Le Carrousel de Nogent

Le Carrousel de Nogent

The carousel is protected from the elements by the glass windows.  

It is nice to see that they have chairs for the adults, 

well... for the adults who do not ride.

Le Carrousel de Nogent

Nogent Sur Marne, just beyond Bois de Vincennes

 

Aux Saveurs d'Auvergne - des fleurs

Aux Saveurs d'Auvergne

charcuterie

There was simply not enough room on the sidewalk...

The solution?

Make a balcony for an abundance of flowers and pots 

on the premier étage!

Aux Saveurs d'Auvergne

111, rue Mouffetard

75005, Paris

Parc de Monceau - l'enfant en rouge

Parc de Monceau

Leaving the playground at Parc de Monceau

for the short walk home with Maman.

The few tousled curls are the only sign 

of the hard hours of play at the park.

Must be a French girl

Parc de Monceau

Boulevard de Courcelles

75008, Paris

 

Église Saint-Étienne du Mont - un kaléidoscope

Église Saint-Étienne du Mont

a kaleidoscope

The stained glass windows provide a colorful backdrop 

for the ruby glass of the altar candelabra

bon dimanche

Église Saint Étienne du Mont

1, place Ste-Geneviève

75005, Paris

Un glycine en fleures - Montmartre

Wisteria blooms cascade

with lavender frills, 

balanced by chartreuse

and a new growth of leaves...

bon weekend

The gated courtyard

1, avenue Junot

75018, Paris

Hôtel du Nord - Qui est cet homme?

Hôtel du Nord

I took this photo three years ago, a photo of a photo.

It was perched on a ledge behind my table at Hôtel du Nord on Canal St. Martin.

Often, when I look through my Paris photos 

I run across this one and wonder just who this man might be.  

Is he a movie star, un chanteur, a friend of the restaurant, who?

I almost posted this in black and white, 

but could you do that to those aquamarine eyes?

really!

Qui est ce beau gosse?

Hôtel du Nord

102 Quai de Jemmapes

75010, Paris

Une petite fille

Not quite tall enough...

This petite fille is quite prepared to gain entrance to her home

using the chasse-roue as a step to reach the bell.

Must be a French girl

Canal St. Martin

Quai de Jemmapes

75010, Paris

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Quiet walks, a few cats,

voices from the past,

and a cool spring breeze...

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

16, rue de Repos

75020, Paris

musicien de rue

Street Musician

His lilting song

was equal to the twinkle in his eye

Place Furstenberg

75006, Paris

Marché Bastille

Marché Bastille

Seen here on a market day (Thursdays and Sundays), you can buy almost anything from produce, seafood, bread, flowers, cheese, and other food items to household goods.  However, on Saturdays, this sprawling area is transformed into a street market of "art and creation," an opportunity to explore, to buy, and to talk with the artists.

The street art and fine craft markets around the world allow a visitor (tourist?) to take home a sketch or a post-card sized painting for a reasonable amount.  My collection ranges from Punta Arenas to Prague and many places in between.  Each petit quelque chose provides a more permanent memory of a city/country than a souvenir stand could ever offer. 

Marché Bastille

Marché de la Création Paris-Bastille

Boulevard Richard Lenoir

75011, Paris

Église Saint-Agnan de Chartres

Église Saint-Agnan de Chartres:

a simple iron gate* in a 500 year-old church

joyeuses Pâques

Église Saint-Aignan de Chartres

12, place de l'Etape au Vin

28000, Chartres

 

*with cobwebs 

Painted eggs...

Displayed in an iron and glass case, 

these painted and lacquered eggs are a beautiful reminder

of a bygone era.

I remember having a very old one like these 

as a child that would open to reveal the treats inside.  

I do imagine that the treats in these 

would be better than the jelly beans I had.

Rue Montorgueil

75002, Paris

des oeufs de chocolat

Chocolate Eggs!

When it comes to sweets 

and my péché mignon* in the world of indulgences 

(seen here in the form of chocolate eggs), 

it is important to decide if the calorie splurge is worth it.

These eggs are totally in the "worth it" category!

bon weekend

Au Levain du Marais

28, Boulevard  Beaumarchais

(at corner of Rue du Pasteur Wagner)

75011, Paris

*guilty pleasure

Rue du Trésor - le vélo

Rue du Trésor

the bicycle

This short pedestrian street 

has a border of green on both sides 

with a variety of cafés and bistrots.  

The flash of rain just prior to my photo 

gives an extra boost of green to the new spring growth.  

It is not too difficult to dodge the showers.

Rue du Trésor

75004, Paris

la Seine et des parapluies

A few drops of rain do not stop Paris,

nor a deluge...

nor a snowstorm...

The wet pavement 

makes for nice photographs

La Seine

75006, Paris

Jardin du Palais Royal - les trois amies

Jardin du Palais Royal

three friends

The three little friends were playing in the garden at Palais Royal, 

dressed for a cooler spring day and the rains that will surely follow.

Must be French girls

Jardin du Palais Royal

75001, Paris

 

 

des oeufs chocolate

Chocolate eggs, baskets, and other delectable treats 

are featured by the chocolatiers of Paris.  

The boutique windows are full of candies 

made in the fine traditions of the marchand de bonbons.

Although I have watched the Parisians buy these beautiful creations, 

I do not believe that I have seen them sit with a bag of chocolates on a park bench.  

Marché d'Aligre

75012, Paris

  

Panthéon et Église Saint Étienne du Mont

Looking across the end of the Square de l'Île de France the textures and colors are punctuated by the 5ème arrondissement's notable skyline.  The Panthéon is the tallest building and Église Saint Étienne du Mont is to the left, an easy walk from Pont Saint Louis where this photo was taken.

bon dimanche

from Pont Saint Louis

75004, Paris

Cimetière du Montparnasse - l'avenue violet

Cimetière du Montparnasse

A large-scale art installation by Christo would be no more exquisite than this little avenue in Cemetière du Montparnasse, strewn with the violet blooms.

The colors of spring are vivid and a treat for the eyes.

Cimetière du Montparnasse

75014, Paris

 

l'Opéra Restaurant - le café rouge

le café rouge

Although this photo was taken early in the morning, I have seen a good-sized crowd for lunch.  Just beyond the gates you can see the entrance of l'Opéra Restaurant which I featured several weeks ago.

Have you been here?  

Can you tell me how you found the food and the service? 

 It might be worth having a coffee and a small pastry 

to watch the world walking by.

bon weekend

café at l'Opéra Restaurant

Palais Garnier

1, place Jacques Rouchés

75009, Paris

Aux Anysetiers du Roy et des hortensias

Aux Anysetiers du Roy

pink hydrangeas!

Although the bright pink hydrangeas* were the focus of my photo, this charming restaurant set in a Medieval building has more history than can be imagined.  Serving simple, classic French fare, Madame oversees all the food preparations.  Devotees of this  non-touristy restaurant swear by the French onion soup, Cassoulet Maison,  Boeuf Bourguignon and Crème Brûlée.

Set on the quiet Île Saint Louis, 

one can step back hundreds of years

 into a building which has not changed by much 

and enjoy traditional French comfort food ...

which has not changed at all.

Aux Anysetiers du Roy

61, rue Saint Louis en l'Île

75004, Paris

*corrected - merci beaucoup Lance, Jane, and Alan!

Rosa Bonheur - Il pleut!

Rosa Bonheur

Bucolic delights reign at Rosa Bonheur, a bar set in a former guinguette in the heart of Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Its name loosely translates as ‘pink happiness’ but refers in particular to 19th-century French painter and sculptor ‘Rosa Bonheur’, famous for her depictions of animals and her role in the early feminist movement (alongside George Sand and Sarah Bernhardt).

Sunday evenings are packed.  A group of us were there last May, enjoyed the music and the party.  As we left in a driving rainstorm, the serious night party crowd was just arriving.  The people in the queue did not seem the least daunted by the line or the rain.  C'est Paris!

Rosa Bonheur - Parc des Buttes Chaumont

2, avenue de la Cascade

75019, Paris

 

Boulevard Edgar Quinet - des chapeaux

Arts Fair

Boulevard Edgar Quinet

Along Boulevard Edgar Quinet there is an open produce market in the central alley of the boulevard every Wednesday and Saturday morning (7am-2:30pm) and an arts fair every Sunday (10am until sunset). On this spring Sunday an artist was displaying a colorful assortment of hats.  Other vendors offered watercolors, collage, handcrafted leather, pottery, and other art and fine craft.

Arts Fair

Boulevard Edgar Quinet

75014, Paris

Métros Edgar Quinet or Raspail

Pensive? Nostalgique?

Printemps - premier étage

As this statue perched outside on the second floor 

peers in at the grand staircase, 

do you think that she must be a bit wistful 

to have spent the past 100 years 

only looking in at the fashions of Printemps?

must be a French girl

Printemps

64, boulevard Haussmann 75009, Paris

La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

Sacré Coeur

This notable basilica made of travertine stone displays its white stamp on the Paris landscape.  This sacred landmark sits high on the butte of Montmartre overseeing all of Paris.

The photo was taken from my perch at the Temple of Sybil which sits on Buttes Chaumont.

bon dimanche

La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

35, rue du Chevalier de la Barre

75018, Paris

Paulownias en fleurs - Avenue de Laumière

Paulownia trees

In an explosion of color, 

the view of Avenue de Laumière is obstructed 

by the mass of Paulownia trees 

lining the street from Métro Laumière

 to the end at Parc des Buttes Chaumont.  

If you are in Paris this spring, 

take a trip to the park walking along this street for a few blocks.  

It makes for a grand promenade

14, avenue de Laumière

75019, Paris

Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain - le reflet

Fondation Cartier

a contemporary art museum

Fondation Cartier inhabits a striking clear glass building designed by Pritzker Prize architect Jean Nouvel surrounded by a modern woodland garden landscaped by Lothar Baumgarten.  Would you believe that the landscaper's name translates to "tree garden?"

Seen from across Boulevard Raspail, it is difficult to discern the trees from the building with a multitude of green reflections.

Fondation Cartier is one of Europe's most important institutions for contemporary arts.  It hosts a constant stream of temporary exhibitions focusing on particular contemporary artists, schools, or themes.  It is also an important patron to contemporary artists, commissioning important works and offering artist-in-residence programs.

bon weekend

Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain

261, boulevard Raspail

75014, Paris

 Joining James' Weekend Reflections

View all the contributions here

Quai Saint-Michel - "layers"

Layers seen along theSeine

Taken from the Pont Saint-Michel you can see layers from the buildings along the quai, the bouquinistes, the level under the street, the banks of the Seine, and finally the Seine herself.

How have I not noticed the walkway under the street level on this south side of the river?  What are those open spaces in the stone wall, and what lies beyond?  I am thinking of Jean-Valjean and M. Hugo.

Quai Saint-Michel et Pont Saint-Michel

75004, Paris

Le Petit Colbert - le café

Le Petit Colbert

Too early or too late

This empty café will be bustling within a few hours...

Wish that we were there now

Le Petit Colbert
8, rue Monsigny

75002, Paris

Pyramide du Louvre - City Daily Photo Theme Day: triangles

Pyramide du Louvre

The first day of the month is Theme Day for the City Daily Photo community, and the theme for April is "triangles."  In Paris there are two obvious and very large architectural structures which would pass the test:  La Tour Eiffel and I M Pei's Pyramide du Louvre, seen here.  

Taken in spring at dusk with the last glow of daylight, it takes on the watercolor hues of l'heure bleue.  The "blue hour" is a magical time of day when the softness of the fading light of day creates the colors only seen in artists' palettes and then dances across the Pyramide.

Pyramide du Louvre

Musée du Louvre

75001, Paris

See "triangles" from cities around the world here

from my friends of CDP