Bastille Metro Station

I have never used the Paris metro as extensively as these past days and I must say, it's really convenient (especially when it's super cold!). For the first time in my life I even found myself on the platform of line 1, at Bastille! A stunning metro station overlooking the Port de l'Arsenal which is where several boats are docked (no, it did not remind me of Malta!). Add the sun to it, and you have a perfect next to last PDP photo ;-)

Back of La Grande arche de la Défense

I went to La Défense yesterday for some last minute shopping (the shopping mall there is the only one opened on Sundays) and I took some time to go up the steps of the Grande arche and look at the sunset on the other side. It was stunning. Now is the time to fly back "home" after a hectic week in Paris. However, it seems that Malta is going to experience the same cold wave that the rest of Europe is experiencing! It's a good thing that blankets were on the shopping list yesterday ;-)

Work in progress

I love how, in Paris, they (building constructors) hide their work in progress behind huge canvases. It's primarily an ad, of course (for a dating site for women), but look at the way they reproduced the windows and even the café awnings and the passage entrance. For a moment you could think they're real. Very clever.

Just Another Autumn Photo of Old Upper Village

Merry Christmas 2014

I already posted this photo on Facebook a few days ago, but I don't resist posting it again here. It's a nativity scene I saw at the stunning Xara Palace (yes, in Malta, not Paris!) and well I really love it. The "grass" is actually bean sprouts. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.

Christmas lights on the Champs Elysées

I could not miss it, could I? By "it", I mean the Christmas lights on the Champs Elysées, a traditional seasonal shot which is very similar years after years... And though, if you've been in Paris recently you will notice that there is something missing in this photo... The Christmas market! For yes, the Christmas market along the Champs Elysées only started 6 years ago and I took this photo in 2007, when it did not exist yet!

Meet Charlie @ 3 months Head of Security @ Bunchgrass And Mountains

Christmas Shopping!

I was looking for a photo to illustrate the chaos of last minute Christmas shopping (the one I always get trapped into!) and I came across this shot, that I don't believe I ever used. I like it because it could have been taken 60 or 80 years ago, in winter, somewhere in Paris (I believe I took it near La Madeleine). I hope you've done all your shopping, if not, good luck!

Nativity scene

Christmas is approaching as you all know and it's not all about buying gifts and eating like a pig!! For the Catholics, it's the celebration of the birth of Jesus. That is why in all churches in the word you find a "Nativity Scene" (une crèche, in French). There is one at the very end of this church (Jean-Baptiste de Pigalle)! A photo I took long ago, so long I don't even remember taking it! Here in Malta, a very very Catholic country, not only churches have Nativity Scenes, but you can also see many everywhere on the island (in people's windows, at roundabouts, etc.)

Packed metro!

In 5 days I'll be back to Paros (yes, already!) to spend Christmas with my family. I won't stay very long, but long enough to experiment a few Metro trips (I have no more scooter in Paris now!). Not exactly what I'm really missing, but I guess it comes with the package. Sorry for the delayed posting again, I had to take my computer to a repair store today and only got it back late...

Eau de Paris

Funny how the things you now take for granted like water and electricity in a big western country are not that granted everywhere! To be honest, I never paid that much attention to the price of utilities when I was in Paris, because from the very first times I moved into my own place I knew it was something you had to pay and that it was not very expensive. Now that I am in Malta, I had to look into all this with much more attention for they have a different system here: the more you use electricity and water, the more you pay - that is the more each kwh and cubic meter is expensive. This to encourage households to be "reasonable". These bottles are part of the Eau de Paris collection, that you can find at the Pavillon de l'eau in the 16th arrondissement.

Paris giant has left...

Browsing through my old photos, I just came across this one! I originally posted a photo of him in January 2008 and went back recently there to see if he was still hanging, but he had left (he left in June 2010, in fact)! Why did they hang this guy on this school? Because of a legend: a giant called Isoire (or Isoré, or even Issoire which is now the name of the street) used to rob people there in the old times. Someone (Guillaume d'Orange) is said to have chopped his head off, and buried the rest of the body on site! I wish I knew the real story behind this one!

Sunrise on the Tour Saint Jacques

The Tour Saint Jacques is a Paris landmark I often posted on PDP. When I started this blog it was closed, then under repair, then it reopened and now it's fully "operational". Like I already said, this tower is all what remains of the Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchery") church, which was leveled after the French Revolution. But the most interesting part, if you're a visitor is to visit it and enjoy a view that most Parisians are not even aware of! Check this.

Freeze!

No the title of this photo has nothing to do with the current Paris weather (even though I hear it would be appropriate!), but with a big "street freeze" I photographed at the end of March 2009. It was fun, shame they don't do that anymore... Sorry for the late posting these days, but I've had to get my local Internet subscription, and it was not easy to choose!

Lost cause...

It's funny to browse through my old photos because it reminds me of many events that took place in Paris during these past 10 years. Hence this demonstration against the anti smoking in public spaces law from 2006! Tobacconists were not too happy about it because they thought it would harm their business! In fact it did not really unfortunately; after a slight drop after 2005, the number of smokers started to increase again...

Return to the Kube bar

I hear it's very cold in Paris at the moment, which made me think of a "free will" freezing experience I had once in Paris. I was invited to Le Kube bar, an ice bar located in the 18th arrondissement (but not at all in the touristy part of the 18th arrondissement, which made me doubt about its viability at the time, but I check, they are still in business!). Quite impressive and fun (to do once, in my opinion, but not twice!). Read all about it here.

Croissant anyone?

Before I left for Malta I had to make a movie about the working conditions in bakeries! I then was lucky enough to shoot images during a whole morning in a boulangerie. Here is one of the shots I took. Quite appetizing isn't it?

Courting in the sun!

A few years ago I used to work at the top floor of a large building. On the ledge of my office window, I could often see pigeons "flirting"... Once, I managed to catch a pair on "film". Cute! Even though some people consider that in a city pigeons are no better than rats! Enjoy your weekend everyone, even though for most of you it'll be cold!

Marché Beauvau

There is a famous market in the Eastern part of Paris called Le marché d'Aligre. Most of it is in open air, but part of it is also sheltered in this covered hall called La Marché Beauvau. Definitely worth a visit, for the market and for the inhabitants of this neighborhood!

Cold and rain!

I took this photo from the first floor of the musée des arts et métiers, a great museum located in one of the Louvre palace wing. Not to be missed if you come to Paris. But the reason one I picked it today is that I looked at the French news today and saw that it was going to be 4°C in Paris today. I thought this was the perfect illustration!