They are tearing down Les Halles. It certainly was ugly.
But I don't know about this new version they have planned:
I know the old Baltard pavillions and central Paris location didn't work for an imortant wholesale food market.
But why couldn't they have kept the external structure and reengineered something functional inside?
Surely they could have made something useful inside those beautiful old pavillions.
Walking around Paris you see all sorts of high tech and low tech street cleaning methods. I like this one man sidewalk scrubber, seen on Champs Elysées.
Borrow
Consume
Work
Die...
This piece of street stencil art was seen outside of a bank on Boulevard des Italiens in the 9th. The 'Occupy' movement is known as 'Les Indignés' here (The Indignant or The Outraged) which I prefer. Because aren't you indignant and outraged?
Many cities, especially in Europe, have bridges with "lovelocks". These are on the Pont l'Archevêqué behind Notre Dame.
You see all types of motorcycles, bikes, scooters and small, city-friendly vehicles here.
Some are very unusual, like the one below.
When you get closer, you see a baby seat, protected from the rain, and discover it's a cross between a bicycle and a stroller.
And I start thinking about what a wuss I am for not trying out a vélib bike. People of all ages ride them, even in high heels.
But then I walked by this accident and know I don't have the balance or courage to ride in Paris traffic. That's a flattened motorcycle under the truck wheel.
On a small, unassuming building by the Canal Saint-Martin...
I almost missed this detail...
It's not graffiti...this has been applied, not painted. It's not trompe-l'œil. So how would it be classified (other than by adjectives like clever, amusing)?
There's a war on in France right now and it has nothing to do with Iraq, Libya or other battlefields. No, this is a Post-it War. Primarily the skirmishes happen in the workplace, although this photo shows a residential example. There are even battles between corporate giants, like this one between EDF (an energy company) and Société Générale, proving that the French have more free time at work than do Americans.
There is a website to help you create a Post-it work of art and, of course, there is an app, not to mention a war site.
Since I'm still on the injured/disabled list, I'll have to share more first day photos and subsequent research.
I walked by this creperie:
and then doubled back...
what was down that alleyway?
Is that a horse's head on the building?
Yes indeed-y! But this doesn't look like the usual horse butcher shop (boucherie chevaline), so what's the story?
A little research reveals that this is the neighborhood that housed the Paris horse market. In fact, around the corner is a street called Marché aux Chevaux.
The horse market dates back to Louis XIII in 1641. The building below is from 1760 during the time of Louis XV and housed the inspectors.
Look at either side of the central window:
The crane and the rooster are supposed to symbolize patience and vigilance. The embedded slate below gives evidence of the building's provenance.
Next to this is a more recent building:
Around the block on the other side is a street called rue l'Essai, so named because here is where the dealers let potential buyers try out the horses.
They say that a century ago, there were 80,000 horses in Paris. They carried riders and towed barges, buses,and carts. They were an essentiel part of Parisiens' lives. And the horse market serviced that need.
The most celebrated work of painter, Rosa Bonheur (the most famous female painter of the 19th century), is Le marché aux chevaux (The Horse Fair). She dressed as a man and made sketches at the market twice a week for a year and a half before completing this 8 by 16 foot masterpiece. You can see the cupola of Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière in the distance. The painting is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
I have just one question: what is a "double poney"?
After I regained consciousness post-jetlag (or so I thought), I decided to attend a Travel Writers Panel at the American Library in Paris, part of their series called "Evening with an Author".
The American Library is close to the Eiffel Tower, so I thought I would take the metro to the Trocadero and visit my favorite statues at the Palais de Chaillot, cross the pont to the Eiffel Tower and walk the few blocks to the library.
I love visiting 'my' gal, Le Matin, by Pryas:
and her copine, La Femme, by Daniel Bacqué:
Don't you just LOVE her butt?
Here she is full-frontal, in case you thought I'm only about the butt:
Watched kids on le manège, the merry-go-round, because the French ones have such cute designs.
Did you notice the name of the plane?
As I walked across Pont d'Iéna, I tripped and fell flat on my face. I swear I wasn't distracted by this:
Évidemment, I can't even walk when I'm jet-lagged. I bruised my knee and my pride and had to hobble to the library for the panel, which was worth the wounds.
(note to friends learning French: to limp = boiter, to hobble along = marcher clopin-clopant)
The woman on the right is Clydette de Groot, a clinical psychologist (among other talents) who moderated the discussion.
The blonde woman on the left is Lisa Pasold, a travel writer whose third book is the novel Rats of Las Vegas, which I want to read based on the title alone. She does a lot with apps and ebook platforms, too. I think I have to get this book for Sam after reading a blurb:
"A high-stakes poker game on a train through the Rockies, a beautiful bad boy with a broken eyetooth, a near-death by strangling, a fast 40s car, a landlord in marabou feathered mules, mobsters, showgirls, a card-playing monkey: how could Lisa Pasold's first novel be anything other than a feast? As compulsive as a gambler, as propulsive as a transcontinental train, Rats of Las Vegas is an irresistible read."
The woman in the middle is Ann Mah, a food and travel writer. Her next book will be coming out soon and is titled, Mastering the Art of French Eating. Wouldn't that make a nice gift for someone along with the Julia Child cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking....or a nice gift to yourself? Despite having little interest in cooking, I subscribe to her blog for the excellent writing and food porn photos. And now I have an autographed copy of her novel Kitchen Chinese, in which the main character is named Iz! But Ann's Iz is short for Isabelle not Elinor, like my, our, The Ultimate Iz.
I think I'll be hors service, out of service for awhile with this knee, keeping it elevated and iced while gulping handfuls of ibuprofen. But stay tuned... or restez connecté, as they say here...
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