http://www.ziki.com/en/etenin+6130 mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:18:06 +0100 120 My aggregated content at ziki.com http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/paris-kids.html
In Montmartre, at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a "painter" called Francisque Poulbot who became famous for his drawings of children. He is still so famous, that we currently use the word "Un Poulbot" when talking about a little Parisian kid. In Montmartre, you find post cards, place mats, canvasses... of his drawings everywhere. That is precisely where I took this photo (actually on the Place des Abesses) which shows the back of a ticket booth of a merry-go-round. It's not a real Poulbot scene, though, as, when Poulbot was alive (between 1879 and 1946) there were surely no skateboards!! ]]> mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:18:06 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5997566 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/dior-retrospective.html
If you're a francophile - and even if you're not actually! - you probably heard about Christian Dior, the famous couturier who precisely created Dior in 1941. Christian Dior died a long time ago (1957) but he had many famous successors (including Yves Saint Laurent and, or course, more recently John Galliano). Anyway, during the holiday season, they displayed a sort of retrospective in this weird little frame hanging on their building, avenue Montaigne. Cute! ]]> sun, 06 Jan 2008 09:57:56 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5993377 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/washington-statue.html
No, this place is not called Washington square but Place d'Iena, but the statue its middle is definitely the one of George Washington. Apparently GW was our friend during the American revolution; we provided him with gun powder (of course, our only aim was probably to drive the Brits crazy, but that is another story!) We the (French) are known for being sometimes anti American and though there are hundreds of American statues/street names/ buildings... in Paris. Not to mention Mc Donald's and Starbucks LOL! ]]> fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:40:42 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5973344 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/big-heads.html
Not far from the Beaubourg center, by the Saint Merri church, I found these big portraits that are usually not there... They look like rabbis to me, so I suppose they were installed on the occasion of a Jewish celebration. Anyway , they give the neighborhood a festive aspect which is good. It's already Le weekend, it feels good, even though I've worked only 3 days this week ;). Update: thanks to my visitors (see comments) I know now these 3 men are a Rabi, a priest and an imam. ]]> thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:38:38 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5962889 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/new-year-parade.html
I had never heard of this Falun Dafa movement before I took this photo. Funnily, 2 days ago I came across them again, marching in the streets of Paris - probably to celebrate the new year. Let me take advantage of this festive occasion to thank you all for your very nice wishes and compliments that you made lately. Like I said many times here: you are my fuel; without you, I would have quit PDP a long time ago ;) ]]> thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:02:55 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5938672 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/new-era.html
If you remember, I already posted about this last year, when France passed the law banning cigarettes from public spaces except cafés and restaurants. Now, as of today, even the "bistrot round the corner" has to comply to the new rules: no smoking permitted anywhere inside public spaces (except in perfectly sealed smoking areas)! I would have never thought France would manage to do this one day and though, apart from some people who think this law shows we live in a dictatorship(!) it seems pretty well accepted. ]]> tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:56:26 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5930626 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2008/01/theme-day-best-photo-of-year.html
It's always hard to select a picture among 365 especially when it's supposed to be your best one. There are photos you like because they remind you of a specific situation, others that were particularly hard to take... Viewers don't want to know about all this, they just see a photo and think "I like it" or "I don't". Anyway... This year I ended up selecting a photo that I took at Paris Plage, last summer. Go there, if you want to read the original caption. And BTW, I hear we are turning the 2007 page today, so let me wish you all a wonderful new year ;)

Today, like every first of the month, is a City Daily Photo theme day. 117 City Daily Photo bloggers have also posted their best photo of the year. Please pay them a visit (but keep in mind that due to time differences all photos don't show at the same time).
Paris, France - London, England - Hyde, UK - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Grenoble, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Riga, Latvia - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - New Orleans (LA), USA - Wichita (KS), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Francisco (CA), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Mainz, Germany - Melbourne, Australia - Portland (OR), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Toulouse, France - Naples (FL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Brussels, Belgium - Stayton (OR), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Baziège, France - Nashville (TN), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Prescott (AZ), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Philadelphia (PA), USAEvry, France - Trujillo, Peru - Arlington (VA), USA - Denpasar, Indonesia - American Fork (UT), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Coral Gables (FL), USA - Montpellier, France - Joplin (MO), USA - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Boston (MA), USA - Torun, Poland - New York City (NY), USA - Dunedin (FL), USA - Quincy (MA), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Chateaubriant, France - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Budapest, Hungary - Austin (TX), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Cypress (TX), USA - Bicheno, Australia - Wrocław, Poland - Brookville (OH), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Cheltenham, UK - Wellington, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - London, UK - Haninge, Sweden - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Arradon, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Mumbai, India - Terrell (TX), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - Delta (CO), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Saigon, Vietnam - San Diego (CA), USA - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Belgrade, Serbia - Auckland, New Zealand - Seguin (TX), USA - Inverness (IL), USA - Oslo, Norway - Singapore, Singapore - Las Vegas (NV), USANew York City (NY), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Torino, Italy - Susanville (CA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - - ]]> tue, 01 Jan 2008 01:01:58 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2008:/article/5918644 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/lets-jump-into-2008.html
Here we go! Today is the last day of the year and I thought of posting this "newspaper lady" that I found yesterday in the Beaubourg area on my way to the hardware store! It must have been a lot of work to create this piece of art for her "dress" is actually made of newspaper directly glued to the wall. Love it. Shame it's not signed - or I did not see the signature. If anyone knows the artist, please let me know. Don't forget tomorrow is the 1st of the month, therefore a city daily photo bloggers theme day; we are all (so far 101 participants throughout the world!) supposed to post our best photo of the year... Hold your breath! ]]> sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:42:23 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5905930 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/nice-little-theater.html
Not far from the Beaubourg Center, there is a nice little theater called "Le théâtre du Renard" (the Fox Theater), which is not very well known even though it is very pretty inside. Its name comes from the name of a street where it's located, la rue du Renard which used to be a prostitution area under Louis the 9th (in the middle ages). ]]> sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:56:22 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5891211 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/will-ingrid-be-freed.html
The quality of this photo is terrible - sorry for that - but I still decided to publish it because what matters here is the symbol. The lady on the screen is Ingrid Betancourt and she has been a hostage in Colombia for 6 years now (I already posted a photo about her, here)... The authorities often remind us of her, like you can see on this photo of the Parliament (Assemblée Nationale) where they installed a huge screen showing her. Recently there has been good hopes that she could be freed but so far, she is still a prisoner. ]]> fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:36:19 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5887506 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/children-are-talented.html
Here is a nice little fresco called "the Arrival of a Circus in a Country Village" entirely made by the children of the Clichy Trinité quarter (an area of Paris located in the 9th and 18th arrondissement) under the guidance of Paule Pointreau, a teacher specializing in teaching fine arts to children. This fresco is located in front of "La Trinité" church (where I took the black and white photo 2 days ago) in order to hide works. ]]> fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:54:16 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5870661 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/caps-exhibit.html
Remember the train photo I took last week? I told you it was for an exhibit in Le Grand Palais (the 70 year anniversary of the National French Train Company). Well I went to see this exhibit and it was fun - I even got to see the inside of the locomotive I shot the other day. They also display things that are train related, like station furniture or even ticket controllers' uniforms and caps, as you can see on this photo! A nice change from Christmas scenes... If you want to see more photos, here is a little animated diaporama made with a little help from the guys from Animoto! ]]> wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:52:44 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5856214 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/empty-paris.html
This photo could have been taken in the 50's, when there were still few cars in Paris... In fact, I took it two days ago, Place d'Estienne d'Orves, on Christmas Eve, while a lot of Parisians had deserted the city to spend some time with their family in the provinces (most "Parisians" originate from the provinces). I'm just back from Normandy, quickly read the nice comments you left yesterday and the day before yesterday. Thank you very much. ]]> tue, 25 Dec 2007 23:33:55 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5843556 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/merry-christmas.html
It's officially Christmas and even though I do not have access to a computer where I am at the moment, I wanted to wish you a good one with this very inviting Santa I found in the window of a café not far from my home. "My" Santa brought me... a new lens for my camera, so you know what that means... more photos for the year to come. When I think I used to hate taking pictures! ]]> tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:01:59 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5833176 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/christmas-eve-in-paris.html
I know this café looks like it was especially designed for a set in a movie (even the light looks like it originates from a projector!). And though, I swear I took it this morning close to the Notre Dame de Lorette church! I thought it was perfect for a Christmas eve photo. I'm on my way to Trouville (Normandy) for a family gathering but I'll be back soon - very soon! Have a nice Christmas dinner - if you celebrate Christmas of course - I, myself, will be eating oysters and foie gras, I'm sure... ]]> mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:11:55 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5818557 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/hell.html
I know what hells look like now, believe me! It all started at Virgin Megastore where I wanted to buy 2 DVDs and where the place was so packed that I had to leave after 5 minutes. I then tried La Fnac (a "cultural" goods chain store) where I had a living picture of what the expression "mass consumption" means... There, even though I wanted to buy something I gave up when I saw the endless lines in the check out lanes! The bottom line is that I have to go back tomorrow early in the morning ;(( Next year I buy everything - I'm talking everything! - on line. ]]> sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:22:22 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5804270 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/by-pale-moonlight.html
Which is the brightest star in this photo, the moon or the Eiffel Tower, LOL?! I went by the old iron lady tonight because I wanted to show you an exhibit that they have on the 1st floor, but the line was so long that I gave up! I'll try later. I'm still not done buying my Christmas gifts, so my weekend will be entirely devoted to Christmas shopping! ]]> fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:24:09 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5796879 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/chritmas-tree.html
Christmas without a Christmas tree would not really be Christmas! Parisians homes - especially those with children - are very fond of them and that is why you literally have forests of trees in front of each florist at the moment. Depending on their size and type (Epicea or Nordmann) - they cost on average between 50 and 100 €. Pretty expensive for a tree that will only last until early January, but it is such a nice tradition. Another tradition is the one of Christmas gifts, and believe me, this year, I have never been this late!! ]]> fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:49:20 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5787353 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/pariss-war-declaration-against.html
Advertisers love Paris, but Paris doesn't like them... Today, the Paris council decided to reduce by 1/3 the amount of advertising space in the city. This will impact not only the space in general but also the size of posters. Thus the 1,000+ 4 x 3 meters (13 x 10 feet) billboards will soon be banned and so will the 6,000 smaller ones that are on display in the windows of shopkeepers and cafés. It will also be forbidden to advertise within 50 meters (164 feet) of a school, on the embankment, in Montmartre, etc. Needless to say that this measure is pretty controversial... ]]> thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:20:30 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5766202 http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2007/12/traun-exhibit.html
Ladies and gentlemen, you're presently looking at the first high speed locomotive France ever produced: the famous BB 9004, which, in 1955, broke the fabulous record of 331 Km/h (206 mph). Of course compared to the 575 Km/h (357 mph) of the TGV (bullet train) it's nothing, but considering it took place 52 years ago... Anyway, the reason why I shot this locomotive in the middle of the street is that next week; the French Railway Company (SNCF) will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a huge exhibition in Le Grand Palais. I'll try to go and take a few pics. ]]> wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:38:47 +0100 tag:ziki.com,2007:/article/5762221