5 Streets Paris

Rue de la Tremoille

2007-08-12T18:59:00.000+01:00

On the street right outside the post office, to attach your dog's leash while you pop in to deal with your mail.
Not quite sure why this is necessary - dogs are not allowed inside food stores but post offices should be fine - still, it's adorable.

Nice day for Paris Plage

2007-07-22T20:03:00.000+01:00

Last night

2007-07-15T21:19:00.000+01:00

Fontaine de Medicis, Luxembourg Gardens

2007-07-08T21:48:00.000+01:00

Rue Cavalloti

2007-06-23T19:55:00.000+01:00

The Modigliani-style storefront mentioned below.

Rue Cavalloti

2007-06-19T21:39:00.000+01:00

Storefront shutter painted à la Vermeer. All the shutters along this street were painted in the style of a different artist - Gauguin, Klimt, Modigliani and more - unfortunately most have since been graffiti'ed over. The Vermeer style one is the only one left intact. So far.

Rue Biot

2007-06-16T20:42:00.000+01:00

Rue Caulaincourt - on tourists and the legendary rudeness of Parisians

2007-05-23T19:11:00.000+01:00

The other day an American woman stopped me on the street and asked me a question - just launched straight into it, no hello or bonjour, whatever the language, no excuse me, nothing - just "where did you get that?" (I was holding a lush looking and smelling sandwich...). Now by French standards that is INCREDIBLY rude, and most people would react negatively to being approached that way - thereby sending the lady back to the US complaining about how nasty the locals are, nobody would answer a simple question, etc etc... Pffft.

Cour Carrée, Louvre

2007-05-22T21:24:00.000+01:00

Rue Biot

2007-05-13T10:01:00.000+01:00

Rue Caulaincourt, food...

2007-05-12T19:16:00.000+01:00

Rue Caulaincourt, vide grenier

2007-05-12T19:12:00.000+01:00

Rue de Douai

2007-05-08T16:39:00.000+01:00

rue Jonas and rue des Cinq Diamants

2007-05-07T21:13:00.000+01:00

Rue Ganneron

2007-05-01T18:19:00.000+01:00

Rue des Cinq Diamants

2007-04-21T02:53:00.000+01:00

Rue de la Butte aux Cailles

2007-04-21T02:46:00.000+01:00

Rue Daubenton

2007-04-20T20:42:00.000+01:00

Place de Clichy

2007-04-19T19:27:00.000+01:00

On the Metro on my way home from work, I sit across from two young men. They're moving a small café type table with cast iron legs and there is enough room on the train for them to have it in from of them, and they're leaning elbows on it and talking earnestly as if in a café. One is white, the other black, and both are so handsome, but in a such a natural and unsophisticated way, that I feel like whipping my camera out and taking their picture.

We get off at the same station, and at the Place people are handing out Ségolène Royal flyers and boisterously exhorting passers by to remember to vote on Sunday. The 18th is traditionally à gauche, so they're probably preaching to the choir, but one particularly exhuberant young woman is calling out,

-Who's the most beautiful ?! Ségolène !!

The guys are behind me now and one of them says,

- She's not that beautiful - well, compared to her competition, like Voynet, perhaps, but not really.

His friend chuckles, and I can't resist commenting,

- Even if she were the most beautiful, it's hardly a reason to vote for her, is it.
- No, but there are other good reasons to vote for her.
- I agree - but looks have nothing to do with it.

We share a smile, and it's such a nice moment. It's a crowded, bustly, noisy intersection, but at times like these it feels like a village.

Rue du Port - Clermont-Ferrand, not Paris...

2007-04-12T20:10:00.000+01:00

rue de Tolbiac

2007-03-17T09:59:00.000Z

A Eurostar ad that's been all over Paris lately.

rue Saint Antoine

2007-03-11T10:24:00.000Z

Popped out of the Metro at Saint Paul one Sunday morning and realized the semi-marathon was on.

Opéra Garnier

2007-03-03T10:56:00.000Z

Musée du Lovre, extérieur nuit

2007-03-03T10:53:00.000Z

Skating rink at Hôtel de Ville

2007-02-04T19:24:00.000Z

Avenue George V

2007-01-17T18:47:00.000Z

No, there's nothing wrong with my camera. This building is being renovated and the scaffolding is covered with big trompe l'oeil panels of typical Haussmanian architecture, but distorted...

Place de l'Hotel de Ville

2007-01-17T18:44:00.000Z

Eiffel Tower

2007-01-17T18:43:00.000Z

Gare du Nord

2007-01-01T21:51:00.001Z

Place de la Concorde

2007-01-01T21:32:00.000Z

Champs Elysées, with holiday lights

2006-11-28T20:34:00.000Z

Rue de la Néva

2006-11-27T20:29:00.000Z

Old fashioned elevator in a Parisian building. When I was younger (not that long ago!) most elevators in Paris were like this, now these have become much rarer, replaced with modern "normal" ones that are no doubt much safer - no risk of getting anything caught in between the 2 doors - but with much less charm...

Champs Elysées, without holiday lights

2006-11-02T23:37:00.000Z

The market at Barbès

2006-11-01T12:49:00.000Z

A blurry Gare Saint Lazare by night

2006-10-28T21:41:00.000+01:00

Place de Clichy

2006-10-22T19:30:00.000+01:00

When is this station ever so empty? Sunday morning...

Holiday lights

2006-10-19T20:54:00.000+01:00

...have been strung up on the trees along the Champs Elysées. They don't get switched on until early December, I think, but they're up. Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat...

Père Lachaise

2006-10-14T22:46:00.000+01:00

Rue de Tolbiac

2006-09-30T22:42:00.000+01:00

avenue d'Ivry

2006-08-27T19:24:00.000+01:00

Durians for sale, lots of them, piled up on the sidewalk.

Place des Etats Unis

2006-08-20T13:34:00.000+01:00

This would be an appropriate post for the 4th of July, but I don't feel like waiting for next year.

Bassin de la Villette

2006-08-20T10:18:00.000+01:00

Bibliothèque

2006-07-30T20:59:00.000+01:00

The Mitterand library and - more importantly ! - MK2 cinema complex.

... and underground, the entrance to metro line 14.

Olympiades

2006-07-30T20:52:00.000+01:00

Love the Chinese style landscapes painted on the big concrete flowerpots.

Avenue Velasquez

2006-07-29T17:07:00.000+01:00

Temple lion guarding the entrance to the Musée Cernuschi.

Parc Monceau

2006-07-29T17:03:00.000+01:00

Parc de Sceaux

2006-07-14T19:25:00.000+01:00

Not Paris, but close enough and easy to get to via RER. Lovely picnic there today - so few people, sunny and warm, but breezy. Large expanses of lawns, wooded areas, a big canal, fountains, ducks, a swan and two downy cygnets, good company, home made quiche, a ripe peach, juice dribbling down my chin and sunshine on my shoulders.

Hôtel de Ville

2006-05-20T20:16:00.000+01:00

A handful of CGT trade unionists were holding some sort of rally in the Hôtel de Ville this afternoon. And I do mean a handful - they looked quite lost in the middle of the wide esplanade. Cheerful bunch, too. They were playing music and handing out balloons.

Nearby avenue Victoria was filled was police trucks - most of the policemen were sitting in their vehicles looking bored. Perhaps they had been expecting to do battle with a huge angry mob. Or maybe they were supposed to be somewhere else. Who knows. One young cop sat on a bench in the sunlight, drinking a soda. Several small groups loitered around the square, eyeing pretty women as they walked past. Ocasionnally they were distracted by tourists wandering by, in groups or alone, holding up maps of the city, asking for directions. They seemed happy to help. No tear gas or burning cars in sight.

This is a type of scene I've witnessed so often over the years - it makes me sad when people feel obliged to ask, due to events in the past few months, whether Paris is safe for visitors.

Yes, it's safe. It's beautiful.

Ile Saint Louis

2006-05-11T18:40:00.000+01:00

on a beautiful spring evening.

avenue Montaigne

2006-05-02T19:12:00.000+01:00

There is a herd of cows around the Rond Point des Champs Elysées at the moment, decorated by various artists. These 2 were on avenue Montaigne, in front of the Gucci store.

Markets

2006-04-08T13:07:00.000+01:00

photos courtesy of the Mairies d'Arrondissement websites, inspired by a trip to the Barbes market with only a camera phone and no way of getting any decent shots...

Hôtel de Ville

2006-03-16T19:50:00.000Z

Warm tones of sunlight on stone walls. One of my favorite things about Paris.

Champs Elysées Clémenceau metro station

2006-03-10T21:21:00.000Z

This morning in the Metro station, there was an old man busking. He was playing the violin. He wasn’t playing from memory, nor did he have a stand with sheet music in front of him, a woman (his wife?) was standing near him, holding the sheet music up to his eyes, turning the pages as he played.

Who are they ? Is this a hobby, something a retired musician does to pass the time, or do they live off the coins thrown in the violin case by commuters in a hurry ? What was the woman thinking as the crowd swirled around them, was she content to be there, standing by her man, watching him, listening to him ? Did she wish she could get on one of the passing trains and go somewhere, anywhere else and do something different with her morning ? Her face gave nothing away.

Quai d'Orleans

2006-03-10T20:53:00.000Z

Hôtel de Ville

2006-03-03T12:37:00.000Z

We're spoiled with not one but two interesting photo exhibitions at the Hôtel de Ville, no entrance fee (merci Bertrand!)

Willy Ronis à Paris, Monday through Saturday 10 to 7, except bank holidays, until May 27th.

Paris au cinéma, same days and times, until June 30th.

Saint Germain des Près

2006-01-15T19:20:00.000Z

This is the church at Saint Germain. And across the street, a Dior boutique.

Avenue de Clichy

2006-01-15T19:14:00.000Z

My favorite tree. It's in a little garden just off avenue de Clichy. It's tiny, but there is grass and a playground. And this tree. I find it very graceful.

Rue de Rivoli

2006-01-14T22:03:00.000Z

This is a very long street, and it has several personalities. One section is rather posh, with fancy old hotels and tea rooms opposite the Tuileries. Another is full of tacky souvenir shops.

And yet another is Paris' answer to the ubiquitous English High Street, teaming with shoppers on their way to and from the Gap, Body Shop, H & M, Zara, Foot Locker, etc etc...

Today, the first Saturday of the winter sales, that section of rue de Rivoli was overflowing with people. Walking on the sidewalks required patience, speed, and fast reflexes.

Two RATP (public transportation) bus drivers idled their engines side by side, bemused, as the crowd surged on and off the sidewalk in an effort to get somewhere, anywhere, quickly ! in search of a bargain. The buses were halted, not by cars but by bargain hunters. One driver opened the door of his bus to talk to the other driver through his open window.

- It's crazy today, isn't it ?
- Yes, all these people have left their brains at home.

Gallic shrugs all 'round. The buses start up again and we're off.

New Year's resolution...

2006-01-13T14:59:00.000Z

.... update this poor blog which never really got off the ground.

Was toying with the idea of getting a digital camera as a Christmas gift to myself, in order to upload photos of 5 Streets (and more !) but did not.

Since then have been paralyzed by writer's block (to be honest, indecision and feelings of mediocrity). Because, after all, it's not as if writing about Paris has not been done before, in great detail, by some of the truly Greats.

Enough dithering. There will be updates, I promise.

Watch this space !

Snow !

2005-11-26T12:44:00.000Z

It's been snowing on and off since yesterday. Hardly groundbreaking news perhaps but rare enough in Paris and very rare at this time of the year. Nothing is sticking to the ground but the rooftops I can see from my kitchen window are all white.

Introduction

2005-11-26T10:36:00.000Z

This is inspired by Julia, author of the 5 Streets Sydney blog, which I will link to in the sidebar as soon as I can figure out how to do so.

The basic premise is to blog about 5 streets in your hometown, which I think is a fantastic idea. I'll try to make this as interesting as possible (!) but in particular I'll try to post about things that don't usually get mentionned about Paris. After all there is a plethora of information available about this city on the net and my goal is not to write about stuff anyone can find out easily, but to try to give an idea of what day to day living is like here.