Pharmacy strike

If you are in Paris today (Tuesday), don't be sick, for it'll be very difficult to get medicines! Why? Because most pharmacies will be on strike! Explanation: the medicine market is a monopoly in France (only appointed pharmacists can sell medicines), therefore  margins are pretty high. Pharmacists are afraid that if non prescription drugs are sold in supermarkets prices will go down and they will lose a lot of money (which is probably true!). I understand their point of view, but as a consumer, I could do with a little drop in prices!  

Kite festival

I discovered yesterday morning that there was a kite festival (Paris plane - plane means to glide in French)  in the 12th arrondissement, so I went here. It was interesting, but not captivating, to be honest... and very difficult to photograph. Here is the best I could do (I know this could have been taken in any sky on the planet!). Anyway, have a great Monday, I hope this will be inspirational ;-)

Pretty sky

I passed by the Ecole Militaire last evening and stopped to take a photo thinking the sky was really nice. I took it from the Mur pour la paix, a monument that was inaugurated in 2000 and is now in a pretty bad shape (most of the glass is broken). The whole area looks like a war zone actually, I really wonder what they are doing. The view is still cool though ;-)

Not in my name

France recently experienced a terrible event: Hervé Gourdel, a 55 year old French citizen was kidnapped and beheaded the next day by so called Muslims in Algeria. To show their support and condemn the execution of this manman, hundreds of "real" Muslims gathered yesterday near the Grand Mosque. "We French Muslims say no to barbarism, stop to terrorism," said Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith. We kinda knew that already, but it's better to express it loud and clear! 

Tesla in France

I'm not a big fan of cars, especially in large cities - that's why I drive a scooter - but I must say, I 'm quite fascinated by electric cars. First because they offer an excellent alternative to gas/petrol engines and second because they are very pleasant and smooth to drive. When I heard that Tesla - the famous US electric car manufacturer was making a presentation yesterday morning, I could not help but rush to Le Doyen, a famous restaurant by the Champs Elysées to have a look - and take a photo. I'm definitely game!

Another classic view

Yesterday evening, I had a business party on the left bank and I took the Pont Notre Dame to go to it. It was around 8 pm, the sun was almost set and the light absolutely stunning. Even though I must have posted this view a zillion times already I couldn't help but pulling the trigger one more time ;-)

Weird monument!

In the very chic Avenue Foch - once the most expensive street in Paris - I found this weird monument. A sculpture made by Aime Jules Dalou, dedicated to Jean-Charles Alphand, a French Engineer who took part in the renovation of Paris under the direction of Baron Haussmann between 1852 and 1870. It was inaugurated in 1899 (December) and shows Alphand (in the middle on the pedestal) and his coworkers Edmond Huet, Joseph Bouvard et le peintre Alfred Roll. Pretty odd!

Paris Peoples Climate march

Like in all big cities throughout the world, Paris had its Peoples Climate march last Sunday. Not many people took part in it (about 5 000, which is much less than the 300 000 in NYC), but it's probably due to the fact that France is going through a difficult crisis at the moment and that people are more worried about how they're going to find a job of pay their bills than how to buy an electric car. Next Year France will host the COP 21 (21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change), so we'll be in the spotlight!

Street food invasion...

I'm really amazed to see how street food is becoming popular in Paris (and France in general I suppose...). Last weekend, there was even a street food event around the new Carreau Temple in the 3rd arrondissement; anybody could buy a set of tokens and use them to buy any type of street food they wanted.  Huge success, so huge that the lines were too long for me to have the patience to try one of these food trucks!

Balloons in the wind...

Among all the jobs that could have disappeared because of "modernity", I would have probably bet that balloon seller would be among them. And yer, they are still around and probably prosperous! Come to think of it, it makes sense, there is still no way to digitize balloons, nor to turn them into an app! (and they allow photographers to take interesting shots ;-)) Have a great Sunday everyone.

Everything grows in Paris

Who said cities are not green friendly?! Not in Paris! Not only do we have trees, parks and gardens everywhere, but on top of that, when we miss a little green spot, we draw it! How clever is that? PS: sorry for the late posting, bad scheduling...

Playing hide and seek with ET

I had a "dinner party in town" yesterday evening and I passed by the Pont Alexandre to go to it. The sky was beautiful, the weather very nice and I really wondered how I could take another photo from this bridge without repeating myself... And then I thought of lowering my camera and shoot from in between the bars. I kinda like the result even though the photo is a bit blurry!

Fête à Neu Neu

In almost 10 years I don't think I ever told you about La Fête à Neu Neu (Neu Neu is short for Neuilly, a close suburban city close to the 16th arrondissement of Paris.) a small seasonal amusement park that has been taking place in Le Bois de Boulogne since 2008. In fact it's a sequel of a previous Fête à Neu Neu that used to be extremely popular between 1815 and 1935! This year, the Cirque Franco Belge is performing and you can enjoy an beautiful view of the West of Paris from the Ferris wheel.

Water mirror Lake

In the Bois de Boulogne, there are several lakes on which you can row in little flat boats. At dusk, it's super quiet and beautiful. The perfect location for a picnic!

Préfecture de Police de Paris

The prefecture is a large building located on the Île de la Cité (opposite to Notre Dame). It is the head quarters of the Paris (and surroundings) police which  manages emergency services, administrative duties (ID cards, driver licenses and "permis de séjour" for foreigners!). Their building (old 19th century barracks) is absolutely beautiful, especially at night. 

A Sunday in Paris...

I had a picnic in the Luxembourg gardens yesterday and it was really cool! When I left, passed by the pond where kids can sail little boats rented by their parents. The photo quality is debatable, but the scene is sooooooo French, that I thought you might like it ;-)

Folk danse

Like every year I went to Les vendanges of the Melac Bistrot . It's a fun event that takes place in the 11th arrondissement where they install tables in the streets around the bistrot and harvest the grapes that grow above the café! All this being just a way to drink, eat and have fun! Which I had... This year they also had a crew of folk dancers from Aveyron - a region in France from where most café owners in Paris are from.

Trapped tree!

I stopped and took this photo in this little street in the 7th arrondissement called Cité Vanneau, because of the superb tree that you can see at its end. I often wonder how plants and trees can grow so well, totally trapped in concrete! I looked up the Cité Vaneau on the Internet and I found out that it's the only street in Paris where all porches are similar - which apparently is very rare... Have a great Saturday everyone, I'll be going to the Melac Vendanges, like every year!

Traffic Jams

Like in all big cities there are many traffic jams in Paris (we call them "embouteillages" in French - or bottlenecks in English). Paris is not the worst though, according to Inrix (an American company specializing in traffic monitor worldwide), it is the 8th most congested city in Europe. In 2013, Parisians wasted no less than 55 hours in their cars... I took this photo in the tunnel than runs under le Louvre gardens.

Paris bench

There are exactly 8,481 benches in Paris (who counted them?!), that is roughly 1 for 260 people, which is not too bad considering the average Parisian does not really have the time to sit in them, during a normal day. I photographed this one in the avenue Foch, once called l'avenue du bois (woods avenue) for it leads to the Bois de Boulogne. Not much to say; I just like the looks of Paris benches!

Back home!

After a few days in the mediterranean sea (in the island of Malta), I'm back to the big city of light! All French cities have signs like this at their entrance, but in Paris, it's actually pretty rare to see them. When I see one, it reminds  me of an old uncle who used to tell me about the Paris Octroi, a toll that was collected at each gate of Paris (the main entrances are called gate in Paris) until 1943 on certain goods.,. Now it does not exist anymore, but they found other ways of taxing people!!

A day at the races

I don't think I ever posted any photo about the Longchamps Hippodrome, that is the horse track located in the Bois de Boulogne, near Paris. It was built in 1857 and is still in use for mostly horse races (the next big one - the Prix de l'Arc de Triumph - will take place on October 5 and 6) and also for other events like concerts (that is where the Rolling Stones performed in 1995 for instance) or even a mass given by the Pope in 1997!

The canons of Les Invalides

In front of Les Invalides, there are several canons that are either French made or that the French took from their enemies during the many wars that we participated in throughout the years. These ones, for instance, are precisely Turkish. FYI, In France, whenever we have a new President, the Invalides canons are used for a 21 canon salute. 

Big blue...

I'm not currently in Paris at the moment, but I know the weather is really improving. I kinda knew that before leaving so I packed a bunch of blue sky photos ;-) This one was taken near the Louvre entrance - through the arches that  lead to the Cour du Louvre, precisely. Not much to see, but a cool effect. have a great Sunday everyone, I'll be enjoying the sun on a little island in Southern Europe! 

Victory and willpower!

I already said it several times here, I love it that in Paris you can casually come across beautiful pieces of art in many streets. Hence these two sculptures by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle that I found at rue de Lille, near the back entrance of Le Musée d'Orsay. The first one is called La Victoire (the Victory) and the second one La force de la volonté (the strength of willpower). Quick photography remark; I always find it hard to shoot statues, because they always seem to absorb the light. These ones were even harder, as they would blend in the background!   

A Remnant of Paris from... 1312

There are several Moulins (windmills) in Paris (Moulin Rouge, Moulin de la galette...) but they're all "fake" or rather old windmills that have been turned into restaurants or cabarets. This one remains in its original state, and it's called Le Moulin de Rouvray. It's located in the Bois de Boulogne (the woods around the Western part of Paris). It was built in 1312 within an Abbey founded in 1255 by Isabelle de France, the daughter of Louis the 8th. The Abbey was destroyed in 1795, but the windmill survived until now (it has not been used as a real windmill since 1809 though! It cannot be visited unfortunately, but you can see it from the street where I was yesterday.

Can you see Montmartre?

In France, we have a bunch of old songs from the (19)30's that are either funny, silly or stupid, and sometimes all of this! There is one called "Monte la-dessus et tu verras montmartre" (step on this and you'll see Montmartre!) and I could not help but think about it when I saw this photo on my computer - for yes, the little church on the hill in the background is le Sacré Coeur. 

The only Paris fire escape?

You could almost think this photo was taken in an old American city and though I took it yesterday in the 10th arrondissement in Paris. This is, as far as I know, the only fire escape that exists in Paris! I really don't know why they have it on this particular building, except that it's a theater (but no other theaters have such fire escapes in Paris, so that does not really explains it). I looked on the web and could not find anything about it. Anyway, I'm glad we don't have more of these in Paris, because they are not exactly beautiful...  

Ganesh celebration (2014)

If you're a true visitor to PDP, you know very well of Ganesh, the god who's the patron of arts and sciences, the god of beginnings and the god that helps removing obstacles! Why do you know of him? Because every 1st September weekends he is celebrated in Paris, by the local Indian community, and I always manage to take a photo of the celebration; it's so beautiful...

Rust is beautiful!

When I heard about today's theme day I really did not know what I was going to photograph. What can be rusty and make a good photo at the same time? Well, I did not have to go very far; the Pont des Arts had all the rust I could hope for! I hope the love between the ones who put them there is less rusty than what their lock shows at present;-)). Have a look at rusty stuff around the world, thanks to the CityDailyPhoto blogger portal!