Joyeux

One of my favorite Paris hangouts, spruced up for the holidays.

Café de Flore
172 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75006

To my devoted visitors, blog stalkers and drop-ins:
I will be returning after the holidays.

 

***

 

Here's wishing every one of you a very Merry and Happy everything, and an effervescent New Year.

See you in January - BPJ

Back in time

Early morning and Place du Tertre is eerily transformed into the village square it once was before tourists and souvenir shops took over.

Above: twinkling Christmas lights left on all night;
main street just off the square minus crowds and postcard stands

The singer

Man plays guitar to backdrop of a Christmas market on Place des Abbesses.

Nativity ball

Nativity scene inside a giant inflated ball in front of l'Église Saint-Pierre in Montmartre.

Montmartre dawn

Sunrise over the city on a brisk December morning. 

 

 

Not just men

At a busy café on rue de Rennes a waitress sports the white tablier and black vest traditionally worn by Parisian waiters.

Behind doors

Double doors of what appears to be an ordinary apartment building conceal a long passageway.

Bread basket

Fresh baguettes, as much a symbol of Paris as the Eiffel Tower.

Blur of lights

Frenzy of traffic and shoppers on the grands boulevards as stores stay open later for the holidays.

Boulevard Haussmann

- Printemps -

- Galeries Lafayette -

Froth art

A café crème gets la touche finale by a talented barista.

***
Café Craft
Holybelly
Le Peloton Café
Fragments
Café Cuillier
Matamata....

 In January newsletter: My pick of Paris' best coffee shops.
Plus: tucked away on Plaza de los Mártires in Malaga, Spain, Mia Coffee Shop packs a punch
[3 hours (or less) from Paris: Pueblos Blancos, Andalucia]

Touch of red

A splash of Christmas on a terrace atop the Pompidou Center.

Royal entry

 

Entrance into Palais du Louvre's pyramid courtyard from rue de Rivoli.

All thumb

An enormous bronze thumb by French artist César Baldaccini in front of the Centre Pompidou.

"The mandrill indicates with thumb

Auroraborealic bum!"

Michael Alexander, British author, explorer, poet

(of the infamous "Prominente" at Colditz Castle WWII)

R.I.P.

***

"César: La Rétrospective"

 

 Ends March 26, 2018

Centre Georges Pompidou

Place Georges-Pompidou 75004

In flight

Pigeons and seagulls take flight at the Porte Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement.

Bear windows

This year's Ralph Lauren holiday window display.

Ralph Lauren
173 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75006

Marron Man

 

Freshly roasted chestnuts heat up a cold December evening.

Lamb dressed as sheep

Printed on window, "Also available for humans."

Diesel

1 rue du Four 75006

Girl time

Time to sip into something comfortable.

Bistrot Vivienne
4 rue des Petits-Champs 75002

Her too

Bronze bust of French pop icon singer entertainer Dalida on the Montmartre square named after her.

Henri on horseback

Statue of Henri IV on the Pont Neuf as seen from the Square du Vert-Galant.

***

In this month's newsletter
Nouveautés

Deck the halls

Christmas trees sparkle as an almost-full moon peeks over clouds at the town hall of the 18th arrondissement.