Le triomphe de la république

So she said "I do", he did too, and they even kissed in front of the crowd! Now enough British Royalty, let's celebrate the republic, and more particularly, the French one ;-) Here is a close up of a huge monument called "The triumph of the republic" located at Place de la Nation, in the 12th arrondissement, made by sculptor Aimé Jules Dalou, a true republic supporter that lived between 1838 and 1902. As you can see there no more sun in Paris at the moment ;-( Have a great week-end everyone!

A tribute to Great Britain!

I know, I know, you're probably fed up with this Royal Wedding, but I thought I owed my visitors from England Great Britain (2,552 visits via 271 cities last month according to Google!) a tribute, on this very unique day ;-) So I gathered all things English British I had at reach and made this photo (the cup - and the apron too - were given to me by Rose, during the last PDP picnic ;-) ) The French and the English are known to have been enemies throughout Europe history (remember Joan of Arc!), but deep inside, we love each other.

Telephone booth

I took this photograph very recently in a restaurant, but don't go thinking we still use these od telephone booths! They belong to the 50th, when mobile phones did not exist and when even having a home line was hard (in 1968, the rumor had it that half of the French was waiting for their phone line, while the other half was waiting for the dial tone!). Now we're very lucky; I pay 35 € per month for my phone line/DSL /cable television access and I don't even pay for my calls anymore, even internationally!

Feels like summer...

About 23° Celsius (73.4 F), that is +6°C  compared to a normal year, that's what the temperature was like today in Paris! You see scenes that normally take place in summer, like these people on the Ile de la Cité gathering after work! This abnormal weather is nice of course, but is also starting to cause drought problems; not so much in Paris, but in the provinces. I really hope the weather is going to remain like this until the PDP picnic though ;-)

Classic View

It's like summer in Paris at the moment; evenings are hot, everybody is out and so are the tourists... In fact, I'm just back from a delightful dinner with my father and on the way back home, I could not help but stopping at the Passerelle Debilly and taking this photo. I love this place. You must go there at night if you come to Paris!

Cleaning Paris

Paris is a big city, with plenty of - sometimes - careless people, pollution, dogs(!), etc. and it needs to be cleaned regularly. For this, the Paris town hall uses an army of  sweepers and cleaning vans, like this one that I photographed  at 8 o'clock at rue Doudeauville , while the sun was still low (hence the reflexion on the sidewalk...). About 1 500 km of streets are cleaned every week (2 400 km are swept everyday); a never ending story.

The golden arch

Yes, I know, you've seen it a thousand times, but not that close! I took this photo from my scooter, while I was driving (but not very fast ;-)) It was two nights ago, at sunset, and the light was really beautiful (the weather in Paris at the moment is amazingly nice). That's it, not much more to say. Have a nice weekend (and happy easter for those of you who celebrate Easter). We have a holiday on Monday here, but I'll stay in Paris to catch up on things and take a few shots!

The piano player

Hearing music in the street is pretty common in Paris, like in most cities. But it generally comes from bands or guitar players rarely from... (real) piano players! And though, here is what I just photographed at the Cadet Metro station. The interesting part is that it's good marketing ; It works, people were fascinated (there was a big crowd around that you cannot see in the photo) and gave him money. I really wonder how the guy carries his piano around though.

L'hôtel de Saint-Aignan

Here is another of these Paris jewels that I never new of (I actually discovered it because I had an appointment with a dentist nearby!). This is L'hôtel de Saint-Aignan, a magnificent building built between 1644 and 1650 and bought by Paul de Beauvilliers, duc de Saint-Aignan (now you know why it's called that way!), in 1688. It's located at 71, rue du Temple, right in the heart of Le Marais. I did not get to see the inside as I was really in a hurry today when I took this photo, but I will. Actually everybody can, for now it's a museum: le musée d'Art juif et d'histoire du Judaïsme (Jewish art and history museum) and at the moment they have a Chagall exhibit.

Alcohol kills

I hesitated before posting this photo (that I took last weekend at rue des Martyrs)... I love the way this guy looks, all dressed up and everything, but he is also obviously drunk and surely would not appreciate to appear on a blog... The thing is that you cannot see his face, so I figured it could not do him any arm. There are about 5 million people with a drinking problem in France (out of a total population of 60 million) - mostly men - and it causes many deaths, either directly though diseases such as cancer or cirrhosis or, indirectly, like on the road. Very sad.

April in Paris...

The weather is amazingly hot at the moment in Paris, especially for mid April (+9° centigrade - 48 Fahrenheit - compared to an average month of April!). Terraces are packed at lunch time and people have started invading public fountains. Hence what I saw today at Le Louvre, where it was so hot that people were using the ponds around the pyramid as pools! Looks like summer, really (not that I complain...). I really hope it will remain like this until the PDP picnic!

Inspiring moment

A few days ago, I was lucky enough to have been invited to "un aperitif" by Genie, an American citizen from Mobile, Alabama, who fell in love with Paris a long time ago and blogs about it whenever she comes here. I had a very nice time, with delightful people (I even ran into Julie from Sydney-Eye, that I met in Sydney 2 years ago (isn't the City Daily Photo family fun?!)) and took the opportunity of being near the Saint Roch church to take this photo. Stunning painting.

An apartment with a view...

Look at this view! Could that be more Parisian?! Well... guess what? This is the view I shot from a close friend's apartment, on Saturday. And if I tell you that a lot of you know him (through the comments box), you are going to start wondering who this lucky guy may be... Well, it's "Nasty GG", aka Jérôme, who just bought this new apartment facing the Sacré Coeur and much more. A lot of sun, 2 balconies, a stunning view... I'm thinking... what a fabulous location for a PDP gathering ;-))

Beautiful door

Not much today, just a door. I photographed it at 52 rue Saint-Georges in the 9th arrondissement. This neighborhood was very trendy during the last century (the 19th), so a lot of apartment buildings are actually high-end ones with lots of carving on doors and facades.

Fontaine Saint-Michel

I already posted a photo of the Fontaine Saint-Michel here a few years ago, mentioning that it's a very common meeting point in Paris (especially for students), but I never posted a close up. Recently I went back there (yes, to meet someone!) and took this photo (not easy to take actually, because of the light - the fountain being always in the shade). For the record, this fountain was completed around 1860, it was made by Gabriel Davioud, a pretty famous architect who lived under the reign of Napoleon the 3rd, and its main purpose is... to hide a facade! More on Wikipedia, of course!

Playing music on the sidewalk

I know you're going to say this past week has mostly been about cars and graffiti! Well, yes... So ?! LOL Look at these two ones that I found in the 5th (I don't remember the street name). Cool aren't they ? Two old fashion turntables with a cool shadow effect (I had to kneel a little to keep the effect). I did not find who the artist was (it says Vanuf Vanof, somewhere, but I did not find much about him/her). Anyway, have a nice Friday, I'm really glad the week is almost over...

Karl Lagerfeld likes Coke!

Look what I found on the way back from a dinner party at friends' last night: a bunch of diet coke (Coca "light" in France) bottles "trapped" into an ad in a bus stop. They are not just any coke bottles, but ones designed by his highness Karl Lagerfeld, the famous fashion designer of Chanel (among others...). Funny. And probably expensive too, as they are only on sale at specific stores: Bert's, Lafayette Gourmet, La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marché and Colette. Here is a closeup if you're interested ;-)

Old cars pollute too much

Look at this car. Beautiful isn't? It's an old Citroën Traction Avant, a very famous French car that was built between 1934 à 1957. There are still a few ones running in France (and everywhere apparently!) including Paris. But pretty soon, they might disappear from our scenery, as the French Ecology Minister is planning to ban all cars that were manufactured before 1997 from getting into Paris and 7 other big cities in France. The goal being to drop the level of pollution. Probably a good idea, but I will regret these old cars.

Another great graffito

I did not see any name anywhere near this graffito, but I knew right away who made it: drew this: Jeff Aerosol. In fact, among the many graffiti artists that we have in Paris, Jeff Aerosol is probably the most famous one. I found this cute little scene at the entrance of in La rue du chat qui pêche, the smallest street in Paris, I already talked about here in 2008. update. MY MISTAKE : this piece of art does not belong to Jeff Aerosol but to Nemo of Belleville (who does not seem to have a web site...)

Paris Marathon 2011

Like every year the Paris Marathon took place today. And like every year PDP was there! Luckily the day was absolutely gorgeous and it was a real pleasure waiting for the runners on the "quais" (river banks). Not surprisingly this 2011 marathon was won by Kenians (Benjamin Kiptoo in 2,06 hours for the men and Priscah Jeptoo in 2,22 hours for the women), but the first French was not very far (Abdellatif Meftah in 2,10  hours). BTW the 6th annual PDP picnic will take place towards the end of may, beginning of June. Can you help me picking up a date by answering the poll in the righ column? Thank you.

Dinner out!

I was having a drink at a terrace near the Saint Michel area last evening, when this all dressed up couple in this shiny original Fiat 500 pop out from nowhere. No doubt they were heading to a chic dinner party somewhere in Paris. I could not help but taking a photo. Aren't they cute? FYI, the (original) Fiat 500 is one of the tiniest cars you can find (length: 2.97 m (116.9 in) - width: 1.32 m (52.0 in) and height 1.32 m (52.0 in)), it was made in Italy between 1957 and 1975 and you can still see several in Paris (more about it on Wikipedia).

Holy cow!

The Swedish Cultural Center was not my only find at rue Elzévir... I also noticed the workshop of Judith Devaux, an artist who specializes in animal sculptures. Her work (made of bronze, mostly) can (or could, as I think it's over now) be seen in the Mouvance art gallery at Place des Vosges, but I love the way her mock-ups appear though the frosted glass of her workshop. From the number of art pieces on display I guess we can say she's been as busy as a beaver lately ;-) Do check her website for more.

Eugene

Are you ready for a little French history?! Well, you probably know Napoleon, a French politician who got into power in 1799 and became emperor in  1804, until his fall in 1815. You may not know his nephew Louis Napoleon Bonaparte who also led France a few years later, under the name of Napoleon the 3rd. He had a wife, Eugénie and a son, whose name was Eugène Napoleon. Eugénie, created a foundation in the name of her son  in 1858, a few years after he was born. This foundation is located in the 12th arrondissement, and I discovered it only today, by  pure coincidence ! It's a beautiful building.

A secret address...

People often ask me for my secret addresses in Paris, as if I had any... Today I'm glad to report I found one! If you think I took this photo in the middle of Le Bois de Boulogne or in the suburbs, you're all wrong. I took it today in the middle of Le Marais, at rue Elzevir, as you can see from the street sign. This is Le Centre Culturel Suédois (the Swedish Cultural Center) and besides offering Swedish language classes and other cultural programs, they also have a restaurant and a few tables outside! Fantastic! BTW, the entrance is actually at 11 rue Payenne.

What it takes to garden in Paris!

Funny how even in the middle of concrete, in the least expected place, people still manage to grow plants and trees and turn them into a real garden. That is what I discovered by pure coincidence yesterday morning at the end of a dead end in the 18th arrondissement (impasse de la Chapelle). This garden is part of the "shared gardens initiative" which aims at promoting "urban ecology" apparently (well so the web site says...). Well, not sure I would feel very green in this environment, but I'm glad it exists!

Délicieuse attirance

I don't remember exactly  how, but I recently got invited to an art exhibit on a boat by the Eiffel Tower by these people. I had no idea of what I was going to find there and I was not really sure it would be worth it. And then I really fell in love with the sculptures by Aude de Bessac, two of which you can see in this photo... The one in the foreground is called Délicieuse attirance (delicious attraction) and, well, that is how I felt towards it when I saw it.

'Facade lift'!

You may find it hard to recognize this very famous Paris landmark and though, yes, this is La Conciergerie, the same building I photographed here, in 2009. Much less breath taking, don't you think?! Alas, due to the pollution in Paris, buildings need to be cleaned regularly, and there is no other way than hanging a huge scaffolding against them. Now, the big controversy is: should they but this giant ad on it while they're doing the work? Highly controversial of course and political too: the green party wants to ban them, the government does not because it helps contributing to the renovation costs. I personally like them when they are creative, like the one I photographed here. In this particular case I think Dior could have done better!

Dinner with PHX-CDG!

Those of you who are long time visitors to PDP all know who PHX-CDG (aka "US Lynn") is... She's had a love story with Paris for some time now, and since her job allows her to come here as often as possible, well she takes full advantage of  it! Earlier this week I had the pleasure to have dinner with her at Aux trois petits Cochons (the three little pigs), a very nice little restaurant on rue Tiquetonne in the 2nd arrondissement. I had salmon, as you almost can see ;-) On the way out, I took this photo of her!

Sacré Coeur at dawn

It's been a while since I've shown you Sacré Coeur. I swear it's not a mock-up, although it may look like one ;-) I took this photo from far away in the 18th arrondissement and I don't think I've ever photographed it from that side. Anyway, by now, you probably already know this church by heart. It's located on top of Montmartre, was built around 1875 and 1914, and it's one of the major landmarks of Paris (and apparently the 5th  most visited place in France. I bet you cannot guess what the top 4 are!)

Edges

April 1st, no this is not an April fool's day photo, it's a theme day one... And the theme today is "Edges"! I really wasn't prepared to live on the edge today, but these figures apparently are ;-) So here you go, I took this photo at the Bir Hakeim bridge, a beautiful double decker bridge (the upper deck being used by the metro) with four statue groups by Gustave Michel on the edge. See how the rest of the City Daily Photo world was inspired by today's theme...