Dora

The bust of a young woman by Pablo Picasso represents Dora Maar, darling of the Left Bank literary and artistic set at the height of La Belle Époque.

After the rain

 

Locals in SoPi (South Pigalle) stop to pick up last minute supplies before heading home. The Basilica of Sacré Coeur overlooks emerging street scene.

 

High heel bar

A local cordonnerie specializes in high heel repair for shoes that have seen too many cobblestones.

Über croissants

Fresh croissants glazed with different flavors at gourmet traiteur Fauchon.

Exterior decoration

 

Oversized lampshades on Place de Furstenburg, known for upscale fabric and deco shops, during Paris Design Week.

Le Passe-Muraille

"The Man Who Walked Through Walls" on Place Marcel Aymé.

Hanging out fashion

Now that the winter soldes are well behind us shop windows are alive with exciting new spring collections.

Pâtes de fruits

A trove of pâtes de fruits in dozens of flavors are a specialty at Hédiard, which began as a wheelbarrow piled high with exotic fruits on a street corner in 1854.

Une carafe d'eau

A cluster of green bottles ready to be turned into carafes d'eau.

Le Saint-Valentin

As every year, Paris chocolatiers big and small proudly display their Valentine's Day creations.

Romance and roses

Roses seem to be everywhere in anticipation of the Feast of Saint-Valentin.

Love is in the air

With Valentine's Day around the corner many local magazines are all about... Love.

Organic fresh produce

Multicolored carrots and crisp greens at an organic market will be gone by noon.
Just a stroll through any of Paris' open-air markets inspires dinner.

Motorcycle Monday

 A photo that needs no description.

Through fleurs

Fragrant bouquets are lined up along a street market stall, packed in thick sheets of plastic filled with water.

Ready for tea

Intimate salons de thé dot the city, where there will be specialty teas, home-made cakes, pastries and even refined lunches.

Man in black

Dressed in black from head to toe he cuts a poetic silhouette on a back street in the Bastille district.

Mao Tse Tongue

 

This sculpture takes up much floor space in this contemporary art gallery, one of many near the rue des Beaux Arts.

Butterfly bouquets

Small bouquets of white, gold and blue butterflies seem to flutter inside the window of a Left Bank parfumerie.

 

Annick Goutal

12 Place Saint-Sulpice 75006

 

 

Brioches in a window

Sugar-studded brioches teasingly await adoption in a window of a small cake shop on a Left Bank side street.

Early a.m. café... and cigarettes

Ashtrays set out for the daily invasion of terrace smokers.

 

Since 2007 (law implemented in January 2008) smoking inside cafés and restaurants has been verboten in France.

Les bouquinistes

Paris' reputedly testy bouquinistes get the best views across the river. A centuries-old tradition of selling used books and manuscripts along the quais continues uninterrupted.