Dancing by the river

Want to dance on a nice sunny Sunday ?

I love Paris in the springtime ...

Today I invite you to join me for a walk on the Seine river banks as we have the most perfect spring weather forecast. Sky is blue, temperatures are warm and the nature is splendid. This confirms that April is one of the best period to visit Paris and one of my favorite. 

Lunch time at the "Lutèce arenas"

Together with the "Termes de Cluny", the "Arènes de Lutèce" are the only remains from the Gallo Roman era in Paris which at that time was named "Lutèce". They were built in the first century AD and were used to present gladiators combats. Now you can enjoy the spring sun and watch kids play football.

Under a clear blue winter sky

 A rather typical "chic" building in the 5th arrondissement. As you can see we still have the most perfect sky today.

Lunch time

For the past 2 or 3 years, a lot of Paris bars and "brasseries" have renovated their place and now offer many interesting and nice places to have a drink or eat. These rattan chairs are very typical and can be found in many bars in Paris.

Jussieu University

The buildings in the background including the tower are one of Paris Universities called "Jussieu" which is also the name of the subway station. This is the second and only tower we have inside Paris city limits. It as recently been renewed and has a nice lighting at night. As you can see, yesterday was a perfect blue sky day. We had the feeling of being suddenly thrown in Spring but today grey is back ...

The Saint Michel fountain

As promised yesterday, here is the Saint Michel Fountain. Built in 1860 it is facing the Seine River and represents the archangel Saint Michael victorious on the evil.

Street scene : waiting

These people are waiting for other people in front of the Saint Michel Fountain in the Latin quarter. This place is a very common place for Parisian to give a rendez vous in this area. I will show the fountain tomorrow.

Blog friend meeting

Yesterday evening I had the great pleasure to meet Genie from "Paris and Beyond". She had just arrived in Paris that same day and she and her daughter fought jetlag and freezing weather to meet me for a nice diner in a Brasserie in the 5th arrondissement. I had a great time talking and sharing with them. That is exactly why I keep on going with this blog.

Les Grandes Serres du Jardin Des Plantes

After years of work, the big Greenhouses located in the Jardin des Plantes (one of Paris gardens) near the Natural History Museum have reopened last summer. I did my first visit yesterday and I was delighted by the work done. You can visit 4 greenhouses full of tropical plants and very well explained. The buildings are gorgeous, the oldest greenhouse was built in 1714 and the gig metal structure ones like this one where built at the beginning of the 19th century. A nice place to visit if you're in town .

Metro entrance

A very unusual subway entrance. (with rouge letter for Virginia)

Sunday bridge : from under the bridge

Paris bridges seen from under a bridge ... and a nice autumn sky.

See all participants in Sunday Bridge theme on San Francisco Bay Daily Photo

Theatre Metamorphosis

This theater is on a boat on the Seine River. I've never seen any show there but I like the boat. (click here to see their website).

Painted wall rue Mouffetard

This painted wall on the famous Parisian "Fromagerie Androuet" (cheese shop) represents hunting scenes. The paintings were made in 1929 and use the "sgraffito" technique.

Hungry ?

Monday Virginia posted one of my "Péché Mignon" with her Nutella crèpes (see Paris Through My Lens) and here is my other one ... patisseries ! One of the good thing in living in France ...

Shakespeare and Company bookshop

Ideally located on the Seine River bank in front of Notre Dame, this tiny shop is Paris' most famous English speaking bookshop. You can read more about this shop history on Wikipedia (clik here).

Dancing in Paris

During the summer, every night on the Quai Saint Bernard arenas, people gather and dance. If you want to have the sound I posted a little video on you tube (click here).

Theme day : open air market

The lady choosing her peaches at the open air market of the Rue Mouffetard.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Bike in the city

If you've been in Paris during the past 2 years you've probably noticed that the city has now a lot of bikes on the streets. Not only the Velib, our free bike system, but also private bikes that Parisian now use really more than ever before. This weekend I was in London and I was happy to see that they also started last july with a free bike system like in Paris. The good thing about Velib is that you don't have to care about parking your bike. I think that the owner of the bike of today's photo found a quite nice parking place (not sure it's allowed by the way ...)

Long chair on the boat

Don't you think these chairs are inviting us ?