Friday, March 09, 2012

Driving down the Champs Elysées


I had a business meeting near La Défense today and on the way back I chose to drive down the Champs Elysées, even though the traffic was pretty bad. At the roundabout (le rond-point des Champs Elysées), I saw this and I thought it could make a good photo. Turns out that it does! Well so I think... Facts and figures: in Paris, there is 1 policeman (not only for traffic, of course) per 371 inhabitants on average, with a lot of differences between arrondissements.

21 comments:

  1. Love the sculptured trees.

    I was half expecting a photo of Place Vendome. I hope not much gets destroyed.

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  2. He is a smart man to stand well away from le rond-point! I would freak out if I ever had to drive in one of those. This is a cool photo, Eric - it looks vintage.

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  3. I agree with Monnica, I would also freak out if I had to drive in one of those.

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  4. Great capture!! I could easily see this as a postcard.

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  5. What a treasure of a photo! And yesterdays too. Both photos are magnificent I just got home -- have been celebrating Womens Day!

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  6. I really like this B&W.
    I too was expecting Place Vendome. But you're not all that predictable, Eric - which is good.

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  7. Traffic on the Champs Elysées is lunacy... But, no one alive has ever really experienced terror until they've tried to get around the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe... This one seems tame by comparison...

    STILL wacky... Thanks for the pic....

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  8. Eric... Just for laughs, do you have any shots from the top of the Arc de Triompe looking toward La Défense ? I've always found that frame intriguing... Just askin....

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  9. gotta be one of your best photos Eric

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  10. Was this photo taken just before you ran him over?
    I think if I were to drive in Paris, I would drive an old battered car. Then I wouldn't worry about the odd dent or scrape, but more importantly it would make other drivers very wary of me.

    PS In response to you question yesterday, I studied, (I use that term very loosely) Latin at school, but as I have forgotten most if it, Google translate comes in very useful!

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  11. @Winski "Just for laughs, do you have any shots from the top of the Arc de Triompe looking toward La Défense ?" Weird I don't seem to. Here is everything I have "in my inventory" about La Défense

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  12. @Drummond. " In response to you question yesterday, I studied, (I use that term very loosely) Latin at school". I did too and I hated my parents for enlisting me in such a class that I thought was totally useless
    - Me: "Why learn a dead language when there are so many alive now?!"
    - Them: "Yes, but it will help you understand French grammar better, the roots of words, all this...
    - Me: "Yeah, right!"

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  13. Love that uniform!
    In Canada police are overdresses and some of their accessories don't match...

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  14. It is a cool picture in that it looks as if the policeman is looking at a mural or fake background. Great job!

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  15. It's beautiful. Even if it is bumper to bumper traffic. I do not care for driving in large cities, I am much more of a metro or bus rider when I visit. I figure that someone else can have the headache and I can stare out the window to my heart's delight!

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  16. I thought maybe Place Vendome as well —except, of course, you probably couldn't get near there yesterday even if you wanted to. You're a brave man to willingly put yourself in Champs traffic, but you (and we) were rewarded with a great photo!

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  17. Drummond and Eric: I, too, studied Latin in college. I wish I'd retained my textbooks. It is indeed true that I learned more about English by studying Latin than I learned by studying English. (English major with almost a classics minor). And Latin was extremely helpful studying French, and of course Italian. Bien sur, je ne parle pas de Francais tres bien, ou Latin, ou Italian. Sometimes learning something new is just worth it. Like, oh, Chinese or something...

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  18. I agree with Sunshine.. a great photo and a little bit surreal.

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  19. Nice photo. It reminds me of the one time I drove in Paris. I had a rental car that was new and I was the first customer to drive it. While trying to make my way directly out of the city I somehow ended up driving down the Champs Elysées and around the Place Ch. de Gaulle. Nerve-racking at the time, but a nice experience to look back on. Thanks for sharing.

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