Monday, April 20, 2009

Les Moments Inoubliables

Unforgettable moments in Paris...

Taken from my room close to midnight, the sky was a dark-purplish blue. I could not close my eyes...and stared at the sky for a while. One of those nights.

Walked past Jardin du Luxembourg after class and passed this lady painting watercolour, as with so many painters in Paris out and about in doing their business, carrying their little easels around town.

The white sculpture as the model. This is the third time I bumped into street painters around Paris left bank.

The french lady with the tallest legs I've ever seen from the back. It was a surreal moment to see her walking from the start of Rue de l’Université to Rue du Bac, 6eme. She must be in her late 50s and she was wearing the tightest superfine black jeans with really cool black pointy ankle boots. And a black leather jacket of course. French women and their skinny long legs :O must be all those walking ey?

However cliched it might be, everyone can have a piece of La Tour Eiffel in their mac notebook. This one is mine and I'll never forget walking along Rue Saint-Dominique on my way to church on a foggy Sunday morning and looking up to see the gray sky folding its flair around Eiffel. How mysterious, how enchanting...

Walking past the Seine along the long stretchy quai is the Paris moment, with the hundreds of books stands, souvenirs and vintage posters. My favourite walk along the river is from Quai de la Tournelle, passing Shakespeare & Co, the always-beat busy Saint-Michel, and finishing off at Rue du Bac on my way home. The street vendors with their witty hats, century-old drabs and little stools to sit on are the true characters of Parisians!

Where would I go for to spend my Saturday afternoons, but the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg with its manicured lawns and spring tulips. All the lines of Paris jardins, buildings and parks seem to running in a straight line, why?

There is the Paris line which is more orderly queue and everyone calmly waits for their order, but I've also come to learn that there is also the Boulangerie Line of Paris where the clock hits 1.00pm and everyone storms off to the nearest boulangerie and anxiously fidgets in their queue thinking if they should get the jambon fromage or the thons et crudites stuffed-baguette (sandwich) for 3.20e or should they opt for the formule de jour. This one is a local boulangerie down on the 6eme, towards boulevard Montparnasse, near Alliance Francaise.

Food markets on a Saturday or a Sunday morning is the authentic Parisian activity. They make up the character of each arrondissement and each one is a pleasure to visit. Even just walking from one end to another end is an adventure. This one is at one of a favorite, looking up La Tour Eiffel on the 7eme, Marche Saxe-Breteuil.

Dinner at Jules Verne, La Tour Eiffel, great mac and cheese and bread! Oh and the toffee mousse was heavenly too! I had a great time...

Le Mini Cooper à Paris. I had the best of fun taking pictures of these babies out and around town, each with their own witty characters. This one oddly found at the overrated Avenue Montagne 7eme arrondissement.

It might not be my permanent home, but everyday is a joy to come home :)

1 comment:

Johan said...

Hey, you seem to have a thing for taking people's photos from their back. Hmm I wonder if someone somewhere has a blog with your photo from the back...