Friday, December 31, 2010

Bon homme de neige





The Jardin des Tuileries had many surprises on our recent visit with several snowmen and other icy creations. However, this fellow, short in stature, seemed to have the most artistry and character. As I snapped this photo other paparazzi moved in quickly.

Bon homme de neige
Temporary residence: Jardin des Tuileries

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Ma Bourgogne, Place des Vosges





This post is for Virginia who will be arriving in Paris in just a week... I know that this is one of her favorite places and they will be attending her every wish with wine and laughter.

I wish that I could join her and Mary and Peter and....

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Cold and lonely




In Jardin des Tuileries, we found this group of chairs and made a few observations... It appeared as if a group had recently gathered here amidst the snow. Had they shared a frigid picnic of sorts or an apéritif de la neige? There are two other interesting details. See if you can find them.


In the background is the statue known as L'Ami de Personne
On the back of one chair is a pair of eyes

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Three Paris landmarks



From this perspective it seems that you could almost reach out and touch the obelisk... and perhaps the Grand Palais.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Un sac à main en cuir?



Would you believe these are chocolate?


201, rue Saint-Honoré

miam-miam

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Église Saint-Eustache


Rays of light filtered through the majestic windows of Saint-Eustache.

During my recent visit to Paris, there were only about three hours of sunlight and shadows... I am glad that I was able to visit St-Eustache during this brief period of filtered light and capture a few photos of this magnificent church.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Joyeux anniversaire



Not from a pâtisserie, not made by the hands of a baker, not in Paris (but "beyond"), made and assembled by little hands in love and celebration.


Joyeux Noël, Merry Christmas

Friday, December 24, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Architecture on Rue de Grenelle


This is a different vitrine de noël display with its elegant lines and exquisite miniatures. I do wish I knew something about this detailed model found in the window of a Rue de Grenelle bookstore in the 7ième arr.


I love how the glass bubbles delicately frame the scene

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Les vitrines de noël


The windows will hold you and draw you in...
crystal, des bijoux, silver, fine fabrics,
and not the least of these...

a tower of macarons... pistache to be exact

miam-miam
C'est mon péché mignon

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Saint-Ouen - Marché Biron




A trip to Paris is never complete without a visit to Marché aux Puces at Saint-Ouen. I love the look of winter and it had just snowed that Saturday morning leaving the tree decorated with a dusting of white. The long allée of Marché Biron with its glass-front display rooms was nearly deserted... the shopkeepers inside, their little dogs peering out from the heated interiors.

Marché Biron
Saint-Ouen
Métro Porte de Clignancourt

Monday, December 20, 2010

La Maison du Chocolat


In a search for the perfect chocolate eclair, we hurried to La Maison du Chocolat at the instruction of Carol (Paris Breakfasts) for the best in Paris. (More on that story later with photos)... After making friends in this chocolate heaven, we stopped to take a photo of the chocolate tree in the window.

It is too small for your eyes to read perhaps, but I will whisper the price if you promise not to gasp...

(590€) .............. I think I heard a gasp...

La Maison du Chocolat
19, rue Sèvres (and other locations)

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Église Saint-Roch... Nativity



We have visited this church previously, but this time it was much more personal. Each morning we woke to the sounds of the church bells at 8 with their evenly paced 3 rings, 3 rings, 3 rings, and then 47 rings... no snooze alarm either.

Our apartment faced the side of this beautiful and active church and we were thrilled to hear the choir rehearsals, the sounds of school children, and the hourly chiming of the bells. What a treasure Paris has with its history of churches.


Bon dimanche

Église Saint-Roch
Rue St. Roch et Rue St-Honoré

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Taking home the tree...




In Paris, this is a huge tree and it probably was quite heavy to carry. This gentleman put it down as he waited for the light to change at Boulevard Diderot. Perhaps he was carrying it to the barracks of the Sapeurs-Pompiers just across the street.

Caserne de sapeurs pompiers
26, rue de Chaligny

Friday, December 17, 2010

Bunnies in the Champagne - reflection



These bunnies playing in the champagne fountain (and splashing, drinking, and swimming) were a treat for children and adults alike. The window-viewing of les grands magasins is quite crowded, particularly when there is so much activity in one window!





Here is a video by Holly



For more reflections look at James' Newtown Area Daily Photo here.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

A little chocolate, my dear?



At A la Mère de Famille on Rue Cler, this large chocolate deer drew quite a crowd. Miam-miam!


A la Mère de Famille, est 1761
47, rue Cler (and other locations)


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What a party that was!


Well, I was not invited to her party, but probably just as well...


... another example of the luxurious windows at Galeries Lafayette.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Paris Illuminates Paris -- très vert




This plastic bottle installation is part of an operation called “Paris Illuminates Paris”, which mixes the recycled green Sprite bottles and LED lights to create the Christmas lights down Rue Richelieu (near Palais Royal). This was the creation of Fabrice Peltier, a gallery designer, for 2009. I snapped this shot just last week so that answers my second question... Did they re-use the decorations? Yes, as you can see.

There are also four or five trees in Place André Malraux at the foot of Rue Richelieu. You can see a close-up of the construction below on the left.


Holly announced that she was going to be drinking a lot of Sprite this year to make her own! (The red ones are Badoit bottles.)

(Thank you, Peter (Peter's Paris) for pointing out these trees!)
Also, Anne featured this scene (in the daylight) at Just Another American in Paris here.



Sunday, December 12, 2010

Procession aux flambeaux -- 8 decembre


The churches of Paris gather for the Fête de l'Immaculée Conception every December 8th at Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet. Each of the participating churches brings its banner to be carried by its members. After Mass the families and persons of all ages light the candles and sing while walking through the streets of the 5ième, traffic stopped.



What an amazing experience...

Bon dimanche, mes amis
.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Salon de Thé -- Le Musset

The bright, oversized decorations of Le Musset can be seen from a block away. No reason to be chased inside with inclimate weather... just duck into the heated area protected from the wind and order the Berthillon ice cream for dessert... brrrrrr!


Le Musset
5, rue de l'Echelle
M. Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre

Friday, December 10, 2010

Les Grands Magasins - Reflections



Oh my! This was our first stop after arriving in Paris...

Can you blame us? The windows of Printemps and Galaries Lafayette were calling....

and I caught the first snowflake on the tip of my tongue... what a moment!




For more reflections go to James' Newtown Area Photo.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Jardin des Tuileries... la neige



And the snow came, just as I had wished for in Paris!

We saw snowmen and snowball fights... We saw bundled little children and les chiens in their sweaters... The cold air makes your face sting and the Christmas lights make your eyes shine brightly...

I loved it all!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Parc de Monceau ... en hiver





I am headed back from Paris with many photos and stories... Can't wait to share them all!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Snow in Paris... sur le toit de l'Eglise Saint Roch





This morning when we woke up, this is the view from our apartment window looking out on Saint-Roch. The many surfaces of the roof were coated in white. What a beautiful winter scene in Paris!

Bon dimanche...

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Petits sapins


For those with only the very smallest amount of space, here is a Paris option for your petit sapin de noel.



Paris is cold but only delightfully so with sun and no wind today. I feel very fortunate to have met both Laurent of Daily Photo Paris and to see again Peter of Peter's Paris. How wonderful to meet friends face to face!



Bon weekend to all!

Friday, December 3, 2010

The color of the season... orange?



Hummm... Different, creative, colorful, le sapin de noël...

I'm fine with this!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Transporting le sapin de noël





So, when in Paris, how do you get the little Christmas tree home?




Sometimes,
it is necessary to improvise
with un petit sacrifice.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Rue Cler -- an array of trees



Paris streets are full of les sapins de noël... in the street markets such as this one on Rue Cler, à la marché alimentaire, and in front of the many florist shops.


As we took a moment to look at these petite trees, some actually resembling a "Charlie Brown Christmas tree," we marveled at the "stands" made of half-logs drilled with a hole to fit the trunk of the tree.
This smaller version of a tree seems to work quite nicely for the Parisians selecting le sapin de noël for the family.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dans les yeux d'un enfant... noël

To date, this is my favorite year of les vitrines animées de noël, but I will be reporting shortly on the 2010 impressions in Paris. The winter theme for these Printemps windows was totally in white with the same little funky tune for all windows. Here is a good quality video of several of the windows (not mine). It was difficult to pick a favorite among the series but the antlered deer trembling in fear with the wolves marching around with knives and forks was comical. Notice the bears raiding an open freezer, riding bikes and eating fish. How do they make this all work?


(Please feel free to attend to my French)

Monday, November 29, 2010

Paris, city of light




At the corner of Rue Rambuteau and Rue du Temple, near Centre Georges Pompidou, the streets are decked with lights

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité

This church is known simply as La Trinité or Sainte-Trinité, built between 1861 and 1867 as part of the beautification and reorganization of Paris by Haussmann. It was designed by the Théodore Ballu taking inspiration from French and Italian Renaissance architecture. Prior to the construction, many significant historical buildings were demolished to make way for the church and surrounding roads.

The façade, with its three porches and gallery above, is topped by a large rose window and two large windows. Rising above these windows is a four-story bell tower with two cupolas at the top.

Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité
66, rue Saint Lazare


Bon dimanche

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Une couronne

How lovely this wreath would look on my front door, but I like the whole set including the box and the price tag. Crazy? Perhaps, but it just says "Paris" to me.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Riding toys -- Reflection

On a side street in the 5ième, these riding toys made a tantalizing reflection on the rain-slick sidewalk. During the holiday season, children's toys fill the windows and sometimes spill out onto the street.



To see more reflections, go to James' Newtown Area Photo here.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Le Poissonnier


I am thankful for an abundance of food, for friends and family, for an ability to travel to faraway places, for a job I love, for blogger friends around the world.... Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA friends and expats everywhere!

Oh, and I am thankful that I will be in Paris very soon!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

La Maison du Miel

La Maison du Miel, founded in 1898 by Charles Galland, has been in this shop on Rue Vignon since 1905. Even the floor tiles pay homage to the incredible bee. If you have never been here, the shopkeepers are very friendly (yes, indeed they are) and you can sample the honey before you buy. There are delicious little hard candies filled with honey also right at the check-out. Miam-miam!



The bees of Paris have a story of their own which we will talk about some day.


La Maison du Miel

24, rue Vignon



Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Père Lachaise V


An often-photographed path of Père Lachaise...


Monday, November 22, 2010

Rainy day in Jardin des Tuileries


This photo was taken on a gray December day in Jardin des Tuileries near l'Orangerie, and there was no need to present it in black and white as the weather had reduced the landscape to monochrome tones. This white marble statue is one of over a hundred found in this park, bordered on one end by Place de la Concorde and on the other end by Jardin du Carrousel and the Louvre. Peter of Peter's Paris had a post on the statues of Tuileries and noted that most of the marble ones were from the 19th Century. The marble statues in his posting appear to have been cleaned since my photo was taken.

For those of you who saw my post "Un, deux, trois" a few days ago (Nov 18), Laurent of Daily Photo in Paris has an almost identical perspective only taken at night... have a look here!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Église Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois


When the Louvre was still a royal palace (Palais du Louvre), Église Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois was its church, the former parish of the kings of France. The unusual bell tower seen here was constructed in the 12th century and is the only remaining element of that early church. It was transformed in the 19th century to its current Gothic style. The stained glass windows from the Renaissance period are magnificent and the impressive organ was originally ordered by Louis XVI for Sainte-Chapelle.

Bon dimanche



Église Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois
2, place du Louvre

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Saturday market



The usual crowd shopping in Place Maubert includes pets and acquaintances, exchanging pleasantries. This pup and his family are regulars in the neighborhood. May you enjoy your weekend comme ce monsieur et son chien.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Printemps - Vitrines Animées de Noël Réflexions

The animated windows of Printemps (2006) featured "color concentration" for its vitrines de noël with interesting music for each: jaune, rouge, orange, rose foncé. If you would like to see the animation enjoyed by adults and children go here for the video clip. In front of each window is a wooden platform to put the little ones at eye level with the scenes.


Printemps
64, boulevard Haussmann


For other reflexions (reflections) see James' Weekend Reflections