Paris Rouge XXXIX - Un Soir de Pluie à Paris

Sunday Church Series - Église Saint-Merri

The Église Saint-Merri adjacent to the Stravinsky Fountain at Centre Pompidou, houses the oldest bell in Paris (1331).  As you can see, the facade is getting some restorative work,  but this unusual art was added.  The bike clenched the deal for me.  Only in Paris!!

Watch Your Step!

This gorgeous carrousel was in front of the Hôtel de Ville during the holidays. It's even more magical at night.  This petit garçon needed a helping hand coming down from the upper level.

Hôtel du Nord

Hôtel du Nord

June, 2010

Many of my readers write to me and ask for my recommendations for restaurants and cafés in Paris. To be honest, I'm usually at a loss.  We usually just wander along, read the sidewalk menus and take a chance. I've never been disappointed.  Rarely do we spend a lot on a meal, and I'm really not good at jotting down names and addresses.

Well our last night in Paris this trip, we begged our "landlord" Janeen to go with us and pick the spot.  She didn't miss a beat......Hôtel du Nord.  Made famous in the 1930's by Marcel Carné's cinema by the same name, it is located across the street from Canal St. Martin.  It was a fine choice.  We loved the décor, the hip local crowd, the candle lit tables, and the meal was wonderful.  Believe it or not, I left my camera in the room, so I'm depending on Mary to furnish us with a few photos of the interior to share with you later.

As a side note, we were seated at a table for six and then politely asked to move to a smaller table.  We were delighted to have the management bring us champagne for our inconvenience! That works!

102 quai de Jenmapes

75010 Paris

01.40.40.78.78

La Lune

A rainy day made way for a glorious sunset.  As night approached we were treated to this slice of moon over Paris.  Can't you just hear our ohhs and aahhs!!  My thanks to Mary with the keen eye, for spotting it.

With Her Head in the Clouds

Rainy days in Paris are to be expected and embraced.  La Tour had her head all up in the clouds my last day in Paris.  I think it becomes her!!!

Une Promenade du Dimanche I

At the Jardin du Luxembourg on a sunny Sunday it seemed all of Paris took advantage of the break in the rain and cold to enjoy just strolling like this dear couple. I have more!

Another Reason I Love Paris......

..............the flower shops on every corner!  Mais oui, that's why I took this photo. Bien sûr!!!!

Sunday Paris Church Series/ Paris Rouge - Église Saint-Augustin de Paris

Mary and I arrived in Paris around 6:30 am that morning.  We caught the Roissybus for l'Opéra in a driving rain in the dark. All hopes of photographing Paris at sunrise vanished.  Through the bus window, in the dark, I spotted this beautiful church.  As luck would have it, Mary, Peter and I were able to visit that afternoon. It was still raining on and off but we all had a grand time photographing this church, built 1860-1871.  I will have more to share. Merci to Peter who spotted the rouge steeple for my Paris Rouge series.

A Slice of Paris

Want to know why I love this photo?  Because it captures so many things that say, "Paris" to me.

How many can you spot ???

le Sigh!!!

As we walked down from Montmartre after a day of cold and rain, we were greeted by this beautiful sunset.  The promise of fair weather!!  Just seeing this again, still takes my breath. C'est Paris!

le Magasin de Pomme

French Stranger #74

Well you know the first stop we made the day we landed in Paris was the Apple Store Opéra!! Oh it is just amazing.

 A meticulous renovation of this beautiful old building blends elegant French wrought ironwork and columns with Apple's trademark merchande displays.  I was fascinated that this enormous two story store is laid out almost exactly like ours here in Birmingham.  Today I feature a very friendly Apple employee whose English was very good as he answered my questions. I regret I forgot to get his name!  I will share a few more photos in the future.

 12 rue Halevy

I regret that we ran out of time before I could visit the Apple Store Louvre. Next time!

Lost and Found

We searched high and low for this little shop in the Marais that I read about in Paris: Made By Hand. Well we found it,  but it was closed! All was not lost. This cute purple mitten on the yellow wall pleased me very much.  Perhaps the wee one that dropped it will claim it.

Mon Nouveau Chapeau

Place du Trocadéro

"Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days the statue."

P is for Peter's Paris

Pardon the quality of this photograph. I took it last week in very low light through a café window, but I think it is a great photo of Peter!

Today begins a new series that I am calling Paris A-Z.  I thought I'd photograph letters all over Paris and pair them with a photograph.  It's not as easy as it sounds, so no,  I don't have nearly enough letters.  I am just going to use what I have so far, in random order.

P is for mon chèr ami Peter Olson who authors the very popular Paris blog...Peter's Paris.  We've been friends for over two years now and just when he loads me on a plane for home. ..voilà I'm back!!   He's a terrific tour guide and knows more about the history of Paris than most Parisians ( He's Swedish )  He's also the most patient man in Paris - willing to stop every few meters while I take yet another photo and the most persuasive. I don't know many that could coax me to climb the zillion steps to the dome of the Sacre Coeur AND ride the Grand Roue at Tuileries!!  He's my BFF ( Best French Friend) and I think it only fair that he is the first in my Parisian Alphabet series.

Sunday Church Series - Église Saint Roch

This past trip to Paris, our apartment was across the street from the Église Saint-Roch  (completed in 1754) in the 1st arrondissement.  Each morning we awoke to the beautiful chiming of the hour and had a view of the windows from ours. This is one of many photos I will share in the upcoming months.

Printemps, Le Grand Magasin Indeed!

I love Printemps. I'm not much of a shopper in Paris,  but I never tire of photographing this wonderful place from the street. Today, a double dose with the header as well.  I will now have the pleasure of sharing my recent photos with you.  It was a week packed with fun, friends,  new Paris moments and a 11GB of memory cards!

Le Carrousel en Hiver

Jardins des Tuileries ...j'adore!
(On Wednesday of this week, I took a similar shot...with  GRAY skies!)

Blog Update!  As I type this early Friday morning, I'm in Cincinnati at Mary's home and will be flying to Atlanta shortly.  Hopefully I'll be in Birmingham around noon.  It was a fabulous trip but as always I return home a little teary-eyed and very TIRED!

Les Oiseaux Familiers

One evening I dined alone at Ma Bourgogne at the Place des Vosges.  As I enjoyed mon apéritif,  I had several little friends join me. They didn't seem a bit intimidated by my camera!

Musique Dans le Parc

A lovely afternoon on a bench at the Place des Vosges.  Others read while he played his music. Looking back, I wish I'd put down my camera and taken a seat nearby and enjoyed it as well. Lesson learned.

BLOG UPDATE:

Tuesday morning found us moving slowly. Our wine and cheese party lasted until 3:30am and we loved every minute.  About 12 friends came, many who had never met each other before but you would never have known it! Much laughter and more than a little wine!  Peter joined us and we struck out for Passy cemetery near la Tour Eiffel. A beautiful small cemetery  with many photo ops. The sun came out and made it more so.  A quick trip to Trocadero and the obligatory shots of us and la Tour followed.  We walked a few blocks and had lunch and a quick trip through the Yves St. Laurent Foundation exhibit by David Hockney. He has created art by using his touch screen on iPads and iPhones.  Amazing. Mary left us about 3 and headed to Montmartre to meet a friend and Peter and I zipped off to the Marais. I did some shopping and we took some photos along the way. At 5 we met photographer Carla Coulson and Jean-Luc Rollier at a nearby cafe. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other and of course talking photography! At 7:30 we met CDP blogger Laurent  ( Daily Photo in Paris) and Mary for a nice dinner and a little champagne. Merci Peter.  We ended another grand day in Paris at the Hotel de Ville metro.  Today we leave our fabulous apt. for a hotel for our last day in Paris. Our flight to Cininnati is looking good. My flight to Bham is iffy. C'est la vie.

Paris Rouge XXXVIII - L'homme à l'écharpe rouge

Place des Vosges of course!

Cafe de la Paix

I liked this nice reflection with the ever present Parisian waiter.  Maybe we'll pay him a little visit this trip. ( We checked their prices on Thursday. We won't  be dining there! )

UDATE:  Mary and I had a bon dimanche. Got a late start around noon and walked all the way to the BIrd and Flower  Market on Ile de la Cité.  Then we took the metro to rue Mouffetard. Sadly the dancers had left but we walked up the street , had a 10 minute massage, ate at a Greek Cafe, and then made it to the Pantheon.  From there we walked down the hill to Luxembourg Gardens and even found two chairs to do some people watch ing.  I took a few photos of my favorite pétanque players and then we headed home.  After a rest and some computer time, we walked near the Palais Royal for pizza with  the apartment owner Janeen, whom we love!  We've had some late nights and I'm heading to bed this minute.  Tonight is a big game for my Auburn Tigers. Hope I can get another photo up sometime today!  :)

Sunday Paris Church Series - Église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre

I'll be honest.  I found this photo recently, taken July, 2009.  Maya, Janet, Peter and I were on our trek up to the Sacre-Coeur and we stopped at the church and the small cemetery that adjoins it.  Since, according to my recollection, the cemetery is only open one day a year, I feel like this must not be a mausoleum. Perhaps it's from inside the church.  Anyone want to try and clear this up?

Ode to Nichole

As I've shared many, many times, I've met so many talented people through my blogs. One very special photographer is Nichole Robertson, who has a terrific blog and website. Nichole is from  New York, but is lucky enough to be able to visit Paris several times a year. Her website, Little Brown Pen, will delight all of my Paris loving amis.  I've focused my camera on Paris Rouge many times and thrown in a little bleu et juane, but Nichole has amazed me with all of her creative colors.  I'll put it this way, if I could, I'd order every single photograph she has for sale on Etsy.

Today,  a nod to Nichole.  When I wandered upon this group of chairs ( which as you know I have a fetish for), what struck me was the idea that Nichole would have had added this to a wonderul group and perhaps titled them "Paris in Pale Green and Aqua".

Paris  Update:  We had a great day today. We headed to the Pompidou Centre where we met  our friend and Paris tour guide (Eye Prefer Paris Tours) Richard Nahem.  The Mondrian exhibit was terrific and it was fun finally seeing the inside of this unusual structure. We at a nice little cafe close by and then strolled around the neighborhood and visited the Eglise St. Merry church there.  Mary and I struck off separately for a while and met about 6 as it began to rain.  We stopped and got wine and nibbles and hit the patisserie on the corner for pastries and sandwiches.  We tried to sneak in a concert at the church across the street but alas it was 20euros and all we had on us was my camera!  

Another Visit With Alexis

You have already met dress designer Alexis here. But today I thought you'd enjoy seeing a few more in his collection.  His evening dresses remind me of a wedding cake. Dreamy!!

With Any Luck...

Mary and I will be joining friends over a glass this very day!  

I will not be posting new photos from Paris this week, but hope to be able to share our day's adventures with you each night.

UPDATE!!!  We landed at 6:15 am in the dark and it was raining.  Made it through CDG and customs. I used "Bonjour Monsieur" ( one of my best lines) on the customs officer and actually got a smile!! 
We took the Roissy bus to the Opera and then a quick metro ride ( I won't talk about all the steps with my heavy bags) and found the apt like a charm. We love the apt and Janeen, the owner.  We are headed out for lunch with Peter and a look around our neighborhood. I see the Monoprix in our future and the Apple Store Opera as well!  And for the record, we LOVE  Paris when it  drizzles!
V

Globe Trotting Again !

Charlotte Woodson Antiques

Today my dear Paris loving amie Mary, and I are off to Paris.  If the "standby gods" are willing, we'll be arriving at CDG at about 6:15 am Paris time Thursday ( CDT 11:15 pm Wed.). Don't you worry, we will hit the ground running - and let the adrenaline rush do its job.  This trip, I will be meeting dear friends once again, and many new ones as well.  It will be a busy but fun trip no matter the weather. Mary and I have both made a list of things we've always wanted to see or do and this time we're determined to cross some of those places off our list.   I have blog posts already scheduled and will hopefully be able to share some of our adventures each and every day.  I promise to take a zillion photographs to share as soon as I return home.

If the Shoe Fits......

buy a pair in every color!!  Oh  *Repetto, how do I love thee??  Let me count the colors.   Even if your ballerina days are long past, you can still indulge here.  Have a look at their latest collection!  Miam, miam!  Maybe this time they will be open and I can step inside and have a look around. I have no idea the cost. I'm pretty sure I won't be bringing home a pair but I still have hope! ( Do you think they will allow photographs!)

*Their website is marvelous!

22 rue Paix

Métro - Opéra

100 French Strangers - Smile for the Crazy Américaine

French Strangers # 72-73

 I do think this might just be two of my favorite "strangers".  (Do I say this everytime? )  Last June as I was snapping away in this photography shop at le Marché des Enfants Rouge, the gentleman on the left, the owner, asked what exactly I was photographing. I explained my Paris rouge fetish and he seemed satisfied.

Outside he and his friend were very kind to allow me this photo shoot.  I'm thinking the conversation went like this:  "Smile for the crazy American photographer!" Aren't they just great??  Who says Parisians are aloof?

Sunday Church Series - Église Saint - Germain des Prés

Espresso Monsieur?

Here's another portrait I've been saving for a special occasion.  Last June, I watched this interesting gentleman throughout my délicieux déjeuner with Marie and Genie at Hier & Aujourd' hui in the 17eme .  Finally, as dessert was served, I just couldn't resist.   I pulled out my camera and took two quick shots.  I liked the backlighting that almost put him into a silhouette.