    I think he's saying "Personally, I've never seen the tower. What's it like?"

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  22. Hi, I'm a brand new visitor here, I'm from Spain and I like your blog very much, will be coming everyday now... I was in Paris last June and when I think of it I picture myself by the stalls along the Seine, riding my rented bike on its wide streets and going up to the Sacré-coeur (another beautiful building in Paris)...
    I'd love to go back as soon as I can...
    Thanks for the blog...

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    Nice information...:)...
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  24. I love this picture! It's something about the Eiffel Tower, I can never get enough pictures.

    For me, my favorite image of Paris is walking down Boulevard St-Michel or near the Panthéon with a crêpe fromage.... because that's what I used to do everyday. :)

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  26. To note the obvious, I really like the similarities in shapes between the lampost and the top of the TE.
    The "guy" seems to me to be playing tour guide to the viewer.
    Very nice shot/perspective Eric. Comme d'habitude.

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  27. Michael and Lynn, here´s what Jeff is talking about with this Beu deu geu thing.
    It was a... french lesson Eric gave us last October.

    Of all the things mentioned here about Paris I think I agree most with Tomate. For me walking the streets of Paris, observing its buildings, breathing the atmosphere, feeling like I´m part of it, it´s the best sensation I get from Paris and certainly it is what comes to mind when I think about the city.

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  28. I forgot to tell you I've got a blog here too where I've uploaded some pics of my visit to Paris and some more are still to come, so why not paying a visit?
    that's: ordinarydiaries.blogspot.com
    thanks

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  29. Beautiful photo. I have been to Paris only once in 2000. I would love to return someday.

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  30. Monica! Vous etre le reine du jour! Thank you so much for finding that link. Now I have it saved. Just think, all this time I've been speaking French and Michael didn't know it!

    Ah, beudeu geu deu, pfff.

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  31. "I could have saved this photo for the occasion" ... ma no, signore! Pane sarà bene

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  32. I love all the gilded things in Paris - we have nothing like that where I live. It's always so beautiful. The first time I saw Pont Alexandre I was in sheer heaven! This reminds me of it, bien sur. Thanks for pointing out that he's holding a poisson, Michael - I was wondering...

    And of course, one of the yummiest restaurants with an incredible view is the Jules Verne on the second tier of La Tour. I can just about make out my Kir Royale sitting on the table waiting for me!

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  33. EIFFEL TOWER!
    EIFFEL TOWER!!
    EIFFEL TOWER!!!

    I just adore you, Eric.

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  34. Monica - I thought of you this weekend, but forgot to post until I saw yours about les macarons! There is a cafe that just opened up a couple of miles away from me - the owner-chef was trained in France, and he makes macarons! I seriously thought I was going to start crying tears of joy when I found it! So, if you're ever in Southern California, you can get them here, too. Also, I don't know if Williams-Sonoma has stores in Brazil, but if so, their recent catalogue sells macarons from France that are shipped to your door frozen!! Very exciting news!

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  35. Monsieur Jeff et Monica, beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff.

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  36. "beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff"

    I recently loaded new sound software on my computer and now I can't get it to make a sound at all! My heart is broken that I can't hear the soundtrack on that video.

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  37. Oh, PHX, I may have confused you with Suzy! I thought you were the "Eiffel Tower Eiffel Tower" person. Pardonnex moi, madames. Ah, well, c'est le PDP. (Or is it la PDP? Now there's an interesting question!)

    This figure on the bridge avec un poisson looks like he's about to drink out of it. (This reminds me of the "Boissonerie", near rue Mazarin, which used to be "Poissonerie". It has a wonderful mosaic tile facade.)

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  38. Qu'est-ce que c'est dans la bouche de la poisson?

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  39. Monica, thanks for the link to the French lesson! It made me "laugh till I cried"... (which is what I can remember from Lynn's English lesson a few days ago)

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  40. Petrea...it's the tube where the water comes out when the fountains are running. I believe they're turned off now for winter...

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  41. And Jeff, how can you confuse PHX and Suzy? Shame! I thought you told me you kept a list somewhere so you could remember who was who each year at the picnic...

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  42. It's funny to read your French comments! Nice to make an effort for the French people that we are...
    But I have to tell you that you all have a problem with the feminine and the masculine :)

    Jeff I think it's more "le" PDP", Paris is a boy as you know...

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  43. Actually Guille, I have found very rare exceptions where an English word used in French is NOT a boy (masculin).

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  44. Is this also the fountain where the Anne Hathaway character tosses her cell phone in "The Devil Wears Prada" film?

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  45. Oh I didn't say the contrary Did I? :S
    Maybe I expressed myself in a wrong way.

    To me, PDP means PDP Blog. In French the noun "blog" is masculine, so I thought it was the same in English (forgot that you don't have gender he he; you can't imagine HOW lucky you're).

    According to French people, Paris is a boy ("le tout Paris", "le grand Paris").

    But let's invent a new PDP language, a mix of both, English and French! A kind of Franglish.

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  46. I have to announce oyu've all got it wrong. For once it is much clearer on the small picture. What he has in his hand is a kebab fromt he 10th, or maybe it's a felaffel from the marais. He is waiting for the photographers to go so they don't catch him stuffing his face.

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  47. beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff and geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff.

    May I add, geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff beudeu geu deu, pfff.

    I'm sure you agree!

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  48. Eric
    What is keeping you?
    Hurry up, I need to go to bed!
    xxx

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  49. LOL Rose, i was browsing through my today's photos and could not find one that I liked!

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  50. beudeu geu deu... of course we agree Eric, you see, now we are fluent in French.

    Thib, you're welcome.

    Jeff is not all mistaken about Phx, she does love the Eiffel Tower, I remember she's always telling us how many ET stuff she has.

    Pont Girl, yes that is the same fountain where Anne Hathaway tosses her cell phone in!

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  51. Thank you, Michael, for the explanation. And thank you, Ham, for making me laugh!

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  52. Sorry Guille, it was I that was probably confusing. I just meant to confirm what you said and also add that most all English words, used in French (shopping, marketing, blog, etc.) tend to be masculine. It's one rule that seems to always work.

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  53. Ok michael!
    Btw I'm curious to know these words, if you remember, which are feminine in French.
    Sorry for my English which is not always totally clear. But don't you speak French?! ;)

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  54. Guille, your English is much better than my French, believe me.

    I'm not sure if I'm too clear in my previous comments, but when learning French, it is so hard to remember all of the rules. One that I've come to learn is almost always perfect is the use of English words in French:

    Le blog
    Le marketing
    Le shopping
    etc...

    Those are the ones I can think of now at 6:20 in the morning, but there are lots more.

    I hope that's clearer. :-)

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  55. Mickael, that's clearer but I understood the contrary!!LOL

    I though you were talking about English words which, in French become feminine and not masculine.
    Our conversation is a bit "ubuesque"! :) But thank you for trying to explain it to me.

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