Le Petit Nicolas

This picture is taken on the rue de Rivoli entrance of the City Hall where an exhibition of "The Little Nicholas" is taking place.

The "Little Nicholas" is a comic book created by Sempé and Goscinny (Astérix) in the late 50's and still very popular. Not only because our Président's first name is Nicolas and is ...  little !

Picard

"Picard " are shop where you can buy good frozen food.  Working Parisians often shop there since you find these shops in every area and they sell good quality food. 

I pictured that one because it must be the best located Picard shop in Paris. The building is old and nice and the address is "Place du Panthéon" right in front of the beautiful Pantheon on top of the Sainte Geneviève mountain (which is actually a hill as you may have noticed Paris is not in a mountain area). 

Théâtre de l'Odéon

This pathway is part of the Odéon Theatre in the 6th arrondissement. Located near the Luxembourg gardens and palace to wich this pathway leads it first opened in 1782 to house France's national theatre, the Comédie Française, and is one of the five national theatres in France fully funded by the Ministry for Culture. I have been working in this part of Paris for some times and I do regret it as one can imagine since I now work in the suburb.

Spring in Luxembourg garden

Although the sun did not appear this week-end in Paris, the Luxembourg garden have their spring look.

Alexander Calder at Beaubourg

I went to see the Alexander Calder exhibition yesterday at Beaubourg (Georges Pompidou Center Museum). An absolute not to miss beautifull exibition if you're in Paris.

The museum also shows a Kandinsky exhibition which is great too. Sun is gone and has been replaced by rain so it's a good time for cultural activities!

Notre Dame from Saint Julien le Pauvre

Yesterday I wrote about the nice view we can get of Notre Dame from the garden of the Church of Saint Julien le Pauvre. Here it is.

As you can see we had a beautiful blue sky this week in Paris. Unfortunately the forecast is bad for the week-end.

Saint Julien le Pauvre

The Eglise Saint Julien le Pauvre (French for Church of Saint Julian the Poor) , is a Melkite Greek Catholic church. 

It was first a small chapel in the time of Lutèce and was destroyed in 886. Built in Gothic style during the 13th century (it was finished around 1240) this "new" church is known as the oldest church in Paris. It is located in the 5th arrondissement, on the Left Bank of the Seine River not far from Notre Dame cathedral.  Don't we feel like being somewhere in Greece ? 

The little garden around the church is very nice and romatic and offers a perfect view on Notre Dame.

Storher inside

As promissed yesterday : a look through the window at Storher on the deli side.

Stohrer outside

This is an "historical" patisserie shop located rue Montorgueil in the 2nd arrondissement. The whole street which has became pedestrian is by the way very typical and this shop was created in 1730.

The pastry cook who opened the shop was Nicolas Stohrer. He invented a famous pastry here called "Baba au rhum". It's now also a deli and a caterer that you can ask to deliver food for hapenings. The shop is now classified as an historical building for the paintings inside made by painter Paul Baudry who also painted the inside of the Paris Opera.

The shop has it's website but only in French.

Tomorrow I will show what you can buy there ... 

Picasso

They are doing some construction work at the Picasso Museum in Le Marais and they had that great idea to hide the working area with this huge mirror wall. 

Ostrich

I discovered this ostrich on the wall yesterday when walking around in the 11th arrondissement (you can see it better if you click on the picture). 

The little "house" on the pavement in the center is a place where they sale newspapers and magazines. We can see an add for "Courrier International" magazine with Barak Obama on the cover. Nice to finally see a magazine saying good things on an American president !

I also like this composition because that's a different Paris than the nice and very elegant Haussman buildings of the west side.

Window

Just because I liked this window on a building not far from where I live.

New Paris

This is not a usual view of Paris but the city is not only a "museum" type city. It's still living and creating new areas like this one in the 13th arrondissement close to the Bibliothèque de France (National Library). This picture is taken on the corner of the Rue Neuve Tolbiac and the Avenue de France.

Another renovation

Another poster hiding this time the renovation of a part of the Law Court building, quai des Orfèvres on the "Ile de la Cité".

Stange building

No, we're not in a cartoon but in the 16th arrondissement of Paris where this building is beeing renewed. They covered the whole building with this great "trompe l'oeil".

Sunset

Sunset on the Ecole Militaires at the end of the Champs de Mars (lawn starting from the Eiffel Tower to this building : the Military school).
The tower in the background is the Montparnasse Tower, the highest building in Paris.

Saint Germain L'Auxérois

Right in front of the Louvre stands the church of Saint Germain l'Auxerois. Its bells are famous as the most beautifull in Paris.

Arc

This is a view of the Arc of Triomph that stands at the top of the Champs Elysées avenue. The square where it's located is called "Place de l'Etoile" which means "star square" as all the 12 straights avenues around it meet there.

The other Pyramid

The other Louvre Pyramid located in the Caroussel Mall.

More

Concerning the controversy ... I am on the side of the ones who love it. Got tons of pictures of it and I thought a birthday would at least justify this second shot.

Leaving tosay for a short vacation in Britany (west of France by the Atlantic ocean), I'll try to continue posting but I may miss one day or more.

Happy birthday too !

The Eiffel Tower is not the only one to celebrate a big birthday this year. So is the Louvre pyramid celebrating its 20th birthday this week. 

Desined by the architect PE, the pyramid was completed in 1989 and triggered considerable controversy at that time. It has now become a landmark for the city. 

Hotel de Ville

This view is a part of Paris Town House roof. The building is located on the Place de Grève in the 4th arrondissement and that's where the mayor office is. It's a very nice building which was built in 1628. You can have a virtual tour of the Hotel de Ville on its website. 

Forum des Halles

Located in the center of Paris, the "Forum des Halles" is the most visited shopping center in the city. It was built on the former central food market called "Les Halles" in French which was moved outside Paris in the '70s.

It's now getting old and a very big project to renew this area is on the way.

Pont de Bercy

The Pont de Bercy links the left bank to the right bank in south east of Paris. The big building in the background is the French Ministry of Economy and Finances.

Père Lachaise

Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (48 ha, 118.6 acres). Located in the 20th arrondissement where I live, it is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the graves of those who have enhanced French life over the past 200 years. A lot of famous people are there as Balzac, Molière, Edith Piaf, Jim Morisson ...

The cemetery was established by Napoleon I in 1804. You can have a virtual tour of the cemetery on this website : Pere-Lachaise.com

Spring

Spring is back and the magnolia in our building's courtyard is beautiful on this sunny sunday... and I am not running the Paris marathon ...

Boulangerie

Do I really need to comment ?

Walking on Paris

Some of the comments of yesterday post talked about this spot in the Orsay museum where you can walk uppon a Paris model. The picture is not really good but I thought it could show the place to those who did not see it yet. In the museum this place is right in front of the opéra model I posted yesterday.

Opera model

As Joan told us in her comment on my Musée d'Orsay post, there is a model of the Opéra house in that museum and there it is. It's a cut of the whole building so that anyone can see how it was built. Great to see how high above and deep below the stage it is. 

Bateaux mouches

That's the more yellow I found for this month's Theme day. The Bateaux Mouches company is the most famous boat tour on the Seine. Really worth it if you come to Paris.

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