Painted ad Bouillon Kub

I love it that in Paris, in some places, you can still see old painted ads like this one for "Bouillon Kub", a dehydrated broth formed into a small cube (hence the name Kub!). I took this photo in the 11th arrondissement, but you find these ads everywhere (I already showed you one, once). 

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Champs Elysées building

Yesterday evening I had a dinner on one of the last floors of a champs Elysées building (the offices of the monechelle.fr website)  and it was really fantastic. I took several photos including this one of a beautiful café terrace. When I was younger (in the 80's) there was a large lane that would allow parking on both sides exactly where this café terrace is! Hard to believe that now...

Paris Tropical Carnival

I never knew about the Paris Tropical Carnival and though... it's been taking place for 13 years now! I only discovered about it by chance last Saturday because I needed to go to the hardware store and found more about it on the web today. It was really fun to see not only the Carnival but also the people in the audience (We have a large Caribbean community in Paris). Shame that the weather was not very nice.

Bal des pompiers

Like every year on the eve of Le 14 juillet (Bastille Day), the pompiers (firemen) of France organize big balls (bal des pompiers) in their fire station and let everyone one in for a very festive moment. It's also a way for them to raise a little charity money. Last evening I was too tired (well, lazy...) to go out so I did not get any bal des pompiers photo like I usually do every year. Instead here is a photo I took in 2012, while I caught a battalion of pompiers (in Paris, firemen are part of the army) marching on the Trocadero Esplanade. Needless to say that the music they play during the balls is nothing like military music, but real dance music!

Preparing Bastille Day (14 juillet)

Pretty soon it' will be Le 14 juillet (Bastille day), the day the French celebrate their revolution (which took place in 1789). There will be a huge march on the Champs Elysées, an air show and, of course, huge fireworks. Preparaing all this takes a lot of time, you need to install the seats on the champs Elysées, the equipment under the Eiffel Tower (for the fireworks!) and... street signs to help military vehicles reach Les Champs Elysées! That is precisely what these two guys were doing, when I caught them in the act near La Republique square.

British satellite television

I passed by Notre Dame yesterday and saw this guy with this T-shirt in front of the church. I just thought it was funny. Of course it has nothing to do with God, but with... Sky Television, a British satellite television service. 

beautiful Tour Saint Jacques

Gee, what a celebration it has been! Parade, WWI exhibit, concerts, fireworks... We Parisians - and the tourists - really had a great time. Had we won the soccer/football World Cup as well, we would have been ecstatic;-) Time for a little break now... How about this beautiful Tour Saint Jacques at sunset that I photographed a few days ago. I know you've already seen it, but...

Bastille Day parade

Yesterday was the traditional Défilé du 14 juillet (Bastille Day parade) on the Champs Elysées. It was also the occasion to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WWI (a war that killed millions of soldiers from many nationalities). Among the WWI related events, there was a living exhibit in the Jardin des Tuileries where amateur history lovers dressed in WWI era attire reenacted what it was like during that time. It was not only authentic, but also really moving.

La Parisienne au soleil

Shoes off, mineral water at reach, book, relaxed posture... Of course I suppose this photo could have been taken almost everywhere in the world, but to me, it's a very Parisian scene! That is why I titled it "La Parisienne au soleil" (the parisian girl in the sun). Have a great Friday everyone. I'm off to Normandy for the weekend.

Nice spectacle!

Hey there!

Arrondissement, A very timely graffito

I found this "urban fresco" under a bridge on a pretty concealed street in the 13th arrondissement. It must be fairly new as the topic is evidently current... That's all I'll say about the subject.

Galeries Lafayette

Believe it or not, I've been several times to the rooftop of Le Printemps, but I had never been to the one of Galeries Lafayette. And yesterday - because I was early to a meeting - I did! Wow! It's certainly a place not to miss. First of all because of the view (I'll show it to you soon, but it's very similar to the one of Le Printemps of course (the two stores are next to each other), but because it's enormous and arranged like a little prairie with cafés, ice-cream parlors and couches! I could not stay very long, but I'll definitely go back. BTW the immaculate blue sky in the background is 100% real!