From what I understood from yesterday's comments, everyone seems happy after the US elections! I thought of celebrating the event with a little glass of a typical Paris beverage: water! As a matter of fact, the Paris town hall has been promoting tap water for several years now, and they even just opened a water museum in the 16th arrondissement where I photographed these 3 really cool pitchers (designed by Pierre Charpin). The whole purpose of this PR campaign is actually to let Parisians know that their tap water is just as good as bottled water, that it's much more environmentally friendly than bottled water and that it is about 300 times less expensive than bottled water! More here - in French - if you're interested.
Water, water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. What is that from? Can't remember, but I love the photo.
ReplyDeleteI hear that bottled water in the U.S. is often just tap water that we pay extra for.
ReplyDeleteThey're very pretty carafes Eric. I love the blue spotty one. Oh and the Eiffel Tower Eiffel Tower Eiffel Tower one!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll let Suzy comment on carafe number two!
ReplyDeleteoops, too late!
ReplyDeletehe he well I had to be first at something Jeff, you'd bagged the GF spot! Well done !
ReplyDelete"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", by Coleridge
ReplyDeleteAnd the Albatross begins to be avenged.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
The very deep did rot : O Christ !
That ever this should be !
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
EIFFEL TOWER!
ReplyDeleteEIFFEL TOWER!!
EIFFEL TOWER!!!
Thank you, Lynn. It may be appropriate that a denizen of the City of Water wears the crown today!
ReplyDelete*le sigh*
ReplyDeleteIt's so obvious that Eric likes me the best
*blush*
They are so cute! The green one with "nitrates, carbonates" written in my favorite.
ReplyDeleteParis water is pretty good. But it depends in which arrondissement you live actually... I never buy bottled water, "that's money thrown through the windows" (de l'argent jeté par les fenêtres, French saying!)
I tried to see you reflection in the glass Eric, but couldn't see anything... :)
Jeff, cheers (with water).
"jeter l'argent par les fenêtres":"to pour money down the drain", for once, I've the translation :)
ReplyDeletehe he that's right Guille. Hey Guille? Tomorrow I'm at the auction again! Working for them on my day off from the newspaper. Chouette!
ReplyDeleteSuzy... oh Suzy.... :)
I love those pitchers, especially the green one. I remember way back when Perrier first came to the US, we were so worldy ;)
ReplyDelete"worldly" not worldy,lol
ReplyDeleteI just have to buy the carafe in the middle - I can Google a list of places to buy the carafes - but it doesn't seem like any of them have websites. ARG!
ReplyDeleteI confess, I buy lots of bottled water. It's the only way I'll drink it. My tap water tastes like someone took it out of a swimming pool, even through a filter.
Jeff or Lynn: Why is Lynn's city the City of Water? I've never heard that moniker.
ReplyDeleteI'm still flying from last night - I watched the news again all day today.
Trois jour et je suis en vol par la Ville du Lumiere (on se dit comme sa?)!! ET,ET, ET!! Je reste en la 3eme - quand j'arrive le matin du 9de novembre, je vouz parlerez de chez moi!!!
ETS - *le sigh* -- so cute!!! : )
ReplyDeleteBecause my town flooded really badly last year Carrie I think?
ReplyDeleteA water museum? Eaux no!!!
ReplyDelete8^I
Ahh! Got it, Lynn -- merci!
ReplyDeleteGreat photo, great comments, and way to go, GF Jeff!
ReplyDeleteI work for a parenting magazine, and we recently pointed out that there's an epidemic of tooth decay in kids because they're drinking bottled water instead of fluoridated tap water. Here in NYC, we have very very good water -- je bois toujours l'eau du robinet.
I confess I am throwing money out the window (thanks Guille) every month since I have water (distilled) brought to my house every few weeks for my water dispensing machine. I do notice the difference in taste compared to our tap water which is good but not great. Nevertheless, I believe there is a sucker born every minute and I might be one of them. I get my fluoride from my weekly intake of Guinness products. LOL :-)
ReplyDeleteWay to go Jeff! Love the Coleridge. Any icicles or snow on that GF crown, Mr. Mini-so-taah?
lol
Oh I am so not buying bottled water except when necessary, and am thrilled that the water is Paris in not cause for concern. That said, I love Perrier! ( It is French isn't it? If not, oh well) . It's not bad with a splash of bourbon either. I am sure that made a lot of readers faint dead away. WEll, if you haven't tried it , don't knock it. Now Eric, I would buy that cute one in the middle with la tour on it. A very neat souvenir. Can I buy online???? Sorry, but I don't have enough time in Paris to be going to a Water Museuem.
ReplyDeleteV
Virginia...splash of bourbon? lol Hey, whatever gets you through the night! You go girl and enjoy your Parisian getaway too.
ReplyDeleteI love the Eiffel Tower carafe. So fun!! I don't drink enough water, although I used to drink too much, the doctor said. I do buy bottled water but it takes us quite a while to use it all up. We take it in the car with us on all our "town days" when I am chauffeur for the kids and myself since town water tastes nasty. Otherwise, we drink water from our well. Nice, clean, cold water. Now I'm thirsty.....
ReplyDeleteOur water used to be terrible but then I think a French company bought the water utilities facility in Adelaide and lo and behold, our water is now better.
ReplyDeleteIn the hills where we live, the water is fantastic, straight from the robinet!!
Eric, you'll have to let the water museum know that you have conducted international market research for them and know that lots of people would go to their gift shop and buy a carafe like that Eiffel Tower one. I would!
ReplyDeleteTalking about water, does Colette still has that water bar/pub?
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, congratulatons to all americans for the elections, what a beautiful party it was. I hope Obana would win and so he did.
It was such an important fact to the US and the world, so meaninful, that is comum to here some people here saying (with pleasure): We have a new president!
Sorry for the mistypos... here it goes again:
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, congratulations to all americans for the elections, what a beautiful party it was. I hope Obama would win and so he did!
It was such an important fact to the US and the world, so meaninful, that is comum to here some people here saying (with pleasure): We have a new president!
ok I quit, still some typos but it's because it's very late here and I'm tired from work!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shadows Eric.
ReplyDeleteI covet the Eiffel tower pitcher!
Monica, the sentiment is there, merci.
ReplyDeleteA water museum! Paris has so many interesting, particular museums. Not sure I'd go to a water museum, though!
We stopped drinking bottled water. Pasadena has good tap water, but we stopped mostly because of the waste - plastic waste, that is. Americans throw away millions of plastic bottles every day. Recycling them is better. Not using them at all is best.
Thank you, Eric.
Petrea, I so agree with you and maybe that's the real motivation I need to stop buying bottled water. "Plastic plastic everywhere and nowhere to dispose of it."
ReplyDeleteI like the pitchers Eric and the way you took the photo. Maybe you can contact them and put a link on your blog to help them sell them?
I recently had the chance to hear Professor Muhammad Yunus (Nobel Peace Prize winner) speak about how through the Grameen Bank and French company Veolia Water, they are working to bring drinking water to the poor in Bangladesh. It's an amazing initiative where they will replace water laden with arsenic with drinkable water. It certainly makes my Evian an unnecessary luxury!
ReplyDeleteLovely carafes, and I don't know when you took the photos but the weather looks just as lovely!!
ReplyDeleteJeff..Merci for the Coleridge!! I remember having to memorize parts of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", in High School. Does anyone else recall having to do that??
Eric, is Paris' tap water fine to spray on my orchids ?
ReplyDeletePretty pitchers!
ReplyDeleteI still don't trust Manila's tap water.
I understand bottled water in some questionable places, but Paris? Never! I always drink from the tap in the US and Europe and South America, and haven;t died yet.
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to Badoit in France, and I will admit to buying it now. The effervesence isn't as harsh as American club soda. Try it, you'll like it!
Virginia,
ReplyDeletePerrier is produced and bottled in France. But it's now owned by Nestle, which is a Swiss group ;-((
Check www.perrier.com, or www.usa.perrier.com !
Personally, I always drink tap water, or Badoit when I need (want) bubbles
... though the best bubbles are in Champagne o°o°o!
Great blog and wondeful photos! I also have a Paris blog: http://blog.reserve123.com/2008/11/visit-the-city-of-lights/
ReplyDeleteI used to just dread hauling those heavy cases of bottled water from the shopping cart to the car to the house. Now we have our own well so it's not an issue, but I think I am much more faithful about drinking water when it's from one of those handy plastic bottles.
ReplyDeleteRemember George Carlin's take on us and our bottled water? "What's with you A Holes carrying your bottles around with you everywhere"? "Take an F-ing drink before you leave the house"! LOL.
Back to yesterday's History: pretty nice pictures of Pdt Obama here :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/the_next_president_of_the_unit.html
Lovely! My passion is Rome -- another city with great water. I'm happy to find your blog and am now following you.
ReplyDeleteCiao!
Angela Nickerson
Travel Writer
http://aknickerson.blogspot.com/
Lovely! My passion is Rome -- another city with great water. I'm happy to find your blog and am now following you.
ReplyDeleteCiao!
Angela Nickerson
Travel Writer
http://aknickerson.blogspot.com/
A water museum? Wish I could read French and understand what that museum's site is saying!
ReplyDeleteAll this talk of les robinets...I can't help but be reminded of being very young and my Swiss boyfriend teaching me about the words 'robinet d'amour'. lol don't ask.
ReplyDeleteEr.. I don't want to give the wrong impression here; very young = 19. lol
ReplyDeleteOoooh Lynn! What on earth could you your Swiss bf have been talking about one wonders.......;-)
ReplyDeletesorry! delete the 'you'.
ReplyDeleteSue - Put it this way - it wasn't long before I found out lol ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm not even gonna ask, Lynn.
ReplyDeleteThib! Those photos are amazing!
Lynn, I've heard it's very good for the skin...........
ReplyDeleteThib -- thanks very much for the link to the photos.
ReplyDeleteLynn -- I'm not even gonna go there.
ROFL Alexa, I think Sue already has! Snigger.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think it was the Swiss boy who went there first!
ReplyDeleteLOL. I couldn't possibly comment.
ReplyDeleteEric, I hope you post the new photo soon. The girls are veering off course again.
ReplyDeleteJust getting back online. The "City of Water" is Minneapolis. I was referring to me, not Lynn. (Sheesh, it's true that uneasy sits the crown!)
ReplyDeleteTo add to the George Carlin quote, there was W.C. Fields: "Water? Never touch the stuff. Fish f___ in it."
lol Jeff.
ReplyDeleteWe need Guille in here to put us on the straight and narrow again. Oh for shame, the shame.
lol Jeff.
ReplyDeleteWe need Guille in here to put us on the straight and narrow again. Oh for shame, the shame.
I used to be a waitress in Paris way back when. L'eau de robinet was always popular even then, I seem to remember.
ReplyDeleteJeff - don't tell me the aptly named potty mouth WC said that!!!! I've never seen an off color quote from him before, and that's a whopper. Hard to picture, but a whopper!
ReplyDeleteCarrie - don't start talking about whoppers for heaven's sake!
ReplyDeleteYes! That is AWESOME! Paris gets even more kudos in my book because of this. I'm proud of you for promoting environmentally friendly, economically beneficial options.
ReplyDeleteAre Parisians still jokingly referring to their tap water as "Chateau de ________", filling the blank with the name of the mayor?
ReplyDeleteYears ago I thought it funny that I could order some Chateau de Chirac...