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 Those who have been to Paris probably have come across the Bouquinistes, these typical book sellers who don't really have a bookshop but a "box" along the Seine embankment. There are currently 217 of them along the Seine, running no less than 900 boxes - that makes a total of roughly 300 000 old and new books, postcards, photos... The first ones appeared during the 16th century and they managed to survive until now, even though there has been several attempts to eradicated them (either for political reasons or economical ones). I took this photo in one of these boxes thinking it would be perfect for our theme day. On a different note, may I also wish a scary Halloween to all my American visitors! Click here to view thumbnails for all participants to the theme day.
 Have giants taken over Paris while I was away?! No, it's only a few pieces of the work that sculptor Rabarama from Italy is currently showing in the 5th arrondissement on the occasion of La Fiac, the international modern art fair that takes place every year in Paris.I came across one of them on Place du Pantheon while I was struggling with the current terrible winter weather that I reconnected with, today ;)
 Everything comes to an end and even if I had a wonderful time in the US, it's now time to go back to my hometown. If everything goes well, I'll be in the plane to Paris when you see this photo! It shows the horse of the main Hermès shop at rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. I just like the angle of this photo and the shadows it makes on the gray sky. Of all the French brands, I think Hermès is my favorite one: it's expensive but the quality is really there and the good taste too (now I talk like my mother!!!)
 Sorry I'm late posting, but you know why. I'm just back from... the NYC PDP party. As for last year in San Francisco and at the Paris gatherings, it's always a pleasure to meet people "for real". We gathered at Pipa (a recommendation of Alexa's), a tapas restaurant very nicely decorated. I had the opportunity to meet very interesting people, with different background and experience. From right to left: Alexa, Doug, Lori, Ming, Mame, Deborah, Elisabeth, Aliya, Charles. Not to forget Vince, who kindly popped in a few minutes to tell me nice things about PDP ;) and Jessie who came in late and does not show on the photo. I was also touched to receive a call from Jeff (in Mineapolis) and a text message from Thib in Paris for the occasion. I may find it hard to post a daily photo of Paris sometimes, but all this is really rewarding ;)
 I took this photo on the Place du Marché Saint Honoré, in the 1st arrondissement, a place that used to be totally spoiled by an old, ugly fire station located right in the middle. Now you can find lots of trendy restaurants around it and the ugly building has been replaced by a new glass one, designed by famous architect Ricardo Bofill. Under this new building there is a large covered through way that kids use to ride "acrobatic bicycles". Last call for NYC PDP gathering: address, time and all details to be found here.
 It's a classic, but it's always nice to see. I also took this photo from the rue Boissy d'Anglas, like the one 2 days ago. It's Le Dôme des Invalides, that I showed several times here, but not from this angle. You don't see much of that kind of architecture in New York, where I just arrived a couple of hours ago ;) But I love skyscrapers too! If you want to join the NYC PDP party on Tuesday 28, around 5:30/6:00 pm. Stay tuned..
 Even if it looks like this photo was not taken in Paris, it was! And more precisely, at the last Mondial de l'automobile, the big automobile show that just took place in Paris. They had a section dedicated to taxis from all over the world throughout the ages and I thought this was perfect for today [Sunday], as I am heading to NYC. The PDP party will most likely take place on Tuesday 28, around 5:30/6:00 pm. Stay tuned for the location as I still need to arrange this [with Alexa!]. Also, I'd like to dedicate this post to Lynn (aka PHX-CDG) because it's thanks to her that I am here today;)
 Not far from where I took yesterday's photo, there is a little passage called la Galerie Royale - off la rue Royale - that I never knew of and that I discovered while wandering in the neighborhood. It's a place I recommend if you're near rue Royale (where the famous macaron maker Ladurée is located!) and should you want to have a drink on a quiet terrace. The buildings are really beautiful (as you can see in the photo) and the passage has kept its original flavour (the rue Royale was built in 1758). PS: if you are in New York and want to meet me next week, please check this forum entry.
 I always look up to the people (should I say the artists) who dress windows. They have to come up with new ideas, cope with the image the brand wants to promote and catch the passers by attention. That is exactly what happed to me when I passed by this Lanvin window display in the Boissy d'Anglas street. The whole setting was actually very creative and I do regret not to have been able to photograph it due to the light reflexion in the glass. PS: if you are in New York and want to meet me next week, please check this forum entry.
 One of the side effects of the smoking ban in cafés and restaurants is that smokers feel compelled to go outside in the street to have their shoot fix. And what happens when they are outside altogether? They talk, laugh, chuckle... drop their cigarette ends on the ground and trigger much anger from the neighbors! The problem has become so important that the town hall had to react and launched a massive campaign. The photo I took shows one of the posters you can now find outside many places. It says "Outside, let's talk quietly" and the little shoeshine box on the left is, in fact, a portable ashtray that is provide for free to cafés and restaurants so that they can give them to their customers.
 More towers, yes, but no more like this! As a matter of fact, the next tower that is going to be built in Paris will have very little to do with that kind of quick and dirty 70ish cheap skyscraper - nor with the Montparnasse style tower! - but with a stunning, ambitious architectural project. It will be called "Le triangle", will be located in the 15th arrondissement and will be more like a "vertical city" (in which you'll find apartments, offices, cafés, gardens...) than anything else. It's just a project for the time being, but I really hope it will be built. Have a look at this little video, I'm sure you will agree ;)
 I could not help taking a photo when I passed this scene today on the Quai (river bank) de la Megisserie. This place is well known for being a pet and plants market where lots of unusual creatures can be found - including plastic gnomes in a cage! We, in France, have a partiality for gnomes especially the ones that people put in their gardens. There is even " national garden gnomes liberation front" ( here is the american equivalent!) that regularly makes it to the headlines for having "freed" a few of them from their gardens (where the front assumes they are kept prisonners of course!) - PS: I'll post more news about the PDP meeting in NY later, as I don't know yet where and when it's going to be held.
 Here is another typical Paris scene! We often call the bar that can be found in cafés, "Le zinc", after the name of the metallic chemical element (even though, and I'm sure it will be a surprise to all my French readers, I found out that no bars have ever been made out of Zinc!). The little red and white napkin under the glasses is also very French: the red and white motive (which can also be green or blue) is called "Le Vichy" because it was originally made in Vichy (in the South center of France) - It was Brigitte Bardot who made it famous when she got married in a Vichy style dress in 1959!
 I may have spent 2 days in what we call the 21st arrondissement of Paris (that is what we call Deauville because, during weekends, you find more Parisians there than locals!) it still feels good to be back home. To celebrate, let me offer you - and Suzy in particular LOL - a real cliché(!). Now I have to work on my next trip to the US (I have no idea where to organize a PDP party in the big Apple?!) and take enough Paris photos to keep you guys busy while I'm away ;)
 I'm still at the Women's Forum in Deauville until tomorrow evening and I thought this photo would be appropriate for the day ;) I took it in a hair dresser's shop close to the Edouard VII near Madeleine. That's all! Let me just wish you a nice weekend. PS: since I'm going to be in NYC on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 someone asked me if I would organize a little gathering in Manhattan. Are there several of you interested?
 Who said only men are interested in sex? Had you been yesterday evening at the Naughty Paris guidebook launch party you would have been convinced of the contrary... The party took place at Yoba's, a chic shop dedicated to women's pleasure and the queen of the evening was Heather Stimmler-Hall (it's her in the photo!), the author of the book. To quench the guests' thirst, among the erected objects that could be found in the place, there were also a few bottles of Champagne... Funny: tomorrow I'm off to another female gathering: the Women's forum. Should I bring Heather's book with me ;)
 I know that for most of you, La Parisienne probably refers to a sophisticated, elegantly dressed young woman... But the Swiss made her a cigarette! The brand was created in 1887 and owns apparently 16% of the Swiss market. Now, the funny part is that this photo was given to me by a real Parisienne, a one that PDPers know very well: Guille! Precisely I was supposed to take part in a another of these nice dinners where she and other PDP followers (Lynn, Thib, Katie...) were gathering last night, but I really needed to sleep. BTW, I'll be on vacation 2 weeks from next Monday (Boston and NYC).
 I've been passing by this beautiful industrial building for several weeks now and I have been willing to photograph it for a long time. Last night, I did! It's called Le Losserand (because it's located rue Losserand) and it's an old sub power station built in the 20's, that has been turned into offices this year. The interesting story is that its architect, Emmanuel Saadi, embedded no less than 45 000 solar cells in it, in order to produce some electricity (about 70 80kW/h, which is not much, but better than nothing!). The other interesting part is that they kept its old original structure, its stones in particular, called Meulières and very typical of Paris.
 I took this photo on my way back from the office last evening at... 10 pm! Who said the French only work 35 hours a week! Anyway, when it's late and when you have nothing in your fridge, I think there is no better alternative than a pizza ;) There are dozens of pizzerie in Paris all claiming to serve the best pizzas of course (see here for a selection). By the way, did you know that the pizza was invented about 3000 years ago by the Egyptians (it was more a flat bread at that time). Its name comes from Pinsa, which is the past participle of Pinsere (to spread in Latin). The things your learn on PDP!!
 In one of the covered passages that I have, close to my home, there is one called Le Passage Jouffroy that I already mentioned here several times. It shelters many interesting places to visit (including the Musée Grévin (wax museum)) and a a stunning gallery of antique walking canes that I also already mentioned here, but a long long time ago. All the canes they have are really extraordinary (more photos here).
 I took this photo at the base of a stunning sculpture called Le marchand de masques (the mask seller). Created by Zacharie Astruc (1835-1907), it can be found in the Luxembourg gardens, near the entrance on the Panthéon side. The interesting part about it is that the masks were actually made to resemble famous French people (Victor Hugo, Gustave Corot, Alexandre Dumas, Hector Berlioz...), which makes discovering this artwork even more exciting.
 We're experiencing a sort of Indian summer in Paris at the moment (sort of, because we have no actual Indian summers in France!) and it's quite nice. Here is the photo I took this morning on my way to work. I took it from the Pont des Arts, where I waited for someone to walk "into the sun" (which was hard, because people nicely kept waiting for me to take a picture before actually walking pass the objective!). When I see this, I understand why so many people are in love with Paris ;)
 Apparently the French Aerospace museum owns the largest collection of "flying objects" (which includes balloons from the 17th century!). Like last year, they picked a few models and exhibited them at the bottom of the Champs Elysées. Passers by can then currently see the only SPAD XIII (apparently a very rare plane built in 1917), the first helicopter - well the first "plane" that took off vertically in 1907 (called Cornu, after the name of its designer) and many other unique models. I chose to show you the European rocket - called Ariane (Astrium is the company that owns almost 30% of Arianespace, the main European rocket company).
 If you were in Paris at the moment you could see a movie made by two French film makers Karl Zero (a nickname) and Michel Royer, dedicated to... George Bush! The main "character" in the movie is, of course, the actual U.S. President, but the voice-over is done by imitator Jim Meskimen. I haven't seen it, but the trailer gives a pretty good idea of the result... As you can imagine, the whole movie is not exactly in favor of Bush. Take a close look at the poster they use to promote the film (that you can see above in the photo, or better here, in the making of); it's an adaptation of a famous painting by Ingres.
 Le Monde is one of the leading French national newspapers even though its certified circulation only amounts to 316 851 copies (it amounted to 800 000 copies in 1968!). Its original location was rue des Italiens in the 9th arrondissement; this address was so famous that sometimes Le Monde was referred to as "the daily paper from rue des Italiens". Because of its financial problems, however, Le Monde had to move to cheaper places in Paris - and in the suburbs. Its latest location is here, where I took this photo, at Boulevard Auguste Blanqui, in the 13th arrondissement. I'm told it's a very nice building inside (designed by famous architect Christian de Portzamparc). More - in French - here.
 I know it looks like a painting but it's not. It's a photo of l'Assemblée Nationale (French Parliament) dressed with the colors of the European Union that I took last evening (Monday) from the Pont de la Concorde. France happens to be leading the European Union until the end of the year (see more on this site), that is why some monuments show the colours of Europe. It was probably planned a long time ago, but ironicaly, in these times of financial crisis, it seems to be extremely appropriate to remind us Europeans, that we need to stick together more than ever! I need your help! For an article, I'm urgently looking for (funny) stories about traders - in relation to the recent crisis. Kinda like " Now that they've lost their home, too bad they can't even sleep in their Porsche because the seats don't fully recline!". If you heard any, please mail them to eric (at) tenin.com Thank you.
 I have now been monitoring my food (in other words, I have been dieting!) since March now - with pretty good results, thank you very much ;) - but today I passed by the shop of Pierre Hermé and for once there was no line outside (yes, it can happen!). I could not resist buying - and eating right away - 2 macarons... I know it's bad but when you're at the doorstep of heaven (or is it hell?) how can you resist? For those of you who would have never heard of Pierre Hermé, let's just say he's one of the most talented Pastry chefs around (see more on Wikipedia and/or on his official website).
 Not far from where I took this photo, and this one as well, I was wandering around the 13th arrondissement which is often referred to as the Chinese quartier. However, amongst the vast number of Chinese restaurants, exotic food stands, and famous Tang Frères store, you still will find little "mews" or "passages" with cute city homes tucked away. This one caught my eye for several reasons...the sun on number 9 (good lotto number?), the "STOP PUB" warning and of course, the "Bad Dog" sign warning the postman that if the sign isn't enough to deter him from depositing junk mail, the dog certainly will!
 I came across this unexpected photo shoot yesterday (Friday) on my way back from a meeting in the 8th arrondissement. I could have you guess where these two guys were standing but I won't play games with you ;) As you can see in this broader view, they were on top of... the Opera. I'll probably never know why they were there (probably a photo for a fashion designer or something) but I could not help but stopping my scooter and take the photo. That is all for today. I've had a tough week, I deserve a little rest! Have a good weekend too.
 Despite its claim to be disabled friendly, Paris is not exactly a heaven for people with reduced mobility. Scooters and motorbikes are often parked on sidewalks and block the way, the metro is not accessible to wheelchairs - very few buses are - public phones require to stand, ATMs also, etc. Much worse, socially, disabled people are not very well integrated. That is the reason why when I saw this cute little lady riding the streets of Paris in her wheelchair on a rainy day, I thought to myself, "Gee, this one has some guts!". FYI, here is an excellent guidebook for people in wheelchairs who want to move around Paris. It was made in 2003, but I'm sure not much has changed since then.
 In Paris a lot of shutters are made of steel and not wood. Steel is supposed to last longer, but... it can rust. Which is good for photographers, especially if someone adds some colorful graffiti to them;) On another colorful note, let me take the opportunity of today's post to finally disclose the address of the website project I've been working on for 9 months already and that I finally launched last Thursday. It's in French (although the little video at the beginning includes interviews of some Americans) so you may not be interested, but since I really worked hard to bring it to life, I thought I could afford to exceptionally share the news with you today. Please pay a visit to www.courriercadres.com ;)
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