Sunday, July 29, 2012

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?

Sunday, July 15, 2012

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.