Beatles on the Wall

A post in celebration of John Lennon's birthday in two days. This was inside the giant elevator at Abbesses métro station.

Relaxing in the Place des Vosges

Chandelier at the Opéra Garnier

Gaston Leroux's novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra was first published in serial form in Le Gaulois on this date in 1909.

Librairie Alain Brieux

Notre Dame Entrance

A Drive-By Hello

On This Day...

In 1346 at the Battle of Crécy, British longbows triumphed over French crossbows and armoured knights.


In 1429, Joan of Arc made a triumphant entry into Paris.

In 1498, Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpt the Pietà.

In 1743, French chemist Antonie Lavoisier was born.

In 1789, the Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, is approved by the National Assembly in France.

In 1818, Illinois became the 21st state in the union.

In 1944, Charles de Gaulle entered Paris.

Caillebotte Exhibit, Musée Jacquemart-André

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite impressionists, Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894). Last year I had the pleasure of visiting a wonderful Caillebotte exhibit at the Musée Jacquemart-André which featured Gustave's paintings and his brother Martial's photographs. Here's a little glimpse.

Les périssoires and Pêche à la ligne:

 Les raboteurs de parquet, probably his most famous and most popular work (this was not at the Musée Jacquemart-André; it resides in the Musée d'Orsay):

Portraits à la campagne, Le déjeuner, and Toits sous la neige:

Martial's photograph of his brother Gustave:

Le Garde-Robe

Crunchy veggies drizzled with argan oil.

Étretat

This Sunday we're in Étretat, not Paris, in honor of Guy de Maupassant's birthday. He was actually born near Dieppe - another town on the northern coast - but here in Étretat at the age of 18 he saved the poet Swinburne from drowning. Étretat, about 2 1/2 hours northwest of Paris by car, is one of my favorite places in Normandy.

Pet Peeve #22: "No Photos!"

I was scolded for taking photos in two places this year in Paris:  Ladurée and, of all places, SHAKESPEARE & CO. Snooty Ladurée I can understand, but you, Shakespeare & Co.?  You? Wherefore? Don't you realize a lot of us come to your doorstep, not because of TV's Highlander, not because of Before Sunset, but because WE SAW A PHOTO OF YOU on some book-loving, Paris-lover's BLOG?!

I WAS SO ANNOYED!

Well, Ladurée, scold all you want. Here's a photo of you and of your over-priced STUFF.

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And here's a thought from Tocqueville on his birthday (this day, 1805): "à mesure qu'on creuse dans le caractère national des Américains, on s'aperçoit qu'ils n'ont cherché la valeur de presque toutes les choses de ce monde que dans la réponse à cette seule question: combien cela rapporte-t-il d'argent?" Two hundred years later, still true, no?

Little Car on the Île Saint-Louis

Time To Come Back

Timepiece from the Librairie Pinault, rue Bonaparte.

And...(Belated) Happy Bastille Day! While I was (and every self-respecting French citizen should also have been) aghast at the highly Americanized cheesy disco soundtrack for this year's fireworks display (I mean, if they wanted disco, there's plenty of FRENCH disco to go around - for BASTILLE DAY, you know?), the Frenchy in me was still in a festive mood catching the livestream of last night's celebration (screenshot below).

For a little tongue-in-cheek Francophile enthusiasm, see 18 Reasons Why I'm Proud To Be a Frenchy.