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 Capoeira dance has been quite fashionable in Paris for some time now. Not only can you take classes if you want to practice yourself, but you can also see it performed in the street, just like I did in Montmartre. Most people don't know that this "dance" - I understand it was more a martial art - was "invented" by the slaves brought to Brazil by the Portuguese (I'm sure that Monica can tell us more about Capoeira!). It's quite impressive to see anyway. Let me take advantage of this post to refer you to Knol for the first time, as this new Google thing was launched today;)
 Things are pretty rough at the moment on my side so I went back to Montmartre for a walk around the vineyards (it's the green part, in the background) and I came across this little square, named after Roland Dorgelès, a French journalist and writer who became famous after a hoax: he attached a brush to the tail of a donkey, made it paint "something", called the painting " Sunset over the Adriatic" signed it by the donkey's name anagram Boronali (first name Joachim-Raphaël!) and managed to exhibit the "masterpiece" at an art show in 1910! It sold for 400 francs (1 400 of today's euros) apparently.
 Many of you have heard of Les Abbesses area because that is where the movie " Amélie" takes place. Not far from the metro station, there is a church called Saint Jean de Montmartre which I had never visited before. It was completed in 1904 after long fights over its revolutionary structure: Reinforced Concrete! Was it going to be solid enough?! We know the answer now: it was, and it still is... The facade is interesting too (red bricks) and so is the inside as you can see in this photo (in the foreground you can see the holy water font which is located right in the middle at the entrance when you walk in - 1st time I see one like that).
 Like all big cities Paris has its "red light district". It is located in the 18th arrondissement, around La Place Pigalle (named after Jean-Baptiste Pigalle) where you can still find several cabarets that started it all (eg, Le Moulin Rouge). Of course, nowadays, showing half naked dancers is much less provocative than around 1900, but still, a lot of visitors from out of town enjoy a little ride in Pigalle at dusk! And when they do, they generally don't miss one of the most emblematic places in this area: the Sexodrome! "The largest adult entertainment center in Europe" as they put it, offers absolutely everything to please both genders on almost 3 000 sq meters (32 000 sq feet)! Ahhhh Paris!
 How about a nice little Graffiti to finish the week? I took this photo rue Saint Bruno, in the 18th arrondissement and I like it, because of the father and son passing by in the middle of the picture. Browsing the web I found out who Rahman is: he's a singer from the Ivory Coast and he is also a "slammer" (call me totally old fashioned but I'm not sure what it is exactly...). I'm glad my week is over, I'm going to relax this weekend and take tons of photos of course.
 It's been a while since I wanted to visit Hotel Kube, a very trendy hotel located in a very unusual place of Paris - for high-end hotels anyway; the 18th arrondissement? Last night, thanks to Packard Bell who had a product launch over there, I had the opportunity to go there and test what this hotel is famous for: its ice bar. Funny as hell. Everything is made of ice:the bar itself, the "furniture", the sculptures... even the glasses! Of course you have to wear a warm outfit, gloves, a ski hat... and you cannot really stay more than 20 minutes. And all you can drink is vodka! Check this little video clip that I made with the rest of my photos.
Thank you very much for all your nice congratulations, I cannot reply to every one but it really makes me happy;)
 I often get messages from people asking me if they'll manage to get by in Paris without speaking French. I always reply that there is no problem, because more and more French people can speak English nowadays - I'm sure you noticed it, if you already came here. I looked on the web for stats (number of French people able to speak English) but only found 1991 figures. Anyway, to illustrate our "opening to the world", I photographed the entrance of this restaurant in Montmartre where they claim to speak English, Italian and... Monegasque (that is French!)
 In Montmartre, at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a "painter" called Francisque Poulbot who became famous for his drawings of children. He is still so famous, that we currently use the word "Un Poulbot" when talking about a little Parisian kid. In Montmartre, you find post cards, place mats, canvasses... of his drawings everywhere. That is precisely where I took this photo (actually on the Place des Abesses) which shows the back of a ticket booth of a merry-go-round. It's not a real Poulbot scene, though, as, when Poulbot was alive (between 1879 and 1946) there were surely no skateboards!!
 OK, that's a classic, but I love fall colors. There are more and more of these dead leaves in Paris as... there are more and more trees in the streets of Paris (apparently - even if it's not easy to check - 6 400 new trees were planted over the last 7 years by the City town hall). I took this photo in Montmartre, not far from the Sacré Coeur. By the way, if you like the French song "Autumn Leaves", here is a version by Yves Montand. Don't forget, tomorrow is a theme day within the DP community... PS: happy Halloween to my American visitors!
 You want to know how to say "I love you" in Urdu, Arabic or Vietnamese? Well, simple, you just need to go to Le jardin des Abesses where you will see the " Mur des Je t'aime", where "I love you" is written in more than 300 languages and dialects. This wall, made of 511 blue tiles, is actually a work of art created by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito. Frédéric collected the I love yous between 1992 and 1998 and Claire is a Calligraphy expert. Very cool idea. Check this site if you want to know more (in French only) and this Quicktime video if you want to see the whole wall.
 How about something light for today? I found these bags in a tourist shop in Montmartre and although they are of debatable taste(!) I could not help laughing when I saw them. I suppose they perfectly fit the common image of the sexy French woman who, as we all know, spends her time dancing the Cancan in sexy outfits! I wish you a very good week end, warmer than in Paris ;)
 I already mentioned in 2005 the Montmartre vineyard which still produces wine every year. Of course, it's not the best wine on earth, but, still Parisians are very proud of their local "Clos Montmartre" which bears a different name each year (this year, it's the "Georges Brassens cuvée" after the name of a famous French singer). The harvest ( les vendanges) is the occasion to hold a big party attended by locals and personalities - with the money raised from the sale of more than 1,500 bottles being donated to various charities.
 France is kinda upside down at the moment... We have just been humiliated by the Argentinian rugby team, Paris suffered two terrible days of strikes and our President makes the news all over the world after he announced his divorce. How about a little visit to the museum - any museum, even Orsay where Claude Monet's "Pont d'Argenteuil" was recently vandalized!? Even in this photo the lights are turned upside down.
 You might have heard the news today, President Sarkozy and his wife Cécilia have announced earlier today (Thursday) that they will get a divorce (check). This news did not really come as a surprise to most French people as the rumor was already all over the press these past few days. Still, I believe this is some sort of a first (to my knowledge no other President divorced while in office, but you may know of one?). I thought that this photo of a poster I found in Montmartre might help illustrate the new, free French woman that Cécilia has become...
 You remember this photo? Well, I found another interesting game of shadows in a little square in the 18th arrondissement. This is what I love about Paris : within the blink of an eye you can go from a very busy street to the quietest place on earth and feel at the country. There are 418 public gardens, 15 parks et 32 walkways in Paris, which, probably is nothing compared to London, but not too bad for a big city.
 " Tirez les premiers Messieurs les Anglais ! (Shoot first, English sirs) " Well this quote, apparently originating from the Count of Anterroche during the Fontenoy battle in 1745 could not be more appropriate for today. Although I could not witness the game (the rugby semi final), I know that we lost it and even though it breaks my heart, I could not do anything else than posting an English flag on PDP! I will even go as far as: "congratulations!!" And I almost mean it LOL.
 How about a little cliché for today? The black and white postcard, the little shop in the background, the cobblestone... With a little imagination, you can even hear the accordion music! I thought this was the perfect picture to introduce a very funny video that was reported to me today by Cindy from San José, California. This video, made by a real Frenchman, will teach you in a pretty funny way, how to speak French in 5 minutes!
 Everyday, Parisians use 600,000 cubic meters (158 million gallons) of drinkable water... Half of this water comes from sources located about 50 miles away from the city and is brought to Paris via Aqueducts and the other half is "produced" by purification plants also located outside Paris. The water is then distributed to tanks thanks to huge pumping systems. I photographed one of these tanks in Montmartre. As you can see ( here another view), it is really shaped like the old water towers that you can see in the country (we call them "Chateau d'eau" (water castles)). More about the amazing Paris water network on this site, but only in French.
 Yesterday evening I attended a big opening in Galeriew, a gallery that I really love and where I already took a photo last year. It's not only very well located (near Les Abesses, not far from Montmartre) but it's also a great place to see. And, last, but not least, this gallery features real good artists. If you happen to be in the neighborhood do pay it a visit, it's located on 44 rue Lepic in the 18th arrondissement.
 Whether or not this graffiti artist is mocking "the art establishment" or not I do not know, but I do know that I really liked this when I came upon it. Taken in Montmartre - you can tell by the street sloping! - no space is safe from personal expression. You can also notice a poster for Gospel Dream. If you come to Paris and have time, you can see this and other gospel groups singing in some of Paris' famous churches.
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