Let me introduce you to a very Parisian place: the Saint Michel Fountain. And it's not because it's a historical monument ordered by Haussmann to Gabriel Davioud in order to hide an ugly facade that it is famous... No, it's because it's probably the most common meeting point of the left bank. You'll often hear "let's meet at the Fontaine Saint-Michel at X o'clock" for instance. That is precisely why, all day long, this place is full of people waiting! I'm sure that most of my Parisian visitors will concur that they waited for someone at the Fountain Saint Michel at least once in their life!
Hey - I might be the first for once. Eric, I start so many of my photo tours here, and the very first shot I get people to take is of that guy with the sword trying to make it like he's about to take oen of those fierce water-spouting lion-dog things eye out!
ReplyDeleteThen we normally do a tour of the area - the Latin Quarter of course - which is so wonderful - I'm glad to see this photo here!
All the best, Sab
Yep! Guilty as charged! Fabulous meeting point.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog!
Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteThis is so true.
And I think for most of us, it generally starts when you become a student @ high school because of the Gibert Jeune bookshops all around the place.
Well I never heard of that! Very sweet though, I like it.
ReplyDeleteYay Paris Set Me Free GF!
Two years ago, I crossed Place St. Michel and there were two demonstrations. One group was anti-abortion, the other was "Americans Against the War". It was an odd situation.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a restaurant across Blvd. St. Michel where they have jazz singers every night...oops, no, I am thinking of Le Petit Pont. Oh, well, let's go see both of them!
Hahaha, guilty as charged! I got stood up, there, once! ;)
ReplyDeleteLast time I was there, I had a small hot chocolate at the Cafe at the corner. The small cup of chocolate cost me a little over $8. (rolling eyes)
Say what? an anti-abortion demonstration, in 2007, ... in the 5th?!!!
ReplyDeleteI nearly fell of my chair when I read that!! Are you sure?!!
If that Fontaine St. Michel could talk...
er..I know I'm being cryptic but I cannot wrap my head around the fact that people would choose that particular location to demonstrate for conservative values when St. Michel also symbolises anti-establisment and everything else in the mind of many. Enuff said.
ReplyDeleteI always like visiting here, because I learn so many new things and get to visit so many new places. Thanks, Eric.
ReplyDeleteParis Set Me Free~~Congratulations GF...;)
Aaaah St Michel and all the Gibert Jeune/Joseph bookshops where I spent countless hours browsing *sigh*
ReplyDeleteIn 39 days it will be my neighborhood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove this area and the vibe we get from Place Saint Michel. There's always someone playing something or dancing.
Lynn thanks for the correction yesterday.
ReplyDeleteEric if you're asking for a full report on Groupe F presentation tonight than I simply must do it.
I'm nervous now. Too much responsability ;)
Thanks for the memories with this photo, Eric! And, Monica, I wish I were staying nearby with you! On my first visit to Paris I stayed on the rue de l'Ecole de Medicine, a few streets south of here and this was the first big monument I saw - it stopped me in my tracks! Wow! - I really am in Paris!! And then I saw a man carrying a tiny dog inside his overcoat - the first of many. Yes Virginia, you really are in Paris! I didn't know, though, that Parisians pick theis place to meet each other. I've learned something new again on PDP - comme de habitude. (Is that correctly used?!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on this fountain. I've been by it several times, but never knew anything about it. Merci.
ReplyDeleteNot yet...but I'm coming to Paris for the first time in my life this coming August...and I'll probably see it too! I can't wait...I only wish the PDP picnic was then!!! I'd Love to meet you and tell you in person how much I love coming here every day!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about this little slice of Parisian life.
ReplyDeleteMerci Eric.
PS
I very much enjoyed enlarging this photo too, it is a great picture.
I did it.
ReplyDeleteI like walking 'up' the boulevard St. Michel, buying something for a light lunch along the way, and have it at the Luxembourg Gardens.
I have not been there in a long time, but one day... one day...
Thanks for the memories.
When I first came across this fountain I tried to walk calmly by wondering if anyone would notice my eyes as wide as saucers. I mean, my God! I had never seen anything remotely like it in my entire life. It’s not like there are museums large enough within which to fit something like that. And here it is ON THE STREET being taken for granted and ignored by all the people around.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wanted to do was stand and gawk for 172 hours.
Camera-wielding tourists must get tendonitis from shutter clicking. Then I wondered how Eric avoids getting mistaken for a tourist. Wouldn’t that be rather gauche? So, is the famous Tenin perspective a ruse? A pretending to tie his shoe lace or pick up a dropped bag? “I’ll just tilt the viewfinder of the camera on the ground up this way, and no one will notice that I’m taking a photo.”
Although easily identifiable I would say this spot may not be the best place to wait for someone special. After this, anything and everything (almost) would be so anticlimactic (oh, there I go, hinting at the exceptions).
How funny ... When I first looked at PDP this evening, my godmother (my first French teacher) was sitting beside me. As soon as the picture popped up, I exclaimed, "Oh, look! This is where I used to meet my friends the year I lived in France!" Then I read your description. :D Thanks for the lovely memory.
ReplyDeleteMonica, I am Kelly green with envy!!!
And felicitations, Paris Set Me Free!
Interesting. It must be in a very accessible and convenient location then.
ReplyDeleteSo agree!
ReplyDeleteI love this photo because it's so very daily Parisian life and it's funny to see all the waiting people from this angle LOL.
ReplyDeleteYou got me, Eric—this was indeed the place for me. Curious coincidence: I took my daughters to Paris when they were in high school and we stayed nearby (on rue Serpente). Without my saying anything, this became their meeting place too.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's that famous Tenin perspective. I'm a bit surprised Lynn didn't mention the nice butt on the guy in the jeans.
I didn't really mean to say it was great to be first, just rather surprising, as Eric usually posts his pics around midnight, when all self-respecting people should be in the land of nod! Seems like a lot of people like the memories this one conjures up. I've certainly met a lot of people here, and it does bring up some rather poignant memories - one of the true hearts of Paris, this one for me.
ReplyDeleteSt Michel, le Quartier Latin, la rue de la Huchette ... good memories of my student life (...years ago...).
ReplyDeleteJeff, le Caveau de la Huchette was (is?) also a nice place to listen to live jazz... It was one of my favorites.
Oh, where to start? I didn't really get it until I looked at the full size photo. There's so much to love here. And thanks for lying on the pavement for us again, Eric!
ReplyDeleteParis Set Me Free, congrats GF! I'm happy you're wearing the crown for a place that means a lot to you.
{Caro, I think it's comme d'habitude, but hopefully I'm not giving you a bum steer!}
Lol Tall Gary! Yeah, that would explain why Eric takes so many pictures from the ground up, uh?:)
ReplyDeleteThib: my mother told me about the Caveau de la Huchette, but she used to go in the 50's I think
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Caveau_de_la_Huchette
Tomate Farcie
.. Place Saint Michel is perhaps the most diverse and animated location in all of Paris. The wine is cheap due to competition among the many cafés. I was by there a couple of weeks ago, and a brass band played "the madison" from the Godard film 'bande à parte'. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
ReplyDeleteSo much information in the comments box too today! The fountain is really popular then. So yes, Eric has been laying on the floor again. One of these days someone will shyly approach him with a notebook and ask "Er..excuse me, Eric isn't it? May I have your autograph?" lol - Eric has it happened yet? You picnickers had better get him to sign something - I reckon it'll be worth something one day, that hand!
ReplyDeleteLOOOL!! Alexa I just noticed your comment. I had noticed him of course. Very nice lol. I had my eye on the chap in front of the monument turning to his right wearing jeans and a black jacket. Mmmm. It's certainly a place for good looking men! LOL
ReplyDeleteWhy of course Lynn, that's why it's called St. Michael (err...I mean, Michel).
ReplyDeleteThis is a great place to meet people because when they're late (and sorry guys, the French are always late) it's so animated that the time waiting goes by quickly...
Je confirme : a perfect meeting point. Even for us people from the right bank when we happen to take our passport with us and cross the river !
ReplyDeleteEric, down on your knees to take the picture? C'est une nouveauté!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Nasty GG, last Friday I got the authorization to cross the river (valid from 10am to 2pm only) and actually met a friend at La fontaine Saint Michel. When you don't really know the area (like us, foreigners from the other side), it's the best place to meet because you can't miss it. And if you do miss it, the real foreigners are able to help you to find it anyway!!
Michael, the best thing is when you have to wait (for French people of course) while a band is playing. Or people, demonstrating. ;)
Most of the singletons seem to be male - it's a woman's prerogative to be late, non?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that is Eric's helmet that Buttguy is holding?
You are oh so right! I waited for friends there one afternoon!
ReplyDeleteNot only have I waited there, but have the photo to prove it(-:
ReplyDeleteImagine trying to photograph this without all the people! Next to impossible, I know because I tried! This fountain is truly beautiful The pink marble really catches the eye.
ReplyDeleteThib: Yes, I visited Caveau de la Huchette during my first visit, 2004. The place is a gas. A dance club was there, some with taps on their shoes. An ex-pat American woman was singing, and during the break she told me about living in Paris and raising her family. Later, I was in the bar talking with a young woman (also American ex-pat) complaining about her French boyfried--who then arose from the basement dance room and threw a shouting tantrum because she was talking to me. It was quite amusing, actually.
ReplyDeleteMonica, yes you will be passing the fountain many,many times to & from 'our' hotel. Say hi to 'Madame' for me won't you!
ReplyDeleteIt was right by the fountain that I was having dinner when I drooled over the riot police that I wrote about lol.
Jeff, what do you mean by "this place is a gas"??
ReplyDeleteI need another English lesson, my friend!
Tomatonyme, I was thinking 80's, not 50's ! I know I'm older than what I look like (pfff!), but I promise I was not born in the 50's
8^)
iT'S 10:30 PM IN pARIS RIGHT now and after an exhausting day, i had to see what is posted before I go to bed.
ReplyDeleteI don't like this area with the Fountain as much as other areas because it is always soooo very crowded! Now I know why, at least!
I just just got my schedule for next month, and I am relieved because i can say I will be able to go to the picnic!!! Believe me, I was worried.
I will bring some flight attendants with me, as they are hard partyers...just like the people I remember from last year!
All PDPers get 2009 glasses!
Hey, PHX! That's good news :-))
ReplyDeleteSee you then!
PHX--Hooray! I'm glad you are bringing some friends.
ReplyDeleteThib--The expression "it's a gas" means "it's really fun". Sorry about that. (Those damn 'ricains should learn French...)
Jeff, thanks!
ReplyDeleteAs we say in French, "je me coucherai moins bête ce soir" ! I'll be less stupid when I go to bed tonight ;-)
PHX, that's excellent news, but quite frankly I could not imagine not having you on board!
ReplyDeleteNow everyone, let's keep our fingers crossed for the weather.
Thib, Jeff
ReplyDelete"it's a gas" means "it's really fun".
Ne pas confondre avec "he's full of gas."
Tomatonyme.
Pardon my French, but screw the Fontaine Saint-Michel, and go buy an almond croissant at the stand nearby.
ReplyDeleteI was just there last week.....
ReplyDeleteoh wow I met my friend here when I was in Paris last month. I miss it so much!!!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons Le Depart is my favorite cafe in Paris is that I like to sit and watch all of the to-ing and fro-ing on the St-Michel plaza. It is a crossroads of Paris, students, tourists, professionals.
ReplyDelete