Sun bathing at Le Trocadéro...

We're having a wonderful weather in Paris at the moment and it's a pleasure to take advantage of it to take photos. Yesterday, I passed by Le Trocadero and instead of taking another shot of the Eiffel Tower, I looked for another angle. So here you go! The statue is the one of La Jeunesse (the Youth), by Alexandre Descatoire

The Galliera palace has just reopened...

A long long time ago, I posted this photo of the Galliera Palace (after Duchess of Galliera), a stunning building that was built between 1878 and 1894 and that now shelters the fashion museum of Paris. In 2009 it closed for renovation and it just reopened about a month ago. It's an absolute must see if you come to Paris, not only for what you can see inside (at the moment there is an exhibition dedicated to designer Azzedine Alaïa), but also because you can enjoy a nice walk and rest in the garden around it.

Walking towards freedom...

I'm not sure if I've already shown you this monument (it's one dedicated to Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz that was sculpted by Antoine Bourdelle and given to France by Poland after WWI). Regardless, the real reason why I chose to post this photo today is, of course, because of the light. In Paris, it's located along the Cours Albert 1er, along the river bank.

Flags!

I don't resist showing you another of these installations they made for La Fiac, the art exhibit I was telling you about a few days ago. This one is on the passerelle Léopold Sedar Senghor, the bridge that goes from Le Louvre to Le Musée d’Orsay. It's made of no less than 193 flags... These flags are the ones of each nation sitting at the UN, only they have been redesigned with "camouflage" motives. The press kit uses a lot of fancy words to describe this art piece by Société Réaliste, but I mostly saw a cool photo set: grey sky, colorful flags and passers by! More on the the Galerie Poggi site.

It's fall/autumn!

The weather is amazingly beautiful in Paris at the moment, but tree leaves have started falling, it's getting darker and darker every evening and we're even changing time today. No doubt, summer is gone! I took this photo on the Cours Albert 1er, near where I took this one.

Open air modern art fair

It's the Fiac in Paris at the moment, a very important modern art fair that takes place every year around the same period. The cool thing is that in addition to the actual fair that takes place at Le Grand Palais, they also have lots of art happenings around Paris. Including inside the Tuileries gardens where I took this photo yesterday. The piece of art is by Hector Zamora, a Brazilian artist and it's called, well, simply bricks on a metal bicycle!  

The classy carpenter

Those of you who've been following this blog for a long time know that I live in one of the covered passages of Paris (sort of shopping malls that were made during the 19th century to allow the chic Parisiennes to go shopping without fearing the rain!). Today, I came across a carpenter who was apparently fixing some wood  stuff above a book store and well, I really liked his looks. I did not have my "real" camera with me so I used my phone, which explains the terrible quality, but I still like the scene!

Va Va Voom!

I was on the Champs Elysées yesterday evening and I saw that there was smoke coming up from the sidewalk. I though to myself : "wow, this is smokin' hot" (yeah... I know...) so I stopped and well, discovered there was also a nice red car not far from there ;-) So here you go. I know it's not really Paris centric, but I kinda like this photo ;-)

Soon to be destroyed...

I don't know if you remember, but I already showed this building. Only it was slightly different at that time... (I have been unable to find my previous photo!). Anyway, it's a building facing the Seine in the 13th arrondissement  which is going to be destroyed soon. Before they tear it down they opened it to street artists. And it has become a true phenomenon. You have to wait in line up to 8 hours to get in! It's amazing... There are 9 more days left, so hurry up. There is a superb website that allows to see more of all this, visit it, it's really worth it.

Groovy!

Yesterday, I had a follow up appointment at the doctor's who removed my gallbladder last month. Everything looks fine! On the way back, I passed by the rue du Louvre (the Paris street where you can find the only post office opened 24/7) and I came across this really cool graffiti! Cute, isn't? It put a wide smile on my face ;-) 

By the pale moonlight (II)

I took this photo last evening, while I was going back home. The reason why I stopped is not so much because of the arch that I photographed a zillion times, but because of the moonlight in the background (on the left of the arch). To be fair, it was much more impressive for real than in this photo!

Life is a comedy (française!)

Do you remember this photo, I took it in front of La Comédie Française, the only state theater in France, founded in 1680 and where famous French play writer/actor Molière used to perform. Well, at that time it was being renovated... But now, the scaffolding is gone and the building is more stunning than ever (especially at night, with the new lighting they installed). I'm sure you will agree...

More light games...

It's probably because pretty soon there is not going to be any sun in Paris that I try to capture it as much as I can these days, but, the thing is that it's the 3rd time this week that I post a photo in which the sun plays a large role! I took this one on the Pont neuf and waited patiently for someone to walk in front of my lens before shooting.  Have a sunny weekend everyone (well not too sunny if you live in Australia...).

Sunny metro

It's not so much for this famous metro station that I already featured twice on PDP that I'm posting this photo, but because of the extraordinary light that I was lucky enough to catch it in. FYI this metro station is called the Kiosque des noctambules (night birds kiosk) and its structure consists of two domes made of glass spheres (that obviously catch the light very well!). It was made by Jean-Michel Othoniel for the RATP (the French public transportation organization).

Ecole des Francs Bourgeois

Another door, I know! But it's so beautiful, I could not resist! It belongs to a school  - or rather a set of schools - called Les Franc-Bourgeois. I wish I could visit the insie one day, as, apparently, behind these doors, you can find L'hôtel de Mayenne, a 400 year old building where some of the most famous families of France have lived 

Palais Royal at sunrise

Of course at Palais Royal the most famous columns are the ones of Buren that I showed you many times. But there are also other nice ones - more classical - the ones that surround the whole building. I went there at sunrise and the light was absolutely fantastic. I took several shots and selected this one because you can see the people in the background which boosts the perspective effect. FYI, on the historical side, these columns were probably built around 1780, when a large real estate development turned this area into one of the chicest "shopping mall" of those times. Some things don't change...  

Conciergerie lovers

It's been a while since I've shown you lovers... So here you go! I found them last Sunday in front of La Conciergerie and thought they were just perfect! That's all ;-) Have a love-ly day everyone!

The largest street decoupage in the world?

Do you know what Actinic keratosis is? I did not... until yesterday morning, when I came across this silhouette at the Place du Palais Royal! Actinic keratosis ( Kératose Actinique in French) is a skin desease that hits 1 in 5 people - in France - after the age of 60 and is mostly due to too much sun exposure. To raise awareness on it, the lab that sells a cure for it organized a street happening; they asked 7 street artists to create the "largest" decoupage silhouette in the world on place du Palais Royal (FYI, it's made of 25 photos and has a global surface of 750 sq. meters - 8 072 sq feet).  I took this photo from the top of l'Hôtel du Louvre, nearby. More info in French on this website. Also, don't miss the stunning making of. 

Montmartre wine harvesting

I don't know if you remember my last year's post, but like every mid October Montmartre is having a little party to celebrate the harvesting of its vineyard. Only this year it was the 80th anniversary, so the party was larger than usual. It's a very French event where you can not only discover many things about Montmartre (people who live there like to think they are different from the rest of the Parisians...), but also about the French "terroirs" (regions).  These two cool people for example are dressed up like in the old times and they probably come from the center of France  (I guess, but I am not sure). More in English or in French on the official site. 

Duc d'Orléans

Yesterday I went to the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine (to stand by someone that PDP visitors know well... aka Michael!) and on the way out I came across this stunning statue of Le duc d'Orléans (the Orléans are a famous French families that provided kings to France). Technically it's not Paris, since it's slightly on its outskirts, but I could not miss it. Especially with this grey sky in the background ;-) 

A bridge with a view...

I was desperately looking for a photo op last evening and I could not find any! I even thought of leaving a blank space for once... And then I passed by the Pont Alexandre III! I know I probably posted this view a dozen times, but there is always a new angle, a different light or color! I don't think you can ever get tired of this view ;-) I'm sure this Neva river Nymph is not!

Aile de Flore

I did not take this photo today, but a couple of days ago, as I was going home around 7 pm, when the sun was setting. I thought the light was really breath taking. This building is at the end of l'Aile de Flore, a part of the Louvre museum that was built recently (between 1861 and 1866). Part of it shelters the Ecole du Louvre.

The irrepressible need for expressing yourself...

I'm often amazed to see how street artists manage to put their art up and high. In fact, for some of us, there seems to be this irrepressible need for expressing their mood and paint/stick it anywhere for everyone to see. After all, is it that different from what the first cavemen used to do. Take the famous Grottes de Lascaux, for instance, a stunning site that was discovered in the 40's (1940's) in which you can see paintings that were made about 18 000 years ago! Well, in 18 000 years, it's not unlikely that some people will talk about our mural paintings the same way... (This piece of art is by Konny, BTW!)

Farewell Ferris wheel!

Do you remember the couple of photos I took in the small amusement park in Les Tuileries gardens this summer? Well it's all gone now. And here is the proof! But what's left is not bad either... First a beautiful perspective, then two interesting monuments; the white one is dedicated to Jules Ferry, a French politician who passed a law which made primary education in France free, non-clerical (secular) and mandatory and a sculpture by Antonin Carlès called Retour de chasse (back from the hunt).

Light well

Yesterday, I had brunch in the heart of Le Marais and on the way out from my friend's apartment I took this photo. I did not think it would come out that good, but once I saw it on my computer I kinda liked it. I like it, because it shows the real backside of a Parisian apartment building; this one has little balconies, which is very rare in this area and offers a "puits de lumière" (a light well), to let the sun go through. 

Nuit Blanche 2013

Like every year (since 2002), it was La nuit blanche (white night) in Paris last night and like every year there were lots of interesting installations to see. I chose to go to La République,  where the whole place was totally covered in a thick mist - much thicker than the one we - very rarely - have in winter! The installations is called "Fog Square" and was made by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya - who I really thank, because it allowed me to take a real cool photo!

Stunning sunset

This one is fresh from my camera roll (well SD card...). I took it around 7:30 pm on the Pont de la Concorde and I did not resist because the color was so amazing. The horses in the background belong to the Pont Alexandre III, but I'm sure you already knew that;-) Have a great and sunny weekend everyone.

The end of fashion week...

Like every year around the same period it was Fashion week in Paris this week. Some may find this industry a bit superficial, some may think fashion is as valuable an art as painting or singing, I personally quit wondering... And since it's one of our last successful industry, I tend to think that we're lucky Paris is still the Mecca of fashion for a lot of people ;-) Besides, it's a good occasion to visit some hidden parts of Paris, where exhibitions are being held, like this loft, in Le Marais, that I would never had seen if it weren't for fashion week! 

Singing in the rain (and in Paris!)

I took this photo at Place Saint Michel, a place known by all Parisians for being THE perfect meeting point in Paris ! And since a lot of people meet there, it's also a perfect place for singers of all kinds to perform in front of a crowd (well, of course, when it rains, the audience is less large!). I was in a hurry when I took this photo and I did not even take the time to find out about the name of this band, which is not very nice, I agree... But, well, it's too late;-). I wish you a very musical day!

A beautiful entrance

This time I'll give you more than just a door... Here is a full entrance to a stunning building that I found at 108 rue du Temple in Le Marais. The ceiling, and the door are real masterpieces. I did some research... And found it was built by architect François Lecœur in 1920. And apparently, it's not an apartment building, but a "semi" industrial building (God knows what this actually means!!). The door in particular is a work of art.

Down to the last "detail"

October 1st, the theme day is back again ;-) Today's theme is "Details", which I thought was cool. Until I had to take a photo for it... What detail(s) was I going to take for this theme? Fortunately I passed by a Repetto store today - a French manufacturer who makes garments and accessories for dancers. They had this dress on display, with a nice detail: dragées. So here you go! Have a look at other details around the world...